The Nation Newspaper

Tag: disintegration

  • ACF leaders warn against anarchy, disintegration

    ACF leaders warn against anarchy, disintegration

    North’s leaders mainly under the auspices of the Arewa Consultative Forum (ACF) yesterday warned that the country risked anarchy and disintegration under the drift is arrested.

    They spoke during a conference: “The North and The Challenge of Leadership” organised by Sir Ahmadu Bello Memorial Foundation and Arewa Research and Development Project (ARDP).

    The conference was organised to commemorate the 52nd anniversary of the assassination of the northern political leaders – sir Ahmadu Bello and Abubakar Tafawa Balewa – during the January 15 1966 coup de ’tat.

    The ACF chairman Alhaji Ibrahim Ahmadu Coomassie lamented that corrupt practices had become endemic and nepotism had become a common-place in most appointments, provision of quality education, potable water, efficient health services and power supply had been relegated to the background.

    Coomassie said the era of Ahmadu Bello and Tafawa Balewa was a golden period for Nigeria and the Northern region as they laid foundation and chartered the course of the most unprecedented, purposeful and progressive development ever witnessed in the north, despite that they were not degree holders, but only teaching qualifications obtained from the then Katsina College.

    He said: “Northern progress and Northern unity were uttermost in their thought processes while administering this large expanse of territory which was more than half of Nigeria. They ensured even development, justice and fair play for all the citizens. It was a period devoid of religious and ethnic bigotry where people from the numerous ethnic nationalities or creeds, held each other in mutual respect.

    “Corrupt practices by both politicians were very minimal. Things like inflation of contracts or favouritism in the award of contracts were virtually non-existent. In short, the Northern Nigeria before January 15th 1966 was a territory that was characterised by visionary leadership and tireless dedication to duty to the community. Leaders were known for their integrity, their sincerity and their humility”, he said.

    “State governors today are busy building billion naira airports, government houses and other white elephant projects while their people live in wanton poverty and squalor. Youths go through education sector and graduate with no jobs available or means to start something on their own. This deplorable situation has made them vulnerable as tools of the political class to use to foment political violence or foot soldiers of ethnic or religious bigots and extremists to destroy the peace and serenity the north has been known for.

    “Clearly, we have a problem of good governance. But, is the problem the result of faulty choices of candidates to hold political office or is it as a result of other sinister motives. It is my hope that this conference will provide answers. If it is the result of poor selection processes, how can we rectify them? If the actions are as a result of other sinister motives, then, we must identify them and proffer solutions.

    “Unless we approach this problem with the seriousness it deserves, we may be heading towards anarchy and eventual disintegration.” Coomassie stated.

    On the herdsmen attacks, Coomassie said governors, as well as land grabbers were responsible for spate of killings caused by herdsmen and farmers’ clashes.

    He said if the crisis was not properly managed, it is capable of plunging Nigeria into a conflicts that has never been seen.

    Spokesman of the Northern Elders Forum (NEF) Prof. Ango Abdullahi faulted the political leadership and the political system in the country.

    Abdullahi said it was wrong for Nigeria to have jettisoned the parliamentary system of government to adopt the presidential system.

    “This Presidential system is too expensive for our democracy. Recently, someone did an analysis that, only the legitimate earning on the National Assembly members per annum can employ and pay 80 per cent of our unemployed youths, if the youths are to be paid N90,000 monthly.

    “But the problem is that, the beneficiaries of the system will always rise and defend whatever argument you bring up against presidential system of government. But, if care is not taken, thousands of unemployed youths turned out from our universities will one day revolt against the system”, he said.

    Former Kano State Governor Ibrahim Shekarau said voter education is the way out.

    He said the governors and the President cannot be held accountable until Nigerians ensure the quality of legislators they elect into offices. He said the status quo of lack of good governance cannot change with a kind of attitude where people don’t care about who their legislators are.

  • ‘Restructuring ‘II prevent disintegration’

    ‘Restructuring ‘II prevent disintegration’

    National Democratic Coalition (NADECO) and Afenifere chieftain Dr. Amos Akingba spoke with EMMANUEL OLADESU and MUSA ODOSHIMOKHE in Lagos on why prominent Yoruba leaders are organising a summit in Ibadan, the Oyo State capital, today, to drum support for resturcturing.

    What is the motive behind the Yoruba Summit at Ibadan?

    The Yoruba Summit is designed to bring together various self-determination groups, to address the degrading situation the Yoruba people found themselves under in the Nigerian unitary constitution. The constitution of the country is not feasible for a multi-ethnic society that we are in Nigeria. We have been advocating in our different groups the need to restructure Nigeria on the basis of truth, justice and progress. The more we agitate for these objectives, the more we express the need to have the issue quickly addressed. And so, we decided that the various groups in Yoruba should meet at summit. The delegates will come from all over the Yoruba lands and others who believe in our cause. The objective is to meet and to audit the situation of the Yoruba in Nigeria and to look at the way forward within the Nigerian state. It would also take appropriate action to redress all the imbalances that have not made the country to forge ahead. That is the objective, motive, philosophy, ideology etc behind the Yoruba submits. We want to allow our people to assess where we are and to see whether it is conducive to progress. We want to say this to them and listen to them and look at how to adjust our situation within Nigeria.

    Can you shed light on the elements of restructuring that you are clamouring for?

    We will be looking at how the restructuring requirement and constitutional arrangement which is much more comprehensive during the constitutional conference that was put together by former President Goodluck Jonathan. In the conference, it was decided then how best Nigerians can live together. But, the succeeding administration of President Muhammadu Buhari adamantly refused to put in place and implement the report of that conference. The conference can be regarded as the constituents of all the stakeholders in Nigeria. Now the best thing to do is for this administration that succeeded the previous Jonathan administration to prepare a referendum through which Nigerians assess the recommendation of the conference. The main element in that reports has been categorised into different definitional options, some call it devolution, and some call it true federalism and all sorts of names. And regardless of the definitional thing, Nigeria can always prosper in a federal structure. This has been the practice, until 1966, when the military struck and stole our government with the barrel of the guns. Nigeria went into the civil war and the military designed various constitutions and that of the 1999, which they lied to us by saying, we Nigerians gave ourselves this constitution, that is falsehood. We never went to referendum, never elected or selected the constituent members to decide. So, who decided on the so– called 1999 Constitution? In fact, since 1962, Nigeria ceased to have the peoples’ constitution. All we are now saying is that, since we have leaders elected by the people, the civilians can get rid of the military constitution and return it to the 1963 Constitution. Any amendment necessary from that can be taken up. The Yoruba people are saying let us use the 1963 and any other document that can assist us including the reports from previous conference reports, work on them to give the country the best. We should work on them and come out with what we think is the best for Nigeria, but the serving political power said no. They said they won’t do it even though they promised in their manifesto that they would do it. As we are here, Nigeria is not working that is the bottom line. Nothing works better in Nigeria now. Education is gone, health is gone, electricity is gone, waters and other infrastructures are gone. The human behavior is degrading, corruption is rampant, the judiciary has been corrupted. Legislators have become legis-looters, irresponsibility rules our lives, and these are the things we say must be redressed. We are not saying that Nigeria should split. We are saying that it should be reworked so that it can benefit everybody regardless of religion, ethnic and geographic centre. But, the oppressors want to keep oppressing, but in this role they have herculean task, because the oppressed have become uncontrollable under their poverty inflicted society. And all sorts of proposals are now being put on the table that appear to question the ethno-centric relationship of Nigeria. It unfortunate, as they say, if you make peaceful change impossible, you make a violent one inevitable. Those of us who are agitating for restructuring are doing that to make the system work better for everybody. We don’t want anybody to go away, but if you refuse, it will only delay for a while because there is no amount of force under the planet earth that can stop the people, who have decided to move. You can slow down their movement but, you cannot stop them.

    Some have said the restructuring will work against Nigerian unity…

    If you say Nigeria is not negotiable and the term and condition of our unity cannot be worked in line to our requirement, the question you ask should be is Nigeria working? Nigeria is not working in all the areas of our lives; we have been corrupted by the oppressors in our midst. Everybody is cutting corners., This is not the Nigeria ways we used to know. When we were younger, and everybody, including market women, politicians and bureaucrats are cheating Nigeria, some of them are being abetted by international organizations and countries. Nigeria is decaying, both in domestic and external relations. Those who say our unity is not negotiable are living in fool’s paradise. Nobody is asking for the unity to be negotiated, but we are asking that we should negotiate the terms to make the unity stronger and more prosperous for all citizens of this country.

    Government is saying that Nigerians should channel their grievances through the Council of State and the National Assembly…

    Both organs are not part and parcel of what we should use. They are product of military constitution, which is unitary constitution. The Nigerians people are the one who should do the articles of memorandum and association. They will hand it over to the government to implement just like what management does. The management does not own the company; they are paid to run the company. The government does not own Nigeria; Nigerians own the government and where they believe that they are not getting good results, they go back to the drawing board to rework it. So, it is healthy to say those who want restructuring wants to divide Nigeria. It is like those of us who want restructuring do not want to keep Nigeria alive, that is not true. What we are saying is that the foundation of the super structure must be solid. We never had one after the First Republic, we only had military dictatorship and the military itself is ethnically filled. It is not democratic, it not truthful to Nigerians. The structure is defected; trillions of naira spent on food importation yearly can be produced in Nigeria. We cannot guarantee electricity; we have four refineries none of them is working. We export crude oil and import refines crude oil. Nobody is benefitting from Nigeria. Both the oppressors and the oppressed are in trouble.

    Some have argued that the 2014 national conference reports can douse tension. What is your position?

    The 2014 conference report cannot solve all Nigeria’s problem but it can make lots of impact. The report will point a way out and methods on how to solve the problems. I was a member of that conference and we produce a document that will stand the test of time. You cannot trample on it. It is already in public domain. The document looked at all the issues that can make the country work. The Nigeria constitution says the country is a secular state, which means it must not promote religious matter, yet government send people to Hajj and Israel pilgrimages with tax payers’ money, contrary to the constitution. We keep lying to ourselves and if we keep lying, there is no way we can make progress. We keep saying that we are one people, one nation. We are multi ethnic group and never one nation, just like the world is full of people.

    What is your reaction to the lopsided appointment in the federal apparatus?

    It is most unfair; you cannot discriminate against somebody just on the basis of his ethnicity or religion which is not his fault. And you think he is going to be submissive or loyal. We have federal character enshrined in the constitution and a commission to supervise it. Recruitment into public office, is supposed to be federally characterized. And there should be no ethnic group that must have undue advantage over others. But, when we continue to see the dominance of one group and another, the people will agitate, this brews discount and disloyalty.

    How united is the Yoruba race?

    Yoruba is not isolated from the Nigerian malaise, but by and large, the Yoruba are still very conscious of its good nature, Omoluabi, which is Afenifere. Omoluabi wants things to be good for you and good for him. They believe that everybody should be well accommodated within the society. That has been the foundation of the Yoruba civilisation. The Yoruba accommodate people and there is no community in Yoruba settlement that you cannot find other ethnic groups living harmoniously among Yoruba. That cannot be said of other ethnic groups. When different people come to us, we see them as one.  Most Yoruba are now feeling uncomfortable because of the way they are being treated when they find themselves living among other ethnic groups outside their domains. They are not happy about the act of ingratitude towards them. Looking back to when this country was created, they have been marginalized and when you marginalize any component of the country, you are causing trouble for the system. It is time this attitude change, everybody must be encouraged. Individual will come and go but the community will remain, if we do not build the community, we shortchange ourselves, them thing will not get better. If you are in the water and it is drying up, you will dry up with the water, there is no alternative to that. And when the water dries up, you are gone. So, you must make sure that the water is replenished. All that the Yoruba are saying and those who believe us is, let us make room for our individualism to blossom within our collective existence. There is no individual that is an Island, it is combination of the individuals that make a country, we can do better than what we are doing.

    If Nigeria is restructured, will it aid the cause of the Southwest integration?  

    It will. When we went the 2014 National Conference, the Yoruba went there to say the 36 federating units have doubled and too expensive. They say bureaucracy is taking away our wealth and that the best for Nigeria will be when the six geo-political zones proposed by Dr. Alex Ekweme is adopted. The zones should have three in the north and three in the south. During the conference, it was made known to us that six regions would not be good for some states. For instance, Ebonyi people say they don’t want to be part of Enugu, there are some in the Northwest who say they want to leave the region and Lagos said they don’t want to go to Ibadan. That was when the proposal to balance the composition in terms of the state came up. The Northwest said they want two more to the seven they had. It was then that we decided that let every region has nine states and that was how we became 54 states. The Yoruba pointed out to them, if there are complaint those 36 states is too expensive, what is the rationale for 54 states? They now suggested to us that the Southwest should create nine states in their region and when it works other regions can copy from the Southwest. So, the recommendation was that there will be 54 states and each of the regions will have nine states each. They agreed also that we should write our own constitution, whether state constitution or regional constitution in line with the dictate of the conference proposals. The world is looking forward to the southwest regional integration. And so, regional integration is the best way to go.

  • How to avert disintegration, by Oshun

    How to avert disintegration, by Oshun

    The Chairman of Afenifere Renewal Group (ARG), Hon. Olawale Oshun, spoke on the criterial for national unity and peaceful co-existence at a ceremony marking the 60th anniversary of self-government in Western Nigeria organised in Ibadan, Oyo State capital, by Atayese, a socio-cultural group. 

    As demanded by the significance of this event, I should have been here with you but for prior personal commitments. However I have no hesitation whatsoever in recommending that the views and content that will be thrown up today by the erudite Lecturer, Prof. Adebayo Williams be food for thought for all Yoruba leaders – political, traditional, sociocultural, religious and professional levels.

    What we are commemorating today stands still as perhaps the most productive, progressive, welfarist and proficient administration the world has ever known in terms of human development indices.

    Comparing France and Nigeria today, who would have believed that we Yoruba people were availed of television broadcasts before the French?

    But here we are today commemorating what was and lamenting what could have been.

    I contend sincerely, and I believe everyone of you here do, that Yorubaland would have been boasting of similar rankings as today’s developed nations, had the Government of Western Nigeria survived for another twenty years under the Independence or  Republican Constitutions of 1960 or of 1963.

    But today, Nigeria rubs shoulders with failed states on all globally acceptable rankings on human development, and Yorubaland and people are dragged into that cesspool.

    Who would have believed that the subversion of Yoruba developmental trajectory and of Yoruba leadership was triggered just two years into Nigeria’s Independence, with an insidious and conspiratorial plan by the other two majority nationalities to subjugate Chief Obafemi Awolowo and dominate Yoruba people, hence the connived trial of Chief Obafemi Awolowo and other leaders on November 2, 1962 and the violation of democratic and parliamentary tenets engineered in the legislative house in Ibadan at that time.

    The short time between Independence and the subversion should be instructive to us as a people. Perhaps, it was the reason history was initially taken off our schools curriculum! The subversion did not happen because of any breach of democratic principles and or Law by Chief Awolowo and or his Party, the Action Group but because, I dare repeat, the Federalist Constitution which created cooperating and equal partners was unacceptable to the then Coalition government led by Sir Abubakar Tafawa Balewa, Gen. Aguiyi Ironsi completed the task when he enacted Decree 34 in 1966 to turn Nigeria into a unitary state. However at that time the falcon could no longer hear the falconer, the North irritated by the affront of the coup, the killing of prominent political and military officers of northern extraction and the fear she now could be victim of domination violently reacted. But the same North using the military and collaborators have effected with perfection and subterfuge what General Ironsi sought to do with his Unification Decree.

    Politics of subversion and domination has played out in different forms in the last 57 years, consolidating the 1999 Unitary Constitution and whilst we may even have some of our own people benefitting from the anomaly to contend with, it is the duty of all Yoruba people to push and ensure that the true Federalist Constitution is reinstated in our country. And here we should not leave this gathering without endorsing Chief Bisi Akande’s recommendation that Nigeria returns immediately to the 1963 Constitution, pending an acceptable constitutional making process. The latest attempt by the NASS at constitution making remains a farce and should be treated as such.

    For the Yoruba people, our position is simple, clear, and unwavering: we wish to live in a country where every component ethnic nationality is respected and given its autonomous space to pilot its development affairs, while we all cooperate and collaborate to build a strong, united Nigeria.

    I conclude with these three statements:

    1. As long as the ethnic nationalities would not respect each others’ rights and would not see themselves as cooperating partners in the development of Nigeria, there will never be unity.
    2. In the absence of unity, development will remain a permanent mirage
    3. In the absence of growth, development and unity, why continue to pretend with nation building, deeply embedded in waste and the destruction of the fortune of younger and yet unborn generations?

    If the three statements above continue to hold true for any country, the only viable option is the dissolution of that country.

    I hope these statements will be taken as food for thought by all well-meaning Yoruba leaders.

     

    • Oshun is Third Republic House of Representatives Chief Whip

  • ‘Adebayo prevented Nigeria’s disintegration’

    Elder statesman and Chairman of the Committee for the Creation of Ekiti State, Chief Deji Fasuan, has described the late ex-Military Governor of the defunct Western State, Gen. Adeyinka Adebayo, as a man of peace who worked to avert the country’s break-up.

    Fasuan, a retired permanent secretary, said Gen. Adebayo assumed office at a difficult period, restored peace and brought development to the hinterland.

    He delivered a tribute he read on behalf of the committee at the weekend, at the funeral of Adebayo in Iyin-Ekiti, Irepodun/Ifelodun Local Government of Ekiti State.

    The elder statesman hailed the contributions of the deceased to the creation of Ekiti State.

    He said 20 prominent individuals, including nine monarchs and 11 committee members, who participated in the struggle for the creation of the state had died, with Adebayo being the latest Fasuan said: “Gen. Adebayo gave all the backing, all the financial and moral assistance we needed to prosecute our project.

    “We had five other state agitators to contend with, namely Ijebu State, Oduduwa State, Oke Ogun State, Ibadan State and Coastal State. By the grace of God, we won the only slot for the western zone and the result is what we have today.

    “Since the state was created in 1996, our Oga (Adebayo) played a role wider than that of Ekiti political scene. He led Yoruba groups and canvassed the unity of the Yoruba nation. We are proud of him.”

  • Wabba to Nigerians: don’t succumb to forces of disintegration

    Wabba to Nigerians: don’t succumb to forces of disintegration

    Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC) President Ayuba Wabba has urged Nigerians not to succumb to efforts to break up the country.

    Wabba, who made the appeal while fielding questions at the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) Forum in Abuja yesterday, said Nigeria’s size, population and natural endowment were assets many  nations were envious of.

    He said the security challenges and agitation, which, according to him, were fuelled and funded by forces determined to undermine Nigeria, were surmountable.

    “Our position is that we will not canvass the issue of “cannibalising” Nigeria into segments for any reason or any consideration.

    “It is in unity that our strength lies as a country. We are today the giant of Africa; most countries are not happy with that.

    “They will do anything to undermine our national interest and work towards the disintegration of Nigeria.

    “That is a fact, and we see that as we travel around the world; even within the committee of unions; people are envious of Nigeria.”

    He recalled the prediction made in some quarters that Nigeria would break up in 2015, adding that those forces were still working on their agenda.

    “We must not forget how people said Nigeria was going to break by 2015 and you must not forget that they are still working on that.

    “They are still funding all manner of things and trying to see that Nigeria does not actually have peace; it is deliberate.

    “There is no resource today in the world that we do not have; they see us as a country that is blessed without measure,” he said.

    The NLC president noted that some African countries were concerned that if anything happened to Nigeria, their fate were uncertain.

    According to him, most of these conflicts are instigated, citing the situation in Syria and other parts of the Middle East as an example.

    “Therefore, it is in our collective interest as Nigerians, because we do not have any other country, to continue to show the light and perspective for others to see,” Wabba added.

    He called for a review of the employment policy to make it all-inclusive, in view of the unemployment rate in the country.

    Wabba stressed the need to review the educational curriculum and inject in it a technical component.

    “If you look at the challenge in our system, especially unemployment, it has assumed a frightening dimension where youths, able and well educated, have not been able to find something doing.

    “ I think there has been a convergence of ideas that there is a need to review our employment policy that will be inclusive; that will also be able to create jobs and those jobs can be sustainable.

    “So, I quite I agree that we have a lot to do in respect of reviewing our policy on employment to try to make it all-inclusive.”

    “It doesn’t have to be white collar jobs; I think we can also look inwards to try other avenues.

    “I am happy that the new policy on agriculture which the Federal Government is driving encourage our youths to go into agriculture; may be something that can be considered.”

  • ‘How to prevent disintegration’

    The son of former Premier of the defunct Western Region, Alhaji Dauda Adegbenro, Adejare, has called on former President Olusegun Obasanjo and President Goodluck Jonathan to work together to fulfilment of the America’s prediction of disintegration.

    He expressed worry over the frosty relationship between the two leaders, stressing that “the duo have what it takes to stabilise the troubled ship of Nigeria.”

    Adegbenro said both Obasanjo and Jonathan would serve the national interest better by closing ranks “as father and son,” and working together to resolve the challenges confronting the country.

    He said: “Posterity would not forget them, if they prevent the America’s prediction on disintegration from coming to pass. Obasanjo is like a grandfather to me. He loves Nigeria.  Obasanjo and President Jonathan love this country dearly and they will not want any evil to befall her

    “I expect a situation whereby Mr. President would go to Otta residence of Papa for a discussion on project Nigeria without making fanfare of it. After all, there is nothing  strange in father/son behind-the-door discussion. It is even in tandem with African culture to iron out differences for the benefit of the generality of the people,” Adegbenro explained.

    Explaining why he is interested in the unity of the country, he said: “My maternal grandfather, the late Alfred Riwane hailed from Delta State. My paternal grandfather, who was the Premier of the old Western Region, Pa Dauda Adegbenro of the blessed memory, was from Abeokuta, Ogun State. I have a son from Zaria Kaduna State. As a complete Nigeria, where would I eventually belong when Nigeria disintegrate? And I am very sure I am not the only Nigerian with this kind of family setting.”

  • ‘Yoruba, Igbo can avert Nigeria’s disintegration’

    A leader of Igbo in Lagos State, Dr Femi Ferguson, has said that Nigeria will not disintegrate, if Yoruba and Igbo unite.

    He urged the leaders of the two ethnic groups to come up with suggestions on how to resoplve the security challenge confronting the country.

    Ferguson attributed the problems of Nigeria to conflicting interests, urging the diverse tribes to settle their differences at the national conference. He told reporters in Lagos that, for Nigeria to survive, Igbo and Yoruba leaders should cooperate with their Northern compatriots to salvage the country.

    Ferguson said that Yoruba have been good to Igbos living in the Southwest, particularly Lagos, adding that their businesses are doing well due to conducive environment which the Yoruba, their hosts, provide for them.

    The Igbo leader noted that Yoruba gave lands to the Igbos to settle and do businesses, recalling that, during the civil war, their abandoned property were protected in the Southwest.

    He said, based on the age-long relationship, Igbos and Yorubas owe Nigeria a duty to save it from chaos, disintegration and imminent war.

    Ferguson maintained that Igbo and Yoruba have what it takes to save the country from disintegrating. He stressed: “The American Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) has predicted that Nigeria would disintegrate in 2015. I am appealing to these two strong brothers to forget political rivalry and face the business of building this country to an enviable status. The national conference is a very good idea, but nothing meaningful would be achieved, if the Igbos and Yorubas fail to cooperate.

    “Personally, I don’t know why this has become difficult because the Yoruba protected the Igbos in the defunct Western Region during the civil war. There is no record of massacre of Igbos during the civil war in Yorubaland and afterwards. After the war, the Yoruba still welcomed Igbos with open arms, gave them land to settle and start their businesses.”

  • How to prevent disintegration, by Kalu

    How to prevent disintegration, by Kalu

    Former Abia State Governor Orji Kalu  spoke with reporters in Lagos on the Jonathan Administration, national security and the crisis rocking the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP). Group Political Editor Emmanuel Oladesu was there.

     

    You said security agencies are responsible for throwing bombs in the northern part of the country. What informed your opinon?

    What I said is not new. Even, President Goodluck Jonathan once indicted the security agencies by saying there was Boko Haram in his cabinet. So, if there is Boko Haram in his cabinet, they should work on it. It is beyond carrying guns and standing on the road. I want the President to take the issue of insecurity seriously because it pains me as an Igbo man. It pains me as a southerner; it pains me as a Christian. It pains me because whenever there is a problem in Pakistan, they will go and kill Igbo in the North. They kill the southerners and kill the Christians for doing nothing. Whenever there is a problem in my village, Igbere, about Islam, they go and burn Igbo shops. This is unacceptable. I mean, we have lost more people than we did during the civil war. We cannot live in the same country and not go anywhere we want to go. The constitution gives us the right to live anywhere and go anywhere. I am calling on service, military and security chiefs to work on this matter. People should stop trivialising this matter because it is a serious one. President Jonathan came out openly and said there is Boko Haram in his cabinet. So, the security agencies should work on that and stop paying lip services to it.

    There was a prediction in the past of a possible break-up of Nigeria in 2015. Is this not worrisome to you?

    We have a lot of problems, but I have always said that, if we are all part of the problems, we should all be part of the solution. We should not allow a country like Nigeria to break up. We cannot allow that because it is not the right thing to do. We must understand that this country is our country and we must try and keep it together, no matter the price we have to pay. We have fought a civil war and no country that is intelligent enough fights a second civil war. We should talk about how to stabilise our economy. If our economy is stabilised, we can then talk of stabilising the polity. We are going front and backward because we have no strong economy.

    2015 is around the corner and people are saying there might not be 2015 elections…

    The person who made that prediction is a very good friend of mine, Mr John Negroponte. It is not only him that said that. Most American diplomats have been saying that over a long time. John Campbell has been warning Nigeria to be very careful. I am disturbed because the indices on the table show that if not properly handled, what the Americans are saying might come to pass. That is why I said we are all part of the problem and we should also be part of the solution. It is not too late to find a solution.

    Apart from the issue of insecurity, what are the majors problem bothering you?

    The massive corruption in the system. People are at all levels of government, from the local government to the Federal Government level, there is corruption everywhere. Besides, hunger is a major problem here. I am only telling those who claim to be leaders to lead with conscience. They should give the middle class and the poor justice. In any system that there is no fairness and justice, that system will collapse. In Nigeria, there is no justice and fairness.

    But there are so many anti-corruption agencies in the country fighting corruption…..

    Most of those agencies are not even doing any work. They are not even addressing the issues involved at all. If people like me are taken to court, it means there’s no anti-corruption because I have no reason to be in court. They know those that are supposed to be there. I leave everything to the court, since the matter is in a court of competent jurisdiction. I accept it as my fate. Even the day I was born, God knew I will go to court for these things.

    You are coordinating an anti-corruption war in Africa. How is the programme?

    We are still working on the programme. We are supposed to be in South Africa in May. We are working out the modalities with all stakeholders- the European Union, the United Nations, some diplomats from the United States and other Western countries. Since government agencies in Africa have failed to fight corruption, we are trying to use the non-governmental agencies to fight corruption. You can see people who became ministers, governors and President who never owned anything. They have never been in business. You see retired Army Generals, who own billions of naira; their salaries couldn’t have been that. So, it is everywhere. When we talk about corruption, people think it is only those in government. If you see what is happening at the federal and state government levels, you will know that most of the things they say are jokes. It is not good for people you entrusted with public funds to begin to steal it. It is not good and I never supported such. If you are for the government, they will not prosecute you. If you are saying the truth; because I can never be against the government; every other thing will fail but the truth will remain the truth. We fought third term; we said no to third term and I am sure those are some of the reasons I am where I am today but it’s not a regrettable thing.

    You were in office for eight years and you can be said to have seen it all. As we match towards 2015, what are your fears?

    My fears are that Nigerians might march out one day and what happened in Romania will happen here. If our leaders are not able to come together and address our problems. My fear is that we are gradually coming to a point where anybody can do anything he likes. That is what we are seeing. There seems to be no more law and order, which is not supposed to be. We must have a strong Army and a strong Police. For any country that wants to survive must not play politics with the Armed Forces. It is the pride of any nation. Any nation that does not give its Armed Forces a place of honour is not a serious nation. So, we should just stop using the army for little things. They should be on standby. We should have a quality mobile police force and enforce law and order to ensure the growth of our society.

    In 14 years of democracy, what have politicians done to restore hope for the future?

    They have done nothing. They are even worse today. That’s the truth.

    What are the qualities of the president you are looking for in 2015?

    Well, most of you continue to think of civil servants and all these people but the president I am looking for is one that can make a decision; a president that can stand and say I have made this decision, whether it is right or wrong.

    Do you agree that the governors have constituted a very powerful cabal?

    I do not agree that they are very powerful. The constitution has given them very powerful roles to play. The seat of the governos is very powerful and that of the President of Nigeria is the most powerful in the world. The president can wake up and do anything he likes. I have called for a review of the powers since I became a governor in 1999.

    How do we remedy that?

    The National Assembly is not making laws that will benefit the people. They are making laws that benefit themselves. Until the National Assembly makes laws to put themselves in part time, abolish one chamber of the Assembly and have only one chamber, we cannot make progress. We cannot be spending 25 per cent of our income on only 469 people. Even the US Congress is not earning the kind of money we are spending here. Our lawmakers should be able to sit on part-time basis.

    Your support immunity clause removal…

    They should remove immunity. Even as a sitting governor, I called for the removal. If a governor has committed an offence, he should go to court. They said they will have many lawsuits, why not? The minister, does he have immunity? Has he had so many lawsuits? People must respect the laws of the land. The Constitution must specify how anybody does anything. I don’t believe there should be immunity for anybody. You should be prosecuted if you do anything. When Bill Clinton was President, he was prosecuted. That immunity did not stop them. I believe we should start being an open society. We are too closed; we are not a communist country. We should be open, not claim to be open. If we continue this way, what people are saying might happen. There might be a re-think of Nigerian ethnic groups, which is not good for the country.

  • Balarabe Musa: North’ll prevent Nigeria’s disintegration

    Second Republic Governor of Kaduna State, Alhaji Balarabe Musa, at the weekend said northerners would ensure that Nigeria does not disintegrate.

    The former governor noted that despite the security challenges facing the country, Nigeria would still remain one entity.

    Musa spoke in Ibadan, the Oyo State capital, at the 70th birthday of Chief Lekan Balogun, the Osi Olubadan of Ibadanland.

    He urged Nigerians not to lose hope in the future of the country.

    Through Comrade Laoye Sanda, the former governor said he and many other northerners believed in Nigeria’s continued unity, despite the present challenges.

    Musa, who was the guest speaker, said he has been an associate of Balogun for several years.

    He urged the Federal Government to create jobs for the millions of unemployed youths, adding: “A situation, where able-bodied men and women are unemployed, portents dangers for the future of the country. We take serious exception to the daily increase of unemployed youths. A situation where Nigerians cannot eat three meals in a day is not acceptable to us.”