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Tag: Nigeria’s Unity

Southeast/Southsouth governors vote for Nigeria’s unity, greatness
Despite what they called obvious marginalisation in the distribution of national cake, Southeast/Southsouth governors have renewed their faith in a united Nigeria.

They subscribed to the destiny and greatness of Nigeria with an urge to compatriots to place the country on the front row in the comity of nations.

The governors’ pledge was contained in a communique issued on Sunday at the end of their second meeting under the aegis of the Southeast/Southsouth Governors’ Forum at the Government House in Port Harcourt, Rivers State.

They agreed to promote the unity of the country but urged the Federal Government to encourage investors in the oil and gas industry to have their operational headquarters in regions of operation to attract more and investments in the sector.

The communique, signed by the interim Forum chairman and Akwa Ibom State Governor Udom Emmanuel, stated that the governors resolved among others:
- To pursue inter-regional cooperation and integration for the common good of the regions’ people.
- To work together politically, align and re-align as a people that share common heritage, culture and affinity.
- To articulate and advocate for issues affecting the wellbeing of the regions. The issues may not necessarily materialise immediately, but for the benefits of future generations.
- To continue to subscribe our faith to the destiny and greatness of Nigeria and call upon Nigerians to put their hands on the plough and rise to claim our rightful place in the comity of nations.
- To condemn hate speech in national discourse, whether in individual communication, or utterances of political actors or parties and to urge security agencies to set up joint border patrols and develop more proactive strategies in combating crime and criminality.
- To urge the Federal Government to come up with a clear policy on concession of Federal roads and to fast-track the process in order to ameliorate the sufferings of the people of the regions.
They further resolved to pursue inter-regional cooperation and integration for the common good of the regions’ people.

The forum, however regretted that:  ”The deplorable state of federal roads in the two regions. That none of the airports and seaports located in our regions is reasonably functional, and that neither of the two regions are linked by any rail services. That the Federal presence in the regions is very minimal and only noticeable in the presence of policemen.”

The meeting, chaired by the Akwa Ibom governor had in attendance seven governors and four deputy governors. The governors are: Nyesom Ezenwo  Wike (Rivers); Ifeanyi Okowa (Delta); Ifeanyi Ugwuanyi (Enugu); Dave Umahi (Ebonyi Rochas Okorocha (Imo) and Okezie Ikpeazu (Abia).

The deputy governors who represented their principals Rear Admiral Gboribiogha John Jonah (Bayelsa); Dr. Nkem Okeke (Anambra);  Philip Shaibu (Edo) and Prof. Ivara Esu (Cross River).

The forum will reconvene in Owerri, Imo State on October 8, according to a statement by Simeon Nwakaudu, Special Assistant to the Rivers State
August 29, 2017
Is Nigeria’s unity really not negotiable?
It was a thing of joy to witness the Centenary celebration of Nigeria in 2014. And now, we’re a 103 old as one nation. However, within this period, there had been several agitations for self-determination by groups from different sections of the country. Notable among such groups are the Niger Delta Volunteer Force (NDVF) that was pioneered by late Major Isaac Adaka Boro; Movement for the Survival of Ogoni People (MOSOP), pioneered by late Ken Saro-Wiwa; Movement for the Actualization of the Sovereign State of Biafra (MASSOB), the Oodua People’s Congress (OPC) of Western Nigeria, led by Dr. Frederick Fasehun, Arewa People’s Congress (APC), and the Indigenous People of Biafra (IPOB).

And the agitations have greatly intensified more than ever before. At present, the music that’s sung across the country on daily basis is that of restructuring! The sounds of the drums of restructuring emit very high decibels that are almost deafening! In fact, no time in the history of our country are we so divided as it is now.

So, the drums of restructuring will continue to sound. In the face of glaring disenchantment with the present government, and the loss of sense of belonging by some sections of the country; some of our political leaders keep saying, “The unity of Nigeria is not negotiable.” The acting President, for example, Prof. Yemi Osibanjo has continued to harp that the unity of Nigeria is not negotiable. He cited the preamble of 1999 Constitution as amended that says, “We the people of the Federal Republic of Nigeria… solemnly resolve, to live in unity and harmony as one indivisible and indissoluble sovereign nation under God…”

Of course, that’s expected of him by virtue of his position. But is Nigeria’s unity really not negotiable?

I’m not a proponent of secession or disintegration of Nigeria as a country. Far from it! I strongly believe in ONE Nigeria! And I believe there’s strength in diversity. This was lent credence to by the U.S. Ambassador to Nigeria in an event recently held to mark the 246th Independence Anniversary of the United States. However, I’m of the opinion that we can still renegotiate how we want to live together as a nation. There’s need for the restructuring of the country to correct the disparity amongst the component geo-political zones or states.

Restructuring, however, has been misunderstood by some people (especially from one section of the country) to mean secession. For instance, when one Alhaji TankoYakassai, an elder statesman from Kano State was asked his view about restructuring on a national radio live programme, he disdainfully responded: “Restructuring is selfishness.” According to him, those who’re clamouring for restructuring are looking for a way to diminish the power of their ‘God-given’ population. He rather advocated devolving power to the states. But when asked if devolution of power wasn’t the same thing as political restructuring; he said, “No.” Well, that to me is the same thing as calling half a dozen six.

We claim to be a federal republic on paper, but in practice, it’s a unitary system –where, at the end of every month, governors go to Abuja (that controls the resources) to collect handouts or bailouts these days. But to every right-thinking Nigerian, this system can no longer be sustained! In this regard, the National Leader of the ruling party, Bola Tinubu, during the 91st Anniversary of Daily Times newspapers and the Times Heroes Awards in Abuja, affirmed: “Let us streamline governance; federalism in word and deed. Our constitution declares Nigeria a federation of 36 states. However, we still function like a unitary state despite the constitution. More power and resources need to devolve to the states. The Federal Government is taking on too much. We cannot flourish with over-concentration of powers at the centre…”

Yes, the present structure encourages mental laziness, backwardness, mediocrity and gross imbalance amongst the states. A glaring instance is the provocative sharp disparity in the cut-off marks for entrance into the Unity Schools. An examination that was set for all candidates of the same age range, with the same curriculum, questions and the same time allotted to write the examination; but with DIFFERENT malicious cut-off marks! In the name of the so-called Federal Character, you give a cut-off mark of 139 for a boy from Anambra State, but an annoyingly infinitesimal mark of 2 for a boy from Yobe State! Again, a girl from Lagos State will have to score 133 to get admission, but a girl from Zamfara State is only required to score 2! This is unacceptable by all standards!

In the light of the above and other reasons not mentioned here, there’s need to renegotiate the union in order to correct the imbalance amongst states and injustice suffered by some regions or states. We can’t afford to live 50 years backward just because one region (out of the selfishness of its elites) has refused to develop, then, the rest of the country should pay for it. That’s why restructuring should be considered, so that every region or state will freely determine their political status and freely pursue their economic, educational, social and cultural development at its own pace.

However, while political restructuring should be considered, I believe the best form of restructuring is the RESTRUCTURING of our ATTITUDE! In my opinion, it’s the best solution to the myriad of the current ethnic, religious and political conflicts that are bedevilling our country. And the attitudinal restructuring must begin with our political leaders! They should think of what they’d do for Nigerians, and not what they’d do to enrich themselves. They should be reminded that “If a free society cannot help the poor who are many”, said John F. Kennedy, “It cannot save the few who are rich.”

To this end, it is pertinent to remind the President of the immortal advice the just passed on elder statesman, Alhaji Maitama Sule gave him as President-elect in 2015 published by The Vanguard of July 7, “..With justice, you can rule Nigeria well. Justice is the key. If you do justice to all and sundry – and I say all and sundry – because Allah says if you are going to judge between people, do justice, irrespective of their tribe, religion or even political inclination; justice must be done to whosoever deserves it. Behind every crisis anywhere in the world is injustice and the solution to that crisis is justice…The weapons of governing the mind and conquering the spirit are justice and fair play. Justice! …Don’t change; don’t compromise justice with anything… I am not asking you – and I know you will not – to discriminate against any part of Nigeria. But I am asking you to do justice to all parts of Nigeria. Justice will bring about peace….
- Macdonald is of Faculty of Law, University of Nigeria, Enugu Campus.
July 12, 2017
Maitama Sule’s death: Nigeria’s unity in dilemma, says Atiku

Former Vice President Atiku Abubakar has said Nigeria’s unity is in a dilemma with the demise of elder statesman, Dr. Yusuf Maitama Sule.

Atiku, who will be installed as Wazirin Adamawa on Friday, addressed reporters at the Kano Government House, when he paid a condolence visit to Governor Abdullahi Ganduje.

His words: “The unity of our people and the role he (Maitama Sule) could have played in the restoration of that unity has gone with him, now we are in a dilemma.

“We don’t have somebody like Dan Massani from the North anymore to do that. So, we should not forget about the unity of Nigeria, rather, we should try to find people of similar beliefs and antecedents like Dan Massanin Kano, to continue his good works.”

“It is impossible for me to describe his contributions to the evolvement of modern Nigeria but I know we have lost one of our greatest Nigerians that ever lived.

“Your Excellency, we have come to condole with you as brothers, we have come to pray for the repose of his soul. We thank you very much for giving us this opportunity and we hope the people of Kano will, by the grace of God, produce another Dan Massani who will fit into his footsteps and offer his contributions to the unity and survival of this country.”

Responding, Ganduje said: “I am happy with your coming.

“Dan Massanin Kano was a great man and his name will continue to be great, not only in Kano, but in the whole of Nigeria.

“Like you said, time will not allow you to enumerate the deceased’s contribution to the development of Nigeria, even to Africa.

“We have really lost a father. We will continue to imbibe his character and his sermons will lead us.”

Others who visited Ganduje included former Vice President Namadi Sambo, and leadership of the northern chapter of the Christian Association of Nigeria (CAN).

Sambo described Sule as a true nationalist who believed in the peaceful co-existence and stability of the country, which he showed until his death.

July 11, 2017
MAMA G CELEBRATES NIGERIA’S UNITY AT ABUJA GLO MEGA MUSIC

AS the Glo Mega Music Nationwide Tour landed at the nation’s capital city, Nollywood diva, Patience Ozokwor, popularly known as ‘Mama G’ celebrated Nigeria’s unity.

Mama G, who turned up at the Old Parade Ground, venue of the show, alongside two Nollywood veterans, Kanayo O. Kanayo and Richard Mofe-Damijo, RMD, hailed all the Ibos, Yorubas and Hausas in the hall. She ended her greetings uniquely, with a long shout of ‘Nigeria kwesuenu o’ which was roundly applauded by the crowd.

“Your love is killing me and thank you for loving me so much,” Mama G said.

“It is because of your love I keep doing what I am doing. I just want to thank Glo for doing this show for the people. Glo is made in Nigeria, for Nigeria and by Nigerians.”

The show was anchored by the duo of Nollywood’s Mercy Johnson-Okojie and Juliet Ibrahim from Ghollywood. While Mercy displayed her dexterity on Konga drum, Juliet gyrated smoothly to Timaya’s track, Ukwu.

The show kicked–off with Korede Bello performing Butterfly and Mungo Park which wowed the crowd. This was followed Reekado Banks who also gave an outstanding performance. Yemi Alade, the afro-pop queen, was next. With unique dancing styles, Yemi wowed the crowd with different tracks, including Pose, Ferrari, Charliee and others.

The fun continued with the arrival of Douglas Jack Agwu popularly known as Runtown, who got the crowd dancing with Lagos to Kampala, Mad Over You, The Banger, Walahitalahi, Money Bag and Baby Answer You. After Runtown, Phyno turned the show to carnival with the crowd singing and dancing as he rendered different tracks including I Go Chop Your Dollars, So Far So Good, Financial Woman, Fada Fada and other hit tracks. He was followed by the Nabania master, Flavour, who took control of the stage, belting out one track after the other to the delight of the crowd.

Next was Tuface Idibia, the veteran Nigerian Singer and songwriter whose appearance on the stage was roundly applauded. After entertaining the crowd, Tuface rounded off with the popular True Love track which got the crowd dancing. The show was rounded off by Olamide and P Square.

One of the highlights of the show was the performance of 14-year old saxophonist, Trump Odi, who stole the show with perfect instrumental performance of Phynos’ popular track Fada Fada.

Speaking after the show, a pharmacist, Kryim Angel, said, “what is most remarkable about this show is that unlike when show promoters will advertise big stars and will end up not bringing any, Globacom not only delivered but over delivered. I am not sure if I will ever see all these stars together like this.”

June 17, 2017
Buhari to Biafra agitators: I won’t compromise Nigeria’s unity

•Our unity not subject of debate
•Obi of Onitsha says secession futile

Pro-Biafra protesters got a reply on their efforts yesterday from President Muhammadu Buhari: no compromise on Nigeria’s unity.

Buhari who broke his silence on the agitation triggered by the recent arrest and detention of the Director of Radio Biafra, Nnamdi Kalu, declared that he was not in office to preside over the balkanisation of the country.

He had the backing of a leading traditional ruler in the Southeast and Obi of Onitsha, Nnaemeka Alfred Ugochukwu Achebe who asked the protesters to shelve the idea of secession from the rest of Nigeria.

“The corporate existence of Nigeria as a single entity is not a subject of debate and will not be compromised,” Buhari affirmed in a message to the investiture of Achebe as the 7th Chancellor of the Ahmadu Bello University (ABU), Zaria.

The message was delivered by the Minister of State for Education, Professor Anthony Onwuka, who himself is from the Southeast.

He said:”the country is currently facing challenges of insurgency and other forms of insecurity that has become a threat to Nigerians to live their country and be educated in their country.

“The security situation in the country entails that every Nigerian must discharge his responsibility in bringing about peaceful coexistence.

“The menace of insurgency and actions of some people agitating for dismemberment of this country will be surmounted.

“I therefore sound a note of serious warning that the corporate existence of Nigeria as a single entity is not a subject of debate and will not be compromised.”

On the state of education in the country, Buhari pledged to “put our education system back on sound track.”

Universities, according to him, “should on their own part key into the wave of change across the country. As pacesetters, the universities must avoid any corrupt practices.”

Although Obi was cautious in his prepared speech on the unrest in the Southeast and other parts of the country, he later said in an interview with reporters that pro-Biafra agitators should have a rethink.

He said the agitation violates Nigeria’s constitution of the country and the principles of democracy.

The traditional ruler drew their attention to the inherent dangers involved in their action, emphasising that Nigeria remains a united and indivisible country irrespective of the numerous challenges.

He urged them to channel all their grievances through their elected representatives in the National Assembly for consideration, rather than embarking on violent protests that could result in breakdown of law and order in the region.

He said the renewed agitation for a Biafran state would not solve the various economic and social problems confronting the Southeast zone or add any value to the development and progress of the entire country.

The geo-political zone, he said, remains an integral part of Nigeria and the leaders from the area so much believe in the unity of the country and would always work towards sustaining such bond.

In his prepared speech, he said:”we may have lost our bearing as a nation with the discovery of petroleum in the 50s. A false sense of national wealth has turned us into a nation of frolickers and hustlers, who are fighting one another for a greater share of the proverbial national cake, and spending it extravagantly, rather than leveraging the God given windfall to build a stable, diversified, and more prosperous nation.

“As the volume of production and market value of petroleum have fallen, that is, as the national cake has shrunk in size, the competition and struggle for a stake in that cake has become more intense.

“Thus, today, there is tension everywhere – Niger Delta, Boko Haram, MASSOB, industrial strikes, armed robbery, kidnapping, ethnic rivalries, tension between and within the political parties, etc. The sum total is that, our national mindset, particularly amongst the upper and middle classes, which includes most of us in this audience, has been focused on the consumption, rather than the creation, of our national wealth.”

He added: “we spend unbelievable amounts importing petrol and subsidizing its retail price whilst our three refineries with adequate capacity to meet our national requirement are literarily moribund, despite huge sums spent on endless turn around maintenances; smaller and less endowed countries successfully operate their own refineries optimally and do not suffer scarcity.

“Nigeria is probably the largest importer of electric generators in the world despite our endowment with natural sources of energy, such as petroleum, coal, hydro and solar energies, and the huge sums spent by successive governments on the power sector. On the other hand, a smaller country, Ghana, takes gas from Nigeria and generates most of its electricity requirements.

“Our food import bill, spent mostly on rice and wheat, is about $22 billion annually, yet our country is blessed with vast arable land and a large population of young jobless people that can be usefully deployed to agriculture.

“Road construction in Nigeria is more expensive than most parts of the world, yet our roads are breaking down faster than we build them because the traditional mode for heavy haulage, namely, railways, pipelines and waterways, are comatose; a trailer load of petrol from Mosimi to Maiduguri causes more damage to our roads than the value of the product being transported.

“A majority of our state governments have recently taken the so-called “bailout loans” for recurrent expenditure, meaning that future generations are being inflicted with the burden of the profligacy of the current generation.”

November 22, 2015
Why Nigeria’s unity can’t be compromised – Mark

Former Senate President, Senator David Mark, Thursday said that for the country to experience peace and development, Nigerians must continue to demonstrate strong sense of commitment to the unity of the country.

Senator Mark stated this when he addressed members of the 3rd Regular Course of the Nigeria Defence Academy Alumni Association who met in Abuja yesterday.

He insisted that the unity of the country in the face of its diversity cannot be compromised regardless of the challenges facing the nation.

The former Senate President, who is the Chairman of the 3rd Regular Course NDA Alumni Association, noted that the body is a non-political assemblage that was borne out of the need to oversee the welfare of members and their families.

He said: “This is an annual event, which is like a ritual now, and the date of September 3, is fixed permanently in our diaries.

“The 3rd Regular Course of the Nigerian Defence Academy Alumni Association is a non-governmental association, as well as a non-political one.”

He further explained that the annual meeting is intended to be a platform for the reunion of all members, as well as a means of ensuring collective advancement of the association.

Mark also maintained that the essence of the annual reunion was designed to be a programme that focuses primarily on the welfare of widows and children of deceased colleagues.

“We’ve been able to keep this going to ensure that we look after the welfare of our own colleagues and families as much as we can. But most importantly I think it it about the reunion that brings us and our families together,”

While thanking all members for making out time to attend this year’s reunion event, he urged the retired military officers to be patriotic citizens of Nigeria, adding that they must do all within their powers to keep the nation united.

September 3, 2015
Nigeria’s unity: praying plus planning

What is absent in General Gowon’s much needed homily is the need to plan, in addition to praying

There is no doubt that America’s prediction that Nigeria is likely to get ruptured from inside by 2015 is already making Nigerian patriots tremble. From pronouncements in the print media in the last few weeks, it is clear that it is not only media pundits that are worried about the dwindling capacity of the country to survive all the problems militating against it by and beyond 2015. In particular, former military leaders who should know the importance of intelligence reports appear worried to the point that they have to assure ordinary Nigerians that they are not worried by America’s prediction that the country that they had lived to keep together in the last forty-seven years on their own terms may assume a character that is radically different from the unity-at-all-costs mentality and unity-is-the-only-issue mantra that Nigerians have been fed on since the Nigeria-Biafra War.

General Obasanjo in his own case has affirmed that Nigeria is not going to break regardless of how American sign readers of other nations feel, adding that the threat to the country’s peace and progress has been occasioned by the lack of discipline of the political class that succeeded his own generation. One of Obasanjo’s military successors, General Ibrahim Babangida, has also assured Nigerians that there is nothing to worry about regarding any prediction from the planet about the fragility of Nigeria by or beyond 2015. Most recently, the country’s second military dictator, General Yakubu Gowon, added his voice to the rhetoric of or verbiage of peace in the face of threats to peace that have engulfed the country for a few years.

If there is any military dictator whose voice is likely to be palatable to Nigerians, General Gowon must be one of such leaders. He was the military leader who supervised the war to keep Nigeria one between 1967 and 1970. He was a military leader who tried to restructure the country without puncturing or rupturing its cultural diversity. He created the foundation for the six geopolitical zones that many of the leaders who came after him have been afraid to accept as a possible model for managing the country’s diversity. Dividing Nigeria into twelve states in Gowon’s time brought about the seed of what Nigerians clamouring for true federalism today refer to as Southwest, Southsouth, Southeast, Northcentral, Northeast and Northwest regions or zones. Though he did not fire a shot himself, General Gowon spent his most productive years as a soldier dealing with threats to Nigeria’s territorial unity.

Nobody should then be surprised that it is General Gowon’s assurance about the need for Nigeria to turn all negative predictions about its future as one united country into ashes that appears most passionate and religious about Nigeria’s unity in the face of threatening adversity: “Every Nigerian should stand against the claims. If every one of us believes that it will not happen, then it will not. I believe God will not allow such to happen. Nigeria Prays (Gowon’s NGO of intervention in the country’s problems for the past few years) is really praying against such; that’s the reason this group came into existence.” General Gowon added with conviction: “Nigerians at home and abroad are very concerned about the crisis that is rocking this nation. We believe that only prayers can solve it. If you love Nigeria the way I love Nigeria, and if I love Nigeria the way you do and we have faith, then we shall overcome.”

What is absent in General Gowon’s much needed homily is the need to plan, in addition to praying. Praying is not as important as finding methods to make Nigeria achieve its goal of unity, peace, and progress. We need to revive some measure of humanism that was applied to the threat to Nigeria’s unity after he became the country’s military head of state. At that time, the country’s citizens were enjoined by his administration to pray to God to keep Nigeria one while those in the position of leadership under Gowon went on the drawing board to work out plans to make the job easier for God to do. We bought arms from other countries, sent emissaries to other countries to appeal to them to assist Nigeria, sent soldiers to fight in what was Biafra, and also created 12 states out of the four regions in existence at that time, to give a region to the Igbos while also giving a cultural space to the so-called minorities in the old Eastern Region, today’s South-south, the region or zone that produced the current president.

To just ask Nigerians to leave everything in God’s hands in a country that is overtly divided by Boko Haram and zoning of the presidency to the North and the South-south is to move away from the injunction of giving unto God what is God’s and unto Caesar what is Caesar’s. All the threats to the existence of Nigeria today are attributable to human action or choice of action or inaction, rather than to temptation by God. Militants in the Niger Delta asking for more money or inducing amnesty are not doing this on God’s account.

Similarly, Boko Haram enthusiasts calling for Sharianisation of a multi-religious state-nation are not doing this on Allah’s behalf. Even those who say that the turn of minorities from the South-south to rule in 2015 or of the section which Prof. Ango Abdullahi called the country’s majority from the North must not be blocked are not acting because God wants anything of such. Even incurable federalists calling for regional autonomy or devolution of power to states or the regions are not necessarily working for God. All of these groupings are working for their own interests in a country with competing or conflicting interests. There is a sense in calling on God to touch the souls of each member of the various groups and equip each of them with the spirit of compromise, a pre-requisite for peace and development in a multinational society and a democratic polity.

The challenge of the moment is for former military dictators, most of whom designed the Nigeria of our time, and the civilians that are jostling to rule or control the status-quo to also listen to citizens and hear them well on workable templates to peace and progress in a country blessed with diverse cultures and values. This is the time for Nigeria’s leaders-military and civilian– to recognise human capacity to affect the human condition without necessarily forsaking the importance of God’s ultimate power to bless the choice made by human beings. This is a good lesson of the enlightenment that must not be forgotten by any nation seeking peace and progress in the era of modernity.

August 25, 2013