Former Vice President Atiku Abubakar on Thursday said
declaring Nigeria’s unity as fixed and non-negotiable amuses him.
He added that a marriage cannot be declared as
non-negotiable, while doing everything to sow seeds of discord in that same
marriage.
Atiku spoke at the national dialogue and public presentation
of a book, ‘Remaking Nigeria: Sixty years, sixty voices,’ in Abuja.
He said, “I find it amusing when people declare Nigeria’s
unity as fixed and non-negotiable while doing everything in their power to
destroy that fragile unity.
“Nothing in the relationships among peoples is fixed for
eternity. You cannot declare your marriage as non-negotiable while doing
everything to sow seeds of discord in that same marriage.
“You can whip groups of people into forming a country but
you cannot whip them into forming a nation.
“Nations are built through conscious or even unconscious
agreement by peoples who believe that being together is, on balance, more
beneficial than being apart.”
Atiku also said the government at the federal level had not
done enough in nation building, accusing them of undoing the achievements of
previous administrations in that aspect.
He added, “Over the past six years, the leadership of this
country at the federal level hardly embarked on nation-building. They may have
been making (utterly confusing and unproductive) efforts at economic
development.
“However, it can be rightly argued that they have been un-building the nation by taking conscious and deliberate actions that not only make nation-building more difficult but also undo the achievements made in that regard by previous administrations.”
On the insecurity ravaging the country, Atiku said bandits,
kidnappers and insurgents have been allowed to operate boldly.
He, however, said there was the need to fix the country to
prevent it from sliding into disaster.
Atiku said, “It is obvious that we need to fix Nigeria in
order to avoid sleep-walking our way towards disaster. We seem to be sprinting
full speed towards disaster.
“Yes, the Chibok girls had been kidnapped and held in
captivity seven years ago. Yes, conflicts between herders and farmers had been
with us before 2016.
“But who would have thought that our country would become a
haven for kidnappers and all manner of bandits to the extent that their
nefarious activities would become a major industry?
“They have been allowed to operate so openly and brazenly
that it would surprise no one if they applied for registration with the
Corporate Affairs Commission and listing on the Nigerian Stock Exchange.
“Five years ago, the Abuja – Kaduna Road was not a virtual
no-go area. The South-East was not a virtual war-zone, and Amotekun was not
needed to protect lives and property in the South-West.”
He also blamed the Northern region and the country for not
doing enough to check the encroachment of the Sahara Desert and the drying out
of Lake Chad, saying that this was responsible for trajectory of the insurgency
in the North-East and the banditry across the Northern states.
He urged that the call for restructuring should be heeded,
stressing that the country must be restructured in a manner that allows various
segments develop at their own pace and not be held back by the centre or other
segments.
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Atiku, you've said it all.
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