EQUITY STRENGTHENS UNITY A Call Beyond Politics

By Otunba (Dr.) Abdulfalil Abayomi Odunowo

There comes a time in the life of every people when they must face a simple, weighty question: What kind of future are we truly prepared to leave behind? Not just for ourselves, not for our political parties, and not only for our generation, but for our children and for generations yet unborn.

Today, that question stands plainly before the people of Ijebuland.

Our call for the creation of Ijebu State is often cast in political arguments, newspaper columns, and social media debates. But beneath every speech, memorandum, and peaceful gathering sits something deeper than partisan ambition. It is the quiet hope of an elderly farmer who has spent a lifetime tending the rich soil of Ijebuland and wishes for his grandchildren to find opportunity without having to leave home.

It is the daily prayer of a market woman who rises before dawn, believing that better roads, stronger institutions, and a more vibrant local economy can lift not just her trade, but whole families. It is the determination of young graduates whose talents are pushed to seek expression far from the land that raised them. And it is the dream of every parent who longs for quality education, dependable healthcare, meaningful employment, and dignified public services within the communities that formed them.

That is why this movement must never be built on bitterness. We cannot ask for justice by creating injustice. We cannot seek fairness by planting division. We cannot build a better tomorrow by damaging the relationships of today.

History shows, again and again, that lasting achievements grow from vision, not hatred; from conviction, not conflict; and from courage shaped by wisdom, not violence. Our call therefore remains peaceful, not because peace is weakness, but because peace is disciplined strength. It is the conscious choice of dialogue over confrontation, the steady reliance on the constitutional pathways provided by the Federal Republic of Nigeria, and the respectful presentation of a legitimate aspiration before the nation and its democratic institutions.

Some will disagree with us. Some, perhaps, will misunderstand our intentions. Others may fear that the creation of Ijebu State suggests separation or claims of superiority. But that simply is not so. We do not seek to diminish any community, erase any identity, or deny any people their heritage or opportunities. We seek only what every community in a democratic federation has the right to pursue through lawful means: fairer representation, more balanced development, and governance that is closer and more accountable to the people it serves.

Our vision is inclusive. Every son and daughter of Ijebuland has a place in this journey. Every community matters. Every traditional institution deserves respect. Every religious group is entitled to equal dignity. Every young person deserves a voice, and every elder deserves honour. This movement belongs to everyone who believes that a child’s life chances should not be determined by the accident of birthplace.

Equity is often mistaken for giving one group an advantage over another. It is not. Equity means making sure every community has a real chance to thrive. It means correcting historical imbalances without creating fresh ones. It means recognising that when any part of a nation is left behind, the whole nation bears the cost. When every community grows, the country grows stronger. When every region is empowered, the federation becomes more resilient. And when every citizen feels seen, heard, and valued, unity stops being a slogan and starts becoming a lived reality.

That is why equity strengthens unity.

A family stays united not because every child receives identical treatment at every moment, but because every child knows they are loved, valued, and treated fairly. The same truth applies to a nation. Nigeria is strongest when every community believes it has a genuine place in the national story.

The pursuit of Ijebu State is therefore not a rejection of Nigeria. It is an affirmation of the federal principles on which the country was founded. Colonial administration organised Nigeria into provinces; among those of the old Western Region Abeokuta, Benin, Ijebu, Ondo, Oyo, and Warri, Ijebu Province remains the only one that has never been elevated to statehood. The demand for Ijebu State is not new. It reaches back more than a century, appearing as early as the provincial reorganisation of the 1920s and being presented repeatedly to successive panels, including the Justice Ayo Irikefe Panel on the Creation of States in 1975. It has endured through colonial rule, independence, military administrations, and successive civilian republics because it rests on a plain historical and administrative fact: the people of the old Ijebu Province possess a coherent identity, a viable territory, and a sustained aspiration for self-governing development within the Nigerian federation.

Nigeria itself has repeatedly used state creation as an instrument of equity and stability, from the twelve states of 1967 through the expansions of 1976, 1987, 1991, and 1996 that produced the present thirty-six-state structure. Each of those exercises was meant to bring government closer to the people and reduce the sense of marginalisation that can threaten national cohesion. The constitutional pathway remains open under Section 8 of the 1999 Constitution (as amended). It requires broad local support, a referendum of the affected people, the consent of a majority of the states of the Federation, and the approval of two-thirds of each chamber of the National Assembly. Our movement is fully committed to that rigorous, peaceful, and democratic process.

As we continue on this path, I appeal to every son and daughter of Ijebuland, to every friend of justice, and to every Nigerian who believes in fairness:

Let us reject anger.
Let us reject insults.
Let us reject division.
Let us refuse every attempt to turn neighbours into enemies.

Instead, let us choose dialogue over discord, facts over falsehood, constitutional engagement over confrontation, and hope over despair.

History teaches that the greatest victories are rarely won by those who shout the loudest. They are won by those who remain steadfast, patient, principled, and united in a just cause. The dream of Ijebu State will not be realised through hostility. It will be realised through wisdom, perseverance, constitutional advocacy, mutual respect, and unity of purpose.

When history records this chapter, may it never be said that we divided people in pursuit of our dream. May it instead be written that we showed Nigeria, and indeed the world, that it is possible to seek justice without hatred, to pursue equity without discrimination, and to strengthen the bonds of national unity through fairness.

In the end, our greatest victory will not simply be the creation of a new state. Our greatest victory will be the legacy we leave behind: proof that peace is stronger than conflict, that justice is stronger than prejudice, and that equity, indeed, strengthens unity.

“Our call for Ijebu State is peaceful, constitutional, inclusive, and driven by the conviction that equity strengthens unity.”

Otunba  (Dr.) Abdulfalil Abayomi Odunowo
Convener, Ijebu Lokan fun Itesiwaju Ijebu Movement