My fellow Yorubas,
Please vote for President Jonathan for a second term as he supports
the agenda of self-reliance that we Yoruba people of the Southwest
want.
Please ignore the misleading propaganda of the opposition party, and
vote for the re-election of President Jonathan.
1. Support a fellow southerner in office.
Northerners have been in power for 38 years out of 55 years since
independence. It is time for the people of the South to close ranks.
The antics and tactics of divide-and-rule of the South have been used
too often by the North to dominate Nigeria. Also, the economy
plummeted when General Buhari was head of state.
Every time a southerner was in power in the 55 years after
independence, including this time, some elements in the far North do
all they can to frustrate him and cause problems:
President-elect Moshood Abiola- denied his mandate.
President Shonekan- forcefully removed from office.
President Obasonjo- implementation of Sharia in the far North.
Vice-President Goodluck Jonathan- prevented from taking over the
reigns of government after President Umaru Yar Adua died until the
intervention of foreign and civil society leaders.
President Goodluck Jonathan- Boko Haram in states run by governors in
the opposition party.
This is a pattern that should persuade you to give President Jonathan
the benefit of the doubt and vote for him.
2. Allegations of non-performance.
The state governors and local government councillors all receive
monthly oil distributions, and are more responsible for the state of
the local economy in each of their states.
President Jonathan cannot be blamed for the governors’s failure to tap
into the God-given talents and resources in the Southwest, especially
as, to the glory of God, the Southwest being the second largest
economy in Africa, ahead of South Africa. For example, the Yoruba
people worldwide had an estimated gross income in 2014 of over $500
billion, but the governors could only raise for their IGR less than
N600 billion naira, or less than $3 billion US dollars or one-half of
1% of the income. Can President Jonathan be blamed for the governors
not raising their IGR from one-half of 1% to 5% or 10% of the income
of the Yoruba people? Certainly not! If the governors of the Southwest
had raised a larger IGR, and spent this money wisely, many people will
not be facing so much hardship today.
3. Corruption.
The kettle cannot call a pot black. Corruption is a universal
phenomenon, but can be managed. It is present in advanced nations of
the world. The root of corruption in Nigeria, however, is the
elephant-sized in-your-face corruption that nobody is talking about:
the corruption inherent in the monthly oil distributions to state
governments, an exploitation of the God-given oil resources of the
Southsouth.
Corruption will become controllable when each region manages its own
resources under the implementation of true federalism and resource
control.
4. Godfathers.
With resource control and income taxation to raise revenues for
infrastructures, security, and services, the interference of
godfathers in the affairs of the Southwest will end, and the governors
can focus on serving the people.
In conclusion, In the light of the above arguments:
1. President Jonathan is not responsible for the socio-economic
hardships in the Southwest, the second largest economy in Africa. The
state governors in the Southwest should become more resourceful and
tap into the God-given talents, abilities, and incomes of Yoruba
people
via income taxation to bring prosperity to the region.
2. The state governors should stop levying taxes on the poor in the
Southwest. That will bring a huge relief to the majority of the
people.
3. The state governors should end their involvement in the
exploitation of the people of the Southsouth by no longer collecting
the monthly oil distributions from October this year, as it is unfair,
unjust, and is the root of corruption in Nigeria.
4. Instead of extracting taxes from the poor and exploiting the people
of the Southsouth, the state governors should institute a robust
progressive income taxation policy using a range of 0% to 20% for
Yorubas in Nigeria, and 2% for Diaspora Yorubas.
With this approach, up to N10 trillion naira in revenues are
realizable. This is ten times more than the current revenues, and can
be used to for the provisioning of services, infrastructures, and the
operation of 9 state governments in the region: Ijebu, Ibadan/New Oyo,
Oduduwa, Lagos, Oyo, Oshun, Ogun, Ondo, and Ekiti states.
Since President Jonathan has started to implement the recommendations
of the National Conference, please vote for him for a second term as
he supports the agenda of self-reliance of the people of the
Southwest, the second largest economy in Africa.
I thank you very much for your strategic vote for the re-election of
President Jonathan.
Best wishes.
Abitunde Taiwo