PETITION: Yoruba Nation says NO to water resource bill
Urges all to sign the petition
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Yoruba Nation, a group agitating for an independent state of Yoruba land, has kicked against the Water Resources Bill proposed by the President Muhammadu Buhari-led Federal Government to the National Assembly.
Ocean Breeze kick-started the petition online on Change.org, entitled “Yoruba Nation says no to water resource bill” and was endorsed by Professor Stephen Adebanji Akintoye, the Alana of Yoruba Nation.
The group asked Nigerians to reject “the inconsiderate Water Resources Bill” in the petition which, as at publication time, already has 2,015 signatures.
The petition reads in part: “We call on all Yoruba to vehemently speak out against the water resource bill which has been introduced to the Nigerian House of Representatives.
”The third attempt to pass this bill is recognized as a power grab by the federal government to control water resources of state.
”This is in line with the manner in which the federal government seized control of oil and gas resources in Nigeria.
“Apart from ceding ownership of water resources and river banks to the federal government, another offensive provision in the strange bill is that individuals who want to drill boreholes at their backyards for commercial purposes in any state of the federation must travel all the way to a northern part of the country to obtain permits from a federal government agency.
“The Yoruba have an intricate relationship with water. The festival of Osun-Osgobo, which takes place every year in Osogbo, Nigeria, celebrates the goddess of fertility, Osun.
”The festival renews the contract between humans and the divine: Osun offers grace to the community; in return, it vows to honor her Sacred Grove.
”This ceremony is part of a rich indigenous Yoruba religious tradition that has become one of the ten largest religions in the world, with upwards of 100 million practitioners.
”Enactment of this bill means that Yoruba will need to seek permission from the federal government to utilize this river.
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”Other activities involving water, such as fishing, aquaculture, and boating, will now need the permission of the federal government.
“If the Water Resource bill is passed, Lagos, Ogun, Ondo, and Osun River, as well as all lagoons and creeks in Yoruba land will be controlled by the federal government.
“The contradictions between this bill and land use act are glaring. The land act vests all land comprised in the territory of each State (except land vested in the Federal Government or its agencies) solely in the Governor of the State, who would hold such land in trust for the people and would henceforth be responsible for allocation of land in all urban areas to individuals resident in the State and to organisations for residential, agricultural, commercial and other purposes.
”Similar powers with respect to non-urban areas are conferred on Local Governments.”
The petitioners stated that “the water resource bill may be otherwise described as a ploy by the federal government to secure the lands around the rivers in southern Nigeria for the resettlement of foreign herdsmen, after the failed cattle colony and Rural Grazing Area (RUGA) initiatives.”
They urged all interested persons to sign the petition now and ensure that whatever plan behind the bill is thwarted.
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