The Oyo Forum, Abuja, has called on the Federal Government to confer posthumous national honours on six traditional and civic leaders who played key roles in the signing of the 1914 Amalgamation Treaty that unified Northern and Southern Nigeria.
This was disclosed in a letter addressed to the Secretary to the Government of the Federation, Senator George Akume, made available to TVC on Sunday. The Forum described the leaders as “Fathers of the Nation,” noting that their foresight and sacrifice laid the foundation for Nigeria’s unity.
The six leaders identified are Oba Siyanbola Onikepe Ladigbolu, Alaafin of Oyo; Sultan of Sokoto, Muhammadu Maiturare; Obong of Calabar, R. Henshaw; Shehu of Borno, Abubakar Garbai; Emir of Kano, Usuman bin Abdullahi; and Sir Kitoye Ajasa, a barrister, legislator, and the founder of the Nigerian Pioneer.
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The Forum highlighted the symbolic roles each of these figures played in consolidating their regions during the amalgamation period, stressing that their contributions deserve official recognition in modern Nigeria.
The forum also appeals to the Federal Government to implement the documentation of the contributions of the six leaders in Nigeria’s official historical records.
The group tasked the FG to confer posthumous national honours such as the Commander of the Order of the Federal Republic (CFR), name streets in Abuja after them, and also integrate their legacies into the national curriculum and public memorials to educate future generations.
