By Chief Akintayo Akin-Deko
Organizing the opportunity for the 2023 presidential candidates to jaw-jaw with a section of elders, business leaders and grassroots leaders in the SW zone of Nigeria was never going to be an easy task. Eventually it proved to be near impossible, but the SWDSF – South-West Development Stakeholders Forum – under the dexterous leadership of Dr Alao Adedayo, the famed publisher of Alaroye, appears to be pulling it off successfully.
The first challenge was finding a suitable name that defines the region, which is mostly populated by the Yoruba ethnic group but without offending non -Yorubas groups. These include the Apoi and Itsekiri, who occupy the coastal areas of the former Western Region, the Awori in Badagry, the Ebira of in the northern parts and a host of others, who are all fiercely independent-minded. There were also the numerous settlers who, according to the Nigerian Constitution have inalienable civic rights, and of course the army of business investors in this the most industrialized part of Nigeria and West Africa. The SWDSF quickly settled for the term Stakeholders, and the forum was born.
Then came the choice of presidential candidates to be invited. Out of the 18 contenders approved by INEC, empathy for Bola Ahmed Tinubu was sky high given his ethnic affinity with the region where he has his roots (Osun State) and where he was governor for 8 years (Lagos State). But it was not universal and the Yoruba tradition for fairness and accommodation of others quickly prevailed. Meanwhile, as Chairman of the implementation committee, Alaroye made it clear that the focus of SWDF is not to endorse any one candidate but to engage the presidential candidates on their plans to help develop the SW zone being the engine of Nigeria’s economy.
The final list was limited to Asiwaju Bola Tinubu, Waziri Abubakar Atiku, Peter Obi, Kola Abiola, Yele Sowore, Alhaji Rabiu Kwankwaso and Prince Adewole Adebayo due to the paucity of time and funds. Dates were assigned, adjusted to suit the invitees’ itinerary after which arrangements went into full gear. The objective was to bring the attention of these presidential hopefuls to the specific needs of the SW region, where the growth rate has long since plummeted, infrastructure fallen into disrepair, while the people have been impoverished and left insecure in their homes and on their farms often as a result of attacks by alleged itinerant Fulani terrorists and their local copycats.
Fortunately, a plan to restore the 6 states of the SW zone and their neighbours to the path of growth and posterity had already been well articulated in the DAWN – Development Agenda for Western Nigeria – One Bloc document. The plan for sustainable development of the region had also been long since approved by the 6 SW governors and simply needed implementation
Raising funds was a major challenge as the SWDSF insisted on not accepting funds from the candidates or their supporters. Despite the harsh economy, donations trickled in ranging from as little as NGN20,000 to hundreds of thousands from individuals and various groups, who all put their hard-earned money into a project they believe in and whose time had come. And of course, with an objective based on Universal Development of the SW and not on politics membership grew and now include Yorexiteers, Hunters, Market Women, Artisans, Intellectuals, Youths, Women Groups and political activists.
Presently there are over 50 groups in SWDSF and still counting. There are of course emergent groups such as Majeobaje (where I belong) and Yoruba Koya, to a host of other long established such as Yoruba World Center, Atayese, Oranmiyan Hunters, Central Council of Ibadan Indigenes,
Odua Chamber of Commerce, Agbekoya, Egbe Omo Yoruba in North America, OPC, TYLPI, Tijjaniyah, and a host of others. Some groups declined to join the growing coalition in the belief that they saw nothing to gain from the 2023 elections or they had already endorsed a candidate, which was contrary to SWDSF gospel that the group would not endorse any of the candidates. Meanwhile other well-known individuals joined in self recognition and not as representative of their groups
Mobilization has been far reaching, and stakeholders are expected to come from across the entire SW region including Ekiti to Badagry to Yelwa to Oke Ogun. Kola Abiola will, God willing, start things off on Tuesday 17th January 2023 at the Jogor Center in Ibadan to be followed later the same day by Yele Sowore. On Thursday, 19th January 2023 Atiku Abubakar, Wazirin Adamawa, is set to come followed on the same day by Prince Adewole Adebayo. It will then be Alhaji Rabiu Kwankwaso’s turn on Monday 23rd. Meanwhile, although Peter Obi, has confirmed he intends to
come, we are still to agree dates. The next 2 weeks promise to be very interesting
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