A faction of Pan-Yoruba sociopolitical organisation, Afenifere, has expressed concern over what it called, “the de-structuring of the Nigerian federation” by the President Bola Tinubu-led administration.

It also decried the “stifling of democratic freedoms” which it said has become the hallmark of the administration.

The group loyal to Pa Ayo Adebanjo, the late leader of the organization in a statement by its leader, Oba Oladipo Olaitan, the Afenifere Leader and Prince Justice Faloye, National Publicity Secretary, said it “is alarmed at the rate and audacity that the Tinubu administration is destructuring the basic structures upon which the Nigerian federation rests.”

According to the group, “instead of restructuring towards a prosperous egalitarian federation, President Tinubu is destructuring Nigeria with his autocratic attack on the fundamental pillars of democratic federalism.”

It said, “With the blatant usurpation of the federating units, the judiciary and the legislative arm, the abuse of basic rights of freedom of speech and association, spiralling insecurity, and destruction of our economic fabric, and among other things, we can’t but wonder how much more can the federation take before imploding, and the wheels come off our manifest destiny.

“Freedom of speech, a basic tenet of democracy, has repeatedly been under attack. This suppression of democratic freedoms, most instantiated by the banning of ‘Tell Your Papa’ by Eedris Abdulkareem, a fair response to the atrocious claims made by Seyi Tinubu on the state of the nation.

“The autocratic ban signals a leadership tendency that is disconnected from citizens’ realities, essentially inclined to maintaining autocratic control than fostering a milieu of freedom and creativity. The ban destructs the principles of democracy, is evidence of the increasing disregard for dissenting voices in Nigeria, potentially silencing artists and stifling creativity and the progress we need to move forward as a society.”

Afenifere further decried the rising insecurity at a time Nigerians grapple with worsening quality of life, and struggling under the weight of poverty “imposed by dissociative policies”

“Insecurity incidents, as contained in the recent report of HumAngle’s Conflict Tracker, have accounted for the death of 1,420 Nigerians, with over 537 reportedly kidnapped across the country in the first quarter of 2025,” it said .

The group however reiterated its call for state police, saying, “The renewed unrestrained violence of Fulani herdsmen and bandits highlight the need for the government to address the root cause of these conflicts-open grazing- and outrightly ban it, while enforcing and promoting the more sustainable and safe alternative- ranching.”

“Specifically, we call on the government to deploy effective security strategies to protect lives and property, ensuring Nigerians can live without fear of violence or attack. We, again, call for the establishment of state police to complement existing internal security architecture.

“Politics aside, all management principles and best practices inform us that a single police hierarchy is not sufficient to provide the security required by a nation of our size and diversity.

“Yet due to personal political consideration, the Tinubu government has refused to create State Police as killings and kidnapping rise, threatening our national cohesiveness,” it added. (Daily Trust)