Yoruba group advocates for regional Government in Nigeria

November 11, 2024

By Samuel Ogunsona

The Yoruba Conservative Union has called for a paradigm shift in Nigeria’s Governmental system, advocating for the replacement of the current Unitary system.

This was contained in a video published by TVC monitored by The Yoruba Times on Monday, November 11, 2024.

According to the demonstrators, its aimed at empowering each region to control its resources and pay royalties to the Federal Government.

At a rally in Abeokuta, the group’s National Coordinator, Ayodeji Optimist, emphasized that this system would foster competition among regions, driving development and growth.

He said, “There would be a competition, every region would want to develop, the resources of each region would remain there and the token, like 20% will be taken to the Federal, so it won’t be a case of Monkey dey work, Baboon dey chop,”

Supporters of the movement, like Ibraheem Bashir, believe that regional Government would help develop local governments and cater to diverse regional needs.

“If we adopt the regional system, our revenues stay in the region, and we would be able to improve our country better,” Bashir noted.

Nigeria’s complex ethnic landscape, with over 250 ethnic groups and 800 dialects, has often been cited as a challenge to its democratic stability.

The country’s history of regional rivalry and ethnic tensions has led to calls for a more decentralized system of Government.