Few days ago, I predicted some things politically as regards the conduct of the LG election in Oyo State; while some people agreed with me, most people, especially politicians who might have spent a 'fortune' in preparation for the election, disagreed.
In the witty write-up, I narrated how, in the creation of the LCDA, 23 of our villages in Oyo East LG were ceded to Afijio LG. The same scenario played out in Atiba and Oyo West LGs. Parts of Akinyele Lg were not ceded to Afijio. Some parts of Iseyin and Oorelope were not ceded to OyoWest and Atiba respectively. What are we saying? There is no doubt that it was done in bad faith.
It is no longer a rumour that a Federal High Court sitting in Abuja has
stopped the conduct of the election pending the resolution of the
grievances that arose as a result of unjust delineation of the existing
LGs in the state. Added to this is the fact that the court ordered the
stoppage of allocation to the LGs.
This was after some Baales
and Chiefs from our town had sued the Oyo State Independent Electoral
Commission (OYSIEC), asking the court to restrain the commission from
conducting the election pending the determination of the case.
And remember that few months ago, the people of Oyo town, led by our revered senior citizen, Arch-Bishop Ayo Ladigbolu,
met the Governor in his office. After some historical perspectives and
reading of maps, Governor Ajimobi was said to have assured the
delegation that before anything, he was going to make sure all the grey
areas are resolved. What we saw later was the constitution and
inauguration of OYSIEC!
Few days ago, the Government, through its agency, was said to have
ordered that 23 schools in Oyo East and Oyo West should be ceded to
AFIJIO. Also, all properties belonging to two LGS would also be ceded to
AFIJIO. Teachers who are under the employment of the two LGs have
stayed away from schools while students are already at home too.
Are they saying that people whose votes were recorded for Oyo East/ Oyo
West State Constituency during the last election will now become
constituents of AFIJIO State Constituency without their consent?
For long, we have been living happily as brothers in Oyo Federal Constituency. I don't know what may happen if this matter is not properly handled. The government should not make two brothers go to a needless 'war'; we are all Oyos. We didn't demand for what isn't ours. The good people of AFIJIO didn't also demand for what isn't theirs. Before LCDAs were created in Lagos, Ogun and Osun states, the community leaders were active players; they didn't bring out a document that was done 14 years ago; they resorted to the realities on ground.
For long, we have been living happily as brothers in Oyo Federal Constituency. I don't know what may happen if this matter is not properly handled. The government should not make two brothers go to a needless 'war'; we are all Oyos. We didn't demand for what isn't ours. The good people of AFIJIO didn't also demand for what isn't theirs. Before LCDAs were created in Lagos, Ogun and Osun states, the community leaders were active players; they didn't bring out a document that was done 14 years ago; they resorted to the realities on ground.
Before anything, I am from Oyo and I don't have any
apology whatsoever. Ibi ori dani si laagbe! Nobody has authority over
where he or she is born; if you were in my shoes, maybe you would have
done more than this.
The good people of Oyo town are neither
against the creation of LCDA nor the conduct of election but the
injustice should be corrected first of all before anything. The creation
of LCDAs isn't a gift; if you create 50 LCDAs from an existing LG, it
is the same allocation accruable to such council that will be shared! It
doesn't mean government is giving extra allocation. And apart from
this, only the Federal Government has the power to ADJUST boundary(ies).
Akinola is a political scientist and a public commentator.
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