Insist On Demand For Creation Of REMO State
This press statement which purpose is to set the record straight, is released by Remo Committee on State creation, at the instance of His Royal Majesty, the Akarigbo and Paramount Ruler of Remo-Land, Oba Dr Babatunde Adewale Ajayi CFR, BL,LLM, FCA, FBIR, all Remo Traditional Rulers, Remo Elected Representatives, High Chiefs, Professionals, and all other Stakeholders of Remo-Land.
BACKGROUND
Remo has in her Memorandum demanded for creation of a State from the existing Ogun State,to be named Remo State with its capital in Sagamu-Remo-Land. This demand is predicated upon emerging realities and the distinct ethnic identity of the Remo people, who are republican in nature and never monarchical.
Furthermore, a State is meant to be created not out of primordial sentiment, but essentially inter alia, by economic viability, infrastructure, possibility for growth, land mass and consensus of the people living in the areas, being proposed to be created into a State.Without gainsaying it, Remo ticks all the boxes of these requirements.
Nevertheless, with a view to avoiding past pitfalls, in arriving at the demands contained in the latest Remo memorandum, a well articulated review was carried out to ascertain the following:
WHAT HAD LED TO OUR PROVINCE LOSING OUT ALL THE TIME STATES WERE BEING CREATED IN NIGERIA.
WHY DID REMO SUBMIT A DIFFERENT MEMORANDUM FROM THAT OF THE IJEBUS IN 2009.
THE IMPORT OF THE DOCUMENTS SIGNED BY THE TWO PARAMOUNT RULERS IN OGUN EAST IN 2020 AND 2024.
WHY HAVE THE TWO DIVISIONS IN OGUN EAST BEING IJEBU AND REMO GONE AHEAD TO SUBMIT SEPARATE MEMORANDA FOR CREATION OF STATE FROM EXISTING OGUN STATE,THIS TIME AROUND AGAIN.
FINDINGS ON (a) WHY LOSING OUT ALWAYS. .
While we had continued to complain that our Province lost out when States were created at different occasions, what we have not made a clean breast of is that our Achilles heel remains, inability to agree on the name of the proposed State and where the capital should be sited,even till date.
On reflection,Remo people were in 1894 with Lagos protectorate and simultaneously,the Ijebus were in Abeokuta Province. All the ethnic groupings retain their identities and distinctiveness till date. This may explain how strongly people wouldn’t wish away their identity at the altar of any merger or amalgamation.
By the same token,in the South-West of Nigeria, only where there is no ethnic diversity would the name of the State and capital be the same like Ekiti State. Clearly this is not the situation with our Province in Ogun East. When Abeokuta Province was being made a State, cognizant of ethnic diversity, the State was neither made Abeokuta nor Egba State. It was made Ogun State and the purpose was not to allow any clan in a State to lord it over other clans.
Ipso facto: Concession had always been given to the other federating units of the area a State is being created.
The following instances are self explanatory
NAME OF STATE-CAPITAL
(1) OYO- IBADAN (2) EKITI -ADO EKITI (3) OGUN-ABEOKUTA, (4) ONDO-AKURE (5) OSUN-OSHOGBO, (6) LAGOS-IKEJA
FINDINGS ON (b) WHY REMO SUBMITTED A DIFFERENT MEMORANDUM IN 2009.
It will be recalled that in 2009 during another push for creation of State,spirited efforts were made to forward a common memorandum with the Ijebu counterpart in our Province, but the Ijebus reneged on what was agreed by the joint committee of both Remo and Ijebu Divisions,in consequence of which, the Ijebus went ahead and submitted a memorandum for creation of State, and proposed the name as Ijebu State and the capital Ijebu-Ode. Simultaneously, Remo equally submitted a different memorandum in which, a request was made for creation of State with the capital in Ikenne and name as Remo-Ijebu State. Because of this dissention,our Province lost out once again.
POSITION OF REMO ON THE DOCUMENTS ENDORSDED BY THE AWUJALE AND AKARIGBO.
Given the hype being given to documents signed by the Awujale and Paramount Ruler of Ijebu-Land and Akarigbo and Paramount Ruler of Remo-Land, we feel obliged to clarify matters on the documents to wit:
Whereas, creation of State is far beyond mere endorsement of two Paramount Rulers,the documents were endorsed offhandedly, in deference to the Awujale, when there was no traction per se. on State creation, Remo as a people were duly notified about the innocuous nature of the documents, as it would in the event of submitting a memorandum for creation of State in future, invariably be subjected to the sentimental and longheld standpoint evaluation of Remo people on the State creation, both of which, predated almost a century past.
This is having regard to the republican nature of the people of Remo-Land, and never been subjected to autocratic rule. This is the position of Remo people on the documents.No more,no less.
WHAT LED TO THE IJEBUS AND REMO SUBMITTING TWO SEPARATE MEMORANDA THIS TIME AROUND?
The answer is very straightforward. It is the same disagreement that had dogged the path of our Province demand for creation of State that has reared its ugly head yet again.
The 2 Divisions have exhibited their distinct features and they have both submitted 2 different memoranda to the National Assembly.
The plausible reason for this on the part of Remo is that Remo’s identity was handed down by Remo’s heroes past, even before Martindale enquiry authenticated Remo districtiveness in 1937. This Remo identity cannot be toyed with, given what Remo experienced in the past, when they were erroneously categorized as part of the Ijebus. Because of this, Remo shall not be part of the subjugation of its identity and under any guise or excuse would Remo people allow the name Remo to be subsumed in the name of the proposed State.
It is instructive as well as noteworthy that Remo’s root is not a matter of imagination or speculation. Remo people are of Ile-Ife origin, in Iremo Quarters and we still maintain till date, fraternal relationship with our root.
Further to this matter of Remo identity, the unprecedented and exponential growth witnessed in Remo in the last forty years and still being witnessed daily,because of the bursting on all sides at the seams by its Lagos State neighbour,makes Sagamu in Remo to stand,tall head and shoulders among other contemporary towns, in Ogun East, for siting as Capital of the proposed State, in a free an unbiased evaluation of the requests for creation of State.
Without sounding immodest, no town in Ogun East rivals Sagamu and Remo in terms of infrastructure and readiness to serve as a state capital. Remo’s economic development, driven by industrial growth and robust transport links to major cities in South-West Nigeria, sets it apart.
The existing airport in Remo Central, established for both cargo, local and international flights, will ease travel burdens of people from surrounding States, who currently rely on Lagos airports. Furthermore, Remo Division’s high revenue generation capacity, already a leading contributor to Ogun State’s internally generated revenue, ensures that a future Remo State would be financially sustainable, reducing dependence on federal allocations.
Notwithstanding the foregoing, Remo people harbour no ill feelings against the Ijebus and will continue to esteem HRM Oba Dr Sikiru Kayode Adetona GCON, the Awujale and Paramount Ruler of Ijebu-Land. Equally, the relationship we have with our brothers and sisters of Ijebu-Land shall remain unaffected, state creation or not.
By the same token, we wish the Ijebus Godspeed in their quest for State creation without Remo-Land, much as we insist, Remo SHALL not be part of any arrangement, where the name Remo would be subsumed for any reason whatsoever.
Thanks and God bless
Aare Dr Kola Oyefeso
Aare Gbo-Gbo-Gbo (GGG) of Remo-Land & Chairman Remo Committee on State Creation.
