The books “Nigeria: Africa’s failed Asset” and “Nigeria: Political Imbalance,” written Sir Olaniwun Ajayi of blessed memory draw attention to the pain of Africa from the period of slavery through the colonial era to the present neo-colonial period. In the works, he came down hard on the structure of government the military foisted on Nigeria. He argued that the lopsided structure gave the north the opportunity to shortchange Yorubaland. He said if the system was not redefined and restructured, Nigeria would break up violently like Yugoslavia, a country that resisted the self determination of its ethnic nationalities.
Pa Ajayi died on 3 November 2017 at the age of 91. He was of the Awolowo school of politics. He was an astute intellectual and lawyer. He was not distracted by power. The health of the Yoruba nation was of utmost concern to him, the reason he wrote the book “This House of Oduduwa Must Not Fall”. In a statement by Afenifere when he died, the group said the last days of his life were spent in worries over the state of affairs in Yorubaland in particular and in Nigeria at large.
Early in 2016, I paid Sir Ajayi a visit in his villa in Isara, Ogun State. It was a visit I looked forward to as I had read his books. I wanted to see him from a close angle and ask questions on the arrested development of Nigeria and Africa.
He had a rich sense of history. Though, I was afraid his age might limit his memory on issues of the past, behold, he took me on a journey of history of the Nigerian project with ease. Here is a part of the chat where he lamented about Africa and its problems using Nigeria as a case study. He avered that the development of Yorubaland was hindered by the politics of the Hausa-Fulani North.
First aired on Splash 105.5FM, Ibadan in 2016.
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Негізгі бет How the North Hinders the Development of Yorubaland | Sir Olaniwun Ajayi | Edmund Obilo
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