The founder of Afe Babalola
University, Chief Afe Babalola (SAN), has declared that it was the military
that planted the seeds of national disintegration and disharmony which the
country is currently facing.
He said that the political,
socio-economic crisis occasioned by agitation for resource control by the Niger
Deltans, secession agitation by some groups in South-East, alleged
marginalization by the South-East and South- South and call for restructuring by
Yoruba was as a result of military incursion into political space of the
country for about thirty years.
Afe Babalola noted that these
agitation from various quarters arise due to the fact that the military
bequeathed faulty constitutions on the country.
He stated these in his paper,
entitled, “Nigeria in search of a Nation” presented at the recently held Yoruba
Summit christened “Ibadan Declaration” titled “Yoruba Standpoint on
Restructuring” on Friday in Ibadan,
the Oyo State capital.
Babalola said, “It is therefore
correct to state that the military and their civilian apologists either by
design or by accident have planted in the constitution the seeds of national
disintegration and disharmony.
“The allegations of
marginalisation and the clamour for confederation constitute the harvest of the
constitution fashioned ny the military.
“The emergence of the military on
the political scene and their uneventful stay for about thirty years dealt a
fatal blow to the existing federal structure in Nigeria.
Babalola, however, advised in his
paper that the need to go back to the 1960 Independence and 1963 Republic
constitutions can never be over emphasised with the current situation in the
country.
He said the call to return to the
glorious days of Independence and Republic constitutions was necessary because
none of the constitutions fashioned out by the military reflected the wishes of
the people.
“None of the constitution
fashioned out by the military reflects the ideas which ideas which informed the
making of 1954, 1960 and 1963 constitutions. What the military did was to by
that constitution weaken the component states, destroy or impair their power to
develop and sustain themselves.
“We are all witnessing to the
misrule and unbridled brigandage of decades of misrule by the military”.
“Our country’s history is replete
with the inconvertible fact that Nigeria witnessed her greatest and fastest
economic, political, social and educational development during self government
and the first republic.
“Each of the regions was fairly
autonomous and could legislate over a number of items which have today been
taken over by the Federal Government.
“It was during this period that
each region began its own regional developmental efforts. There were mutual
healthy rivalries to complete for development.”
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