The Northern Elders Forum (NEF), has called for the immediate break-up of Nigeria, saying: “Let us go our separate ways, because the country called Nigeria is not working.”
The call was made by the Spokesman of the NEF, Professor Ango Abdullahi, who revealed that God did not create Nigeria, but Lord Lugard did, hence the need for the regions brought together by the colonial master to go their separate ways.
Abdullahi in a telephone interview with The Nation Newspaper, said Nigerians should waste no further time in correcting the mistake of Lord Lugard.
According to him: “I have spoken extensively on this issue of restructuring, and I gave reasons why Nigeria has failed. The elites have insisted that Nigeria should work, which is why I am advocating that the mistake Lugard made in 1914 should be revisited.
“Lugard made mistake by bringing us together, and I don’t take it that God made this country, it was Lugard who made it. And now that we have agreed that he has made a mistake, we should correct it. Correcting it here means that we should go to the structures he put together, and go our separate ways; or at best, I support the position taken by the South-West, that we should go to our former regions. That is my position.
“If we cannot work Nigeria for 100 years, we should do something else, and doing something else means that we either go our separate ways, or go back to a point where our Leaders agreed for once that Nigeria should gain independence, but the original federal system. I also agree with the South-West’s position that we should have our parliamentary system back.
“We should stop wasting time by organising constitutional conferences. Each time we organise the constitutional conference, they will say there is nothing wrong with the provisions of our Constitution, it is the people working it that are not implementing it properly. So, this shows that it is the Nigeria political class and the elites that have failed. So, why don’t we stop now and retrace our steps and go back to 1960?
“If we go our separate ways, I believe the people in the West as they always argue, will do like our father, Chief Awolowo did, people in the East will do like Zik did, and people in the North will do the same that Sardauna left for us.
“It is because the political class are selfish, that they don’t want to hear these views. They don’t want to hear that Nigeria is divisible, which is nonsense.
“You can’t say that Nigeria’s unity is non-negotiable, it is not true, because the President said recently that Nigeria’s unity has been settled. It has not been settled. So, you cannot say Nigeria’s unity is not negotiable.”
If Prof Ango Abdullahi is really speaking for the Northern Elders Forum (NEF)and has their mandate to so do, I think this second opportunity to settle the Nigerian issue should not be missed.The North moved similar motion in 1954 or thereabout and those now crying of marginalisation truncated it. AS they make the move again, let us do the needful as suggested. As we all know Change is permanent.However, it will be a more Northern Agenda if his motion is supported and driven by the all embracing Arewa Consultative Forum (ACF)
The Northerners under the mystic dominance of Hausa and Fulanis with their measly strategies had they stood up by that they paraded as their superiority like the Levi clan of the then children of Israel could never be in the situation they are today. The North despite their claim of Spirituality grew in total darkness and ignorance. They never had a grasp of the difference between light and darkness, right and wrong and hence were unable to realize the vintage position Allah (the Lord of Abraham Moses Jesus son of Maryam) placed them. They compromised the Gift of Allah in a pretentiously wicked manner instead of sacrifice in the manner Abraham did to his brother Lut and to his son Ishmael.