‘We Have Not Zoned 2023 Presidency To S/East’ – Chief Olusegun Osoba

A former Governor of Ogun State, Chief Olusegun Osoba, has said that the Yoruba have not conceded or zoned the 2023 presidency to the South East region of the country.

 

Osoba laid into ted elder statesman and Afenifere leader, Chief Ayo Adebanjo, for unilaterally conceding the 2023 presidential seat to the Igbo without the consensus of the Yoruba race.

 

Reacting to a statement in which Adebanjo called him a ‘sellout’ on the issue of restructuring, Osoba said the Igbo and Yoruba have equal right to fight for the presidential seat in the next general elections.

 

He said: “In his (Adebanjo’s) own dictatorial way, he said he has now zoned the presidency to the Igbo. I want to query him; who is he to zone the Yoruba out of the presidential race in 2023? “Where did we meet as Yoruba to say that we are ceding the presidency to the Igbo? Awolowo would not behave like that. There would be a meeting for consensus. Of course, the Igbo have a right to contest in 2023 just as I, as a Yoruba man would preach the right of us the Yoruba to contest.

 

“He (Adebanjo) has unilaterally zoned it to the Igbo; that is part of his dictatorial attitude. He is a dictator. He also said we would boycott 2023 elections, where did we sit down to decide that the Yoruba would boycott the 2023 elections?”

 

Chief Osoba also noted that Adebanjo was instrumental to Afenifere breaking up into different subgroups.

 

“It is the likes of Adebanjo that made Afenifere to break into different groups. Let us first of all unite all the different groups within the Yoruba race. Can we go into war with these different groups? We have about 12 groups in Yoruba race today. Yoruba are intellectually endowed.

 

He maintained that the Yoruba have what it takes to articulate reports on a roadmap to self-determination.

 

“What is wrong in getting all the big brains in diaspora forming a strong intellectual group to write a paper on restructuring and the roadmap to arrive at self-determination? Who is against self determination?

 

“Awolowo was able through regional system to create first class region in Nigeria. We should have sat together to organize an intellectual group to write different reports on Yoruba self determination; that is what we should be doing,” he said.