Former Ondo State Commissioner for Local Government and Chieftaincy Affairs Prince ‘Diran Iyantan is the Leader of Yoruba Ronu. He spoke with Assistant Editor LEKE SALAUDEEN on the marginalisation of the Yoruba, the purported endorsement of President Goodluck Jonathan by the Pan-Yoruba socio-political group, Afenifere, the future of Ondo politics and other issues.
Do you agree that the Jonathan Administration has marginalised the Yoruba people?
Yes, it is obvious. The Yoruba contributed to the emergence of President Goodluck Jonathan in 2011. The Yoruba people singled him out of the crowd to become president, it follows that he should be fair to the race in political patronage, but he failed to do that. Former President Olusegun Obasanjo almost singlehandedly picked Jonathan and ensured he became President of Nigeria. He is an ingrate. He has short changed the Yoruba race.
The Yorubas are the most liberal people in Nigeria. When Obasanjo was in power, he incorporated every ethnic group into his government. There was no Yoruba man in his kitchen cabinet made up of people like Nuhu Ribadu, Nasir El-Rufai and Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala. It is opposite under Jonathan. This development made some Yoruba to indict Obasanjo that he sold off his tribe when he was in power.
What is your reaction to the purported endorsement of Dr. Jonathan by Afenifere?
The Afenifere leaders didn’t take the generality of the Yoruba interest into consideration before they took that decision. My father ( now 93 ) is the oldest Afenifere member. He was disappointed by the decision of his colleagues. There was no forum for discussion they just allowed the external forces to influence their parochial interest. It is unfortunate that most of these Afenifere leaders lack electoral value. They can’t win election in their wards. For instance, Olu Falae who was the leader of Peoples Democratic Alliance (PDA) lost in his ward in 2011. The Yorubas are not with them. We know our leaders. Jonathan will lose in Southwest, no amount of bribe he offers his promoters.
In my discussion with some of them, one problem they have is the meteoric rise of Asiwaju Bola Tinubu to political leadership in the Southwest and in Nigeria as a whole. Tinubu achieved this through political evolution. His contribution to the Yoruba race made him the undisputable leader. If not for his steadfastness, Nigeria would have been in disarray. When the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) dislodged Alliance for Democracy (AD) in the Southwest in 2003, it was only Lagos State under Tinubu that survived the PDP onslaught. With only one state, he was able to build Action Congress of Nigeria (ACN) into a formidable party in the Southwest and Edo State. In 2007, ACN reclaimed some of the states and swept out PDP from the Southwest in 2011.
Will you say the Afenifere group are keeping to Awolowo’s political philosophy?
They have gone in the direct opposite of Awo’s political thought, an embodiment of egalitarianism and welfarism. Awo detest corruption in his life time. But the Afenifere leaders have been induced to promote corrupt government and leaders. In Yoruba tradition, when you attain certain age or when you become an elder, you retire from active participation in certain things like business and politics. Most of these Afenifere leaders are in their 80’s or above, they should quit the stage for the younger elements.
Are you surprised that former Ogun State Governor Olusegun Osoba has returned to Afenifere fold?
The Afenifere leaders hinged their endorsement of Jonathan on his commitment to implement the National Conference report. What is your comment?
I considered the national conference as a deliberate ploy to buy time for Jonathan. The progressives first mooted the idea of national conference which was rebuffed by Jonathn. When he became very unpopular, he believed he can use the convocation of national conference as bait. He is now giving an absurd condition that re-elect me first before I can start implementing the report. The time the report was submitted before now was sufficient for the President to implement the report if he was truly committed to its implementation. Jonathan knew what some Yoruba like his polemic. He wanted to keep them busy and engaged the likes of Femi Okunrounmu. He has also induced the Afenifere leaders to collaborate with the South-south in order to win the presidential election. They want to use creation of new states to justify the national confab report. Jonathan has been promising people that he will create new states if he was re-elected. What is the rationale of creating new states when most of the existing ones are not viable?
Are you surprised that the Yoruba Council of Elders (YCE) capitulated from his earlier decision not to endorse Jonathan?
We are pained that the Yoruba Council of Elders is now hob-nobbing with the oppressors of their race. The YCE is supposed to be apolitical. For them now to join the fray of politics of inducement and commercialisation, we are not bothered. Yoruba are united; Yoruba have identified with the general change; we want Nigeria to be rescued from the pangs of desperados. I know their off-shoots are not supporting what they (YCE) leaders are doing. Look at Chief Niyi Adebayo, he is one of those advocating change in the country.
The Afenifere leaders have described the merger of ACN with other parties from the North as a sell-out. Do you agree?
It is a belated and jaundiced argument. The little time we have stability in this country was when there was co-operation between the Southwest and the north. We believe the interest of the Southwest will be better protected by working with the north. The Yoruba in the Federal Civil Service are being marginalised and victimised. We cannot endure this sad experience for another four years. God willing, with Prof. Yemi Osinbajo as Vice President, the interest of Yoruba will be properly taken care of. We don’t want Yoruba children to be given dirty jobs like those assigned Femi Fani-Kayode, Doyin Okupe and Reuben Abati anymore. It is not in our tradition and culture to talk carelessly about our elders. Can you imagine Fani-Kayode casting aspersion on Tinubu who resuscitated the integrity of already bruised Yoruba race. Fani-Kayode should temper his problems with common sense and stop making unguarded statements because he wanted to satisfy his pay masters.
What is the political situation in Ondo State now?
The emergence of Governor Olusegun Mimiko in 2007 was a result of revolution in Ondo State. What happened in the state is a miniature of what will happen in Nigeria this year. Mimiko was a political orphan. He only had affiliation with the people who provided the arsenal to prosecute that revolution.
Mimiko started well but suddenly he deviated from the norms of good governance. He betrayed his benefactors including Asiwaju Tinubu and even engaged in unhealthy rivalry with Tinubu. The economy of Ondo State was not strong enough to cope with his inordinate ambition. The state has suffered because of it. There is poverty everywhere. Mimiko is now a political pariah. He is now the most unpopular government in the country. The wind of change is blowing across the state seriously. Mimiko is in a big problem. He has been rejected. His party-PDP will lose in the forthcoming elections.
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