OPINION: Nigeria at 57: Long Road to Real Independence By Dr. Abdulmumin Yinka Ajia
To Restructure or Not to? Two events in my opinion defined 2017 even as we still have close to 92 days left before the end of the year. The first event is the insolent agitation for Biafra Republic led by Nnamdi Kanu while the second is the Igbo quit notice issued by one Yerima Shettima and a coalition of Northern Youth Groups. In the two instances, we failed as a people to A. arrest the unruly actors and B. to turn the events into a teachable moment.
While every ethnic group has a right to self-determination, Nnamdi Kanu's disrespectful and almost violent approach does not have a place in a genuine struggle. The Nigerian state mishandled IPOB from the beginning and today, Kanu has vanished into thin air. The aftermath of Kanu's insolent behavior and the Nigerian government's incompetence is that many of the gains that we made as a people since the end of the civil war has been lost because of the actions of a few misguided individuals and government lethargy.
The most egregious display of incompetence by the Nigerian state is that Yerima Shettima and his co - northern youth group leaders are still walking free after declaring a major ethnic group in Nigeria as persona non grata! I must however commend Governor Nasiru Ahmad El – Rufai for his leadership on this matter as he continues to work to bring Yerima Shettima and his co – travelers to justice. So what are the two teachable moments? One, as wrongheaded as Kanu is, we ought to use the Biafra debate to A. acknowledge that the Biafra question has not been adequately settled in Nigeria and B. Nigeria's legislature should have risen to the occasion by taking a critical look at the present composition of the Nigerian state and work to re – organize it into a more equitable and functional state.
The second teachable moment should have seen Yerima Shettima and all of his co – travelers in jail. By dilly dallying on Shettima and co, we are setting a bad precedent – one that will haunt Nigeria sometime in the future.
My take: We are better off as a nation but with a clear understanding of our situation. We cannot continue to live a lie because Nigeria is not an ideal nation in the real sense of it. And our democracy as evident from some of our states - is a sham. Routine elections do not in itself make a democracy. In order to build a more perfect union, I join other Nigerians who have proposed that Nigeria embrace a regional form of government that allows each region to move according to its own pace and in consonant with its culture and values.
The author can be reached at abdulajia@yahoo.com
Cloud Tag: What's trending
Click on a word/phrase to read more about it.
KWAFFA Saad Omo\'ya Idi-Ape Olaitan Buraimoh Arinola Lawal Idris Amosa Saidu Ayo Opadokun KWASSIP Kwara South Yemi Osinbajo A.E. Afolabi Alfa Modibbo Belgore Noah Yusuf Toyin Saraki Kwara State Polytechnic African Democratic Congress Olatunde Jare Crystal Corner Shops Issa Manzuma Yahaya Dumoye Olabimpe Olani Katibi Ibraheem Adeola David Oyerinola Adedunmoye Pius Abioje Ahmed Bayero Sherif Sagaya Olatunji Abdulmumeen Ejidongari Marufat Oladosu Joseph Daudu Tafida Of Kaiama Ilorin Anchor Men And Women Park Sarah Jubril Razak Atunwa Bamidele Aluko Zubair Folorunsho Erubu Nnazua Oya State Ganmo Power Sub-Station Bahago Osi Moji Makanjuola Abdulrazak Shehu Akorede Adewuyi Funmilayo PPS General Hospital, Ilorin Olayinka Oladapo Jogunola Haruna Tambiri Mohammed Gani Saadu Ogidi-Oloje Ahmed Idris Mohammed Air Peace Mohammed Abdulahi Baba Issa Awoye Christopher Tunji Ayeni Balogun-Ojomu Ndakene Lanre Issa Onilu Abdulrazaq Aiyelabegan Afolabi-Oshatimehin Modibbo Kawu RTEAN Oba Abdulkadir La\'aro Samuel Adaramola Elerin Of Erin-Ile Taofik Abdulkareem First Lady Okin Biscuits Issa Memunat Moyosore Salami Adekunle Adamu B. Yaqubu Muyideen Ajani Bello Muritala Olarewaju Medview Airlines Saad Omo Iya Saadu Yusuf

