Pressure Groups Converge On Lagos, Demand Nations’ Restructuring

The coalition of pan-Yoruba organisations has converged on Lagos to seek solutions to Nigeria’s socio-economic problems.

Key among their demands is a call from President Bola Ahmed Tinubu and the National Assembly for the immediate restructuring of Nigeria ahead of the 2027 general elections.

They sounded a serious warning that failure to do so could plunge the country into a deeper crisis.

The demand was part of a communiqué issued after a two-day meeting under the umbrella of the Alliance for Yoruba Democratic Movements (AYDM), described as a coalition of over 130 groups across the South-West.

The gathering drew more than 800 delegates on its opening day, with participants from the old Western Region, including Lagos, Ogun, Oyo, Osun, Ondo, Ekiti, Kwara, Kogi, Delta and Edo states.

Yoruba and Itsekiri representatives from other West African countries also attended, alongside observers from socio-cultural organisations such as the South-South Congress, Middle-Belt Indigenous Peoples Congress and the Hausa National Congress.

In the communiqué, the groups insisted that Nigeria’s next president in 2027 must emerge from the South, arguing that anything contrary would threaten national unity.

“Since 1960, the North has ruled Nigeria for 46 years, while the South has ruled for only 20 years. Any attempt by the North to produce the next president is unacceptable and will be resisted,” the statement said.

The coalition described restructuring as the most urgent national priority, warning that Nigeria risks sliding into anarchy if long-standing constitutional imbalances are not addressed.

It also linked rising insecurity in the country to global tensions, citing the crisis involving Iran, Israel and the United States as factors being exploited by extremist elements within Nigeria.

According to the groups, the emergence of improvised explosive devices (IEDs) in parts of the country, including a recent incident in Kwara State that killed a man, injured a woman and her child, signals a dangerous escalation in terrorist activities.

It said, “The current Federal Government is dealing with economic, political and military wings of terrorism in Nigeria. The terrorists have economic and ideological funders masquerading as elected and unelected politicians and statesmen.

“It’s one single scourge with the single aim of gaining power to turn Nigeria into a theocratic fiefdom. The problem with terrorists’ mindset is that they take actions without thinking twice.”

“They want to destroy the political, cultural and economic foundations of Nigeria. It is within this vortex that President Ahmed Bola Tinubu is operating,” the communiqué stated.