Abraham Adesanya and the ethnic

Pa Adesanya was willing to die for Yoruba Nation and Nigeria. He said: "Government wants to kill Pa Ajasin and me, Government has not come out to deny it. They can kill my body but they cannot kill my soul." This was after Government agents had pumped over 80 bullets on his car in an attempt to kill him, and he survived. This was on January 14, 1997 and General Sani Abacha headed the government at the time.

Pa Adesanya had explained why Nigeria needs a sovereign national conference. He said: "If two or three want to live together, is it not necessary for them to sit down and decide how to live together? There is nobody in his right senses who wants Nigeria to break into pieces."

I went to see Pa Adesanya to arrange a meeting between Nd'Igbo and Yoruba to be brokered by us the minorities, so that two of the largest Ethnic Nationalities in Nigeria will iron out their differences if any, and he readily agreed. Following an earlier agreement with Dim Chukwuemeka Odumegwu-Ojukwu, leader of Nd'Igbo, the Ethnic Nationalities Movement (ENM) was inaugurated on May 24, 2004 here in Lagos. Members of the Ethnic Nationalities Movement (ENM) agreed that:


The only way kingdoms/empires and other nations lumped together by the colonialists to become Nigerian State, can progress to nationhood is through dialogue among its multi-cultural components.

There is need to address internal balance of power in Nigeria.

There is the urgent need for plural democracy.

The attempt since amalgamation of 1914 to entrench geography rather than ethnicity has failed
The wish of Lord Harcourt and Sir Fredrick Lugard, Secretary of State and Governor-General respectively that the marriage between Northern Nigeria described as "a promising and well-conducted youth" that was joined in marriage with "a Southern lady of means" has not produced a great federation notwithstanding its 94 years marriage, because emphasis was placed on geography rather than ethnicity. Nigeria has not produced a great federation as envisaged by the colonialists as a result of all of the above. Pa Adesanya as well as the Ethnic Nationalities Movement (ENM), had wished that emphasis should be placed on ethnicity and Ethnic Nationalities rather than geography which after 94 years has left Nigerians worse off today than we were at independence in 1960.

After the inauguration of Ethnic Nationalities Movement in 1994 Pa Adesanya became one of the leaders in the Ethnic Nationalities Movement by virtue of being leader of the Yoruba, until he became ill and was unable to attend meetings.

Chief Reuben Fasoranti thereafter attended all the meetings in Lagos, Enugu and Benin as acting leader of the Afenifere.

We have no doubt that it was the wish of Pa Adesanya that the Ethnic Nationalities Movement (ENM) should continue with the instigated objectives in addition to others not mentioned here so that we can move forward from a Nigerian State to a Nigerian nation. To achieve this, the Nigerian government must stop seeing itself as successors to the colonial government and obnoxious colonial laws must be abrogated so that we can have not a dependant constitution, but a Nigerian Constitution from a sovereign national conference.

May the soul of Pa Adesanya and others who died in the struggle for the Nigerian Nation, including Ken Saro Wiwa, the Ogoni nine, Pa Alfred Rewane, Kudirat Abiola and others too numerous to mention, rest in peace. Amen. Mama Adesanya and family please accept our heart-felt sympathy.