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From Oluseye Ojo, Ibadan
The Senior Elders Forum of the Yoruba Council of Elders (YCE) has warned the Federal Government never to postpone the February 25 and March 11, 2023, general elections, saying postponement will usher in chaos and anarchy into Nigeria.
The senior citizens, spoke through the former National President of YCE, Col. Samuel Adeleye (retd), in a statement issued in Ibadan, the Oyo State capital, on Tuesday.
The Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) had expressed concerns over insecurity in Nigeria and the smooth conduct of the 2023 general elections.
But the Senior Elders Forum of YCE noted that more than 90 per cent of people in the South West are fed up with the “concoction called Nigeria, except for a negligible few who are eating mere crumbs that fell from their masters’ table. A greater percentage prefer to sit at a roundtable to renegotiate the 1914 amalgamation of Nigeria, which has since expired.
“From our own intelligence report, more than 90 per cent of Yoruba people are already fed up with the present concoction called Nigeria. It is only those who are feeding on the crumbs that fell from their masters’ table that are still paying homage to their Northern leaders.
“We, the elders heard a report that the protest was organised by some people outside the country. This made us a bit unhappy because those people who organised it didn’t come to lead or supervise the protest so as to prevent it from being violent. We can’t allow our youths to be used as cannon folders.
“If we had an inkling that they were going to hold the protest, we would have said no, don’t do it because Nigeria is in a dangerous situation especially now when the election is just about 45 days. At the moment, whoever organised that protest chose a wrong time. This is a highly volatile and sensitive period. People should do more planning and thinking.
“INEC which had been saying it’s up to the task is already becoming jittery; everyone is wondering if we are going to be safe. We won’t blame INEC if it’s feeling insecure. The issues of agitation are mounting in every book and crannies of this country. If INEC is up to the task, it should go ahead because if they cancel the election, it is just postponing the evil day.
“Insecurity could likely go unabated. Postponing the election could lead us into chaos and anarchy. If they cancel the election, will President Buhari be there till May 29 next year? Will he still be in Aso Rock?,” he said
They, however, enjoined the youth not to allow themselves to be used by some people who stay in their comfort zone abroad and tell them to face bullets at home.
The Yoruba organisation stated that Afenifere being a political group reserved the right to express its opinion but Yoruba people know which direction they will follow in the election.
Commenting on the letter written by former President Olusegun Obasanjo supporting the presidential candidate of the Labour Party (LP) Mr Peter Obi, YCE urged people in the zone to dismiss it with a wave of hands, noting it has become habitual for the former president to write letters but Nigerians, especially Yoruba are wiser now to choose the person they want to lead them.
