Yoruba rights group urges Buhari to apply equity in appointments

Coalition of Oodua Self-Determination Group (COSEG) has warned that all Nigerians will be adversely affected if the tremendous goodwill enjoyed by President-elect Muhammadu Buhari is sacrificed on the altar of ethnic chauvinism.

In a press statement issued and made available to The Guardian on Tuesday, COSEG said it was disturbed by statements credited to Northern leaders such as Kano State Governor, Rabiu Kwankwaso and Justice Mamman Nasir insinuating that the North single-handedly gave victory to the president-elect.

Reminding the leaders that the North had voted massively for Buhari in earlier election but could not make him win, COSEG said it was the alliance between the Hausa-Fulani and the Yoruba that produced the remarkable victory.

“Let us begin by stating some incontrovertible facts. Firstly, Gen. Buhari had tried and failed at three previous attempts to become the President of Nigeria. Secondly, on his fourth try, he has now emerged as President-elect. Thirdly, Buhari is president-elect today by the grace of God and the political sagacity of the Bola Tinubu machinery.

No amount of noise and hyping of the so-called almajiri vote by some people can change this fact. The almajiris did not just start voting for Gen. Buhari. So what made the difference between Buhari’s past serial failures and his success this time around?

The only credible explanation, in our view, is the intervening variable of the involvement of Asiwaju Bola Ahmed Tinubu and the Yoruba nation on the side of Gen. Buhari for the 2015 election,” the group noted.
It expressed surprise that the arrowhead of the alliance, Asiwaju Bola Ahmed Tinubu is being criticized for seeking to ensure that the South- West and its allies are adequately compensated for its efforts in making victory possible.

According to COSEG: “Since the elections, however, and as the euphoria of victory has set in, some curious causes for concern have arisen. Many new faces that were nowhere to be found on the hustings have suddenly emerged to claim space in the emerging Buhari presidency. Their objectives seem clear enough.

Firstly, they wish to reap where they did not sow.
Secondly, and more worrisome, they seek to deny those who labored valiantly in the wilderness of opposition of the fruits of their labour.

The distribution of top executive and legislative offices in the new All Progressives Congress (APC) dispensation has suddenly provided such people a contrived casus belli. This is already causing some ripples within the party rank and file.