Kemi Badenoch, Britain’s Leader of Conservative Party and the Leader of Opposition, has gone through severe stress and strain since she first described Nigeria as a country plagued by “fear, insecurity, and corruption”, while reflecting on challenges of growing up in Lagos. She was accused of the denigrating the country of her parents.  Not even David Cameron who back in 2016 described Nigeria as “fantastically corrupt country” received the type of criticism that trailed what some considered as an unpatriotic assault on Nigeria.

But if Badenoch, whose brand of ‘saying it like it is’ and promises to tell ‘hard truths about her country’ does not feel intimidated by a section of the British press who described her as “ever-out-raged Kemi” and a “passionate defender of free speech – apart from any criticism of her” (John Crace Feb 19), she is not going to be cowed by some self-proclaiming patriots, Nigerian journalists whose tantrums include describing her as one “who gets banana brain with bad parents without home training”; outbursts  that will have no effect on her future electoral fortune.

But more unrestrained attack has since followed her declaration during an interview with the Spectator two weeks back that she identifies more with the Yoruba group than the people from northern Nigeria. This is the natural order of things. Our first allegiance is to our families through whom we acquire through a process called political socialization, the process by which the norms and values of our tribe that “are associated with performance of political roles and values guiding standards of political behaviours are learnt mainly through parents.

“A man is born into his political party just as he is born into his probable future membership of in the church of his parents”. (Babawale 1999). We will see how this played out with Badenoch shortly.

Tragically, most of our politicians who are below 65 years of age who at best can be described as ‘new breed’ politicians’  who have been misled by their military role models that one can be a Nigerian first without first being a good family man or a good representative of his people. And sadly, it is futile preaching to the converted in view of empirical evidences all around us.

We have Chief Obasanjo who, after deriding his people by boasting he would rather be a Nigerian leader than a Yoruba leader, went on to become a military Head of State and two-term elected president with little or no contribution from his people beyond ensuring he lost at his ward and polling unit.

We have General Theophilus Danjuma, Nigeria foremost philanthropist who spends money like water on account of having secured an oil well because he is first a Nigerian.  We have David Mark, who as a self-proclaiming Nigerian was in the senate for close to 20 years despite being a sworn enemy of those who fought and died for democracy in 1993. 

Of course, there are scores of other Nigerian billionaires who made their fortune from the state because in Nigeria, it is literally possible to climb the palm tree from the top.

But these aberrations should not make us become ashamed of our tribes. Since in the real world, studies have shown that you cannot love Nigeria without first loving your family or by first becoming a good representative of your people, no Nigerian should be ashamed to see herself or himself as a proud Yoruba, Hausa, Fulani, Igbo, Ijaw, Urhobo, Ibibio, Munchi etc. man or woman.

Kemi Badenoch who identifies herself as a proud Yoruba woman, by virtue of her political socialization, is a chip of the old block. She is a thorough daughter of her father Olufemi Adegoke, a medical doctor who, before his death two years back, was unarguably a good Nigerian despite his life-long struggle like most of his Yoruba compatriots, in the forefront of returning Nigeria to the abandoned path to freedom through restructuring.

Badenoch’s ‘Voice of Reason’ (VOR) is a grouping of eminent Nigerians of Yoruba descent, who is accomplished professionals, academicians, entrepreneurs, business men and women and persons with private and public service experience

The over-arching objective of VOR is the enthronement of a regime, or structure and culture of developmentally-oriented values and conduct of leadership, followership and governance of Yoruba land and specifically within a broader framework of Nigeria’s unity and all-round national development.

VOR’s objective  include working for a new, equitable and efficient structure of governance in Nigeria; putting pressure on the central government to take appropriate steps towards meeting  the earnest yearnings of majority of Yoruba people for a restructuring of Nigeria; and impressing it on the central government that restructuring is the best and most peaceful path to national harmony and nation-building; enhancing the quality of stewardship, accountability, human asset development and mass wealth creation dynamic in the southwest geo political zone.

VOR members committed themselves to keeping VOR strictly non-partisan.

VOR argument for restructuring was anchored on the understanding among people of Nigeria and the departing colonial authority at independence and after independence that “the regions represented a group of people who had long standing affinities based on ethnic, linguistic, economic and through relationships.

Kemi Badenoch’s father-led VOR believes for development to take place, we must first have a country and to have a country, the national question must be resolved. From the views of Yoruba leading light and those of the leaders of other Nigerian ethnic nationalities, there appears to be unanimity of purpose on issue of restructuring, in spite of their different political orientations. The followings attestations seem to confirm this:

Lack of restructuring “is the cause of secessionist’s agitation – (Prof Banji Akinoye, Emeritus professor of history and prominent Yoruba leader).

Restructuring will give sovereignty to states on education health, mineral resources (John Nwodo former president of Ohaneze).

Break the myth of leadership in Nigeria. Give us a true fiscal federal constitution by the people and for the people and watch this land thrive in great leadership…This centralized governing system is all about the rule of men. Give us the rule of law, to be enshrined in the people’s constitution where no saint or devil is above the law (Prince Olagoke Omisore, The Conveners of Voice of Reason 2014).

The current federal structure is unbalanced, unfair, over-centralised and therefore unstable. We firmly support the demand to restructure the federation with appropriate devolution of powers to the federating units and a commensurate revenue allocation formula” – (Prof Jerry Gana, national president, Middle Belt Forum).

As presently constituted, it is unwieldy and a contraption for annihilation of the Middle Belt, our cultures and aspirations – (Dr Bitris Pogu)

Restructuring must not be seen as a demand for a previously unknown Nigeria. What we demand is a return to a Nigeria we have had before, a Nigeria that worked for human progress and development – (Obong Victor Atta).

“I am all ears to hear how the people will convince the powers-that-be on restructuring. Change begins with restructuring – (Alfred-Diete-Spiff ((Amayanabo of Twon-Brass and first governor of Rivers 1966-1976).

“If rapid political progress is to be made in Nigeria, it is high time we were realistic about its constitutional problems; Nigeria is not a nation. It is a mere geographical expression. There are no Nigerians in the same sense as there are ‘English, Welsh or French. The word Nigerian is a mere geographical expression to distinguish those who live within the boundaries of Nigeria from those who do not” – Chief Obafemi Awolowo in Path to Nigeria Freedom (London, Faber and Faber 1947) p 478.

“What Nigeria needs is a change that will make politics less attractive, make each state to develop at its own pace and do away with all shades and shapes of criminality – Chief Afe Babalola, SAN, founder of Afe Babablola University.

There is an urgent need to restructure and reconfigure the country in a way that would suit all sections of the country – (Prof Wole Soyinka Nobel Laureate).

We should adopt a restructured true federalism which I believe will provide the best basis for the realization of the Nigerian nation that we all desire, a stable, united and socio-economically fast developing country with a correspondingly accountable and citizen-empathetic leadership – (Chief Emeka Anyaoku, former Commonwealth Secretary General).

The constitution of this country must be restructured towards true federalism. If it is not restructured, there will be no room for development. A country must exist before development. This country cannot exist without restructuring” – (Chief Ayo Adebanjo Afenifere leader).

“I hope to live to see the day in a properly federalized and restructured Nigeria, the return of the groundnut and cotton pyramids to Kano wrapped with colourful hides and skin, huge cocoa plantations to the west, the palm oil and kernel industry to the east and the appearance of yam skyscrapers in Makurdi, Gboko and Jalingo” – General Ipoola Alani Akinrinade, civil war veteran.

For close to 60 years we have groped in the wilderness.

Voice of Reason (VOR), believing all the above Nigerian stakeholders cannot all be wrong, is today making a case for a return to the path to the Nigerian freedom we abandoned in 1966.