Prominent stakeholders from various ethnic groups in the North and the South have decried the security situation in the country, describing Nigeria as a failing state or an already failed nation.
The leaders, including a foremost economist, Prof. Pat Utomi; former Deputy Governor of Central Bank of Nigeria, Dr. Mailafia Obadiah, who contested the 2019 presidential election on the platform of the African Democratic Congress; Senator Bassey Henshaw; Niger-Delta activist, Ann-Kio Briggs; Yemi Adamolekun, among others, said Nigeria should be restructured.
They were unanimous that the situation would be very disastrous if Nigeria was allowed to break without restructuring it.
They spoke at the second Goke Omisore Annual Lecture organised by the Voice of Reason, a Yoruba intelligentsia group.
This was contained in a statement on Saturday.
Other dignitaries who attended the lecture were Chairman of the Nigerian Tribune Titles, Chief Mrs Tokunbo Awolowo – Dosunmu; former Foreign Affairs Minister, Prof. Bolaji Akinyemi; Dr. Seyi Roberts; former Lagos State Commissioner for Commerce and Industry, Lanre Towry-Coker; widow of late Goke Omisore, Olamide; Mr Emeka Ugwu-Oju; and Dr. Akin Fapohunda, among others.
The speakers also argued that the country was not fair to the youths, saying there was no encouragement for the youths, while the political elite were scuttling the dreams and aspirations of the younger generation.
The statement read in part, “Speakers unanimously agreed that impunity, lawlessness, anarchy and subjugation of the younger generation currently reigns supreme in Nigeria.
“They suggested that if the political, economic and social structures of the country are not restructured in line with the current realities in the country, Nigeria as a sovereign country should be terminated peacefully because if not ended now, there’s a higher tendency that the country would terminate herself and if that happens, it would lead to a gargantuan disaster.”
Briggs said her generation had failed to give what the youths of Nigeria wanted, and as such, it was unfair to be calling on them to fix and salvage the country.
Adamolekun challenged the Director-General of the Development Agenda for Western Nigeria , Mr Seye Olaleye, who was present at the lecture, to ensure that members of the Western Nigeria Security Agency popularly known as Amotekun are deployed in every nook and cranny of Yorubaland to protect lives.
She advised South-West governors that although the Nigerian constitution guarantees that citizens could move from one place to another, no law stops them from enacting a law to mandate all visitors in their states to register.
Utomi said he agreed with other speakers on the state of the nation. He, however, suggested that the younger generation needed to be mentored by radical elders like Farotimi to be able to challenge the status quo.
He said, “I agree with all the speakers. I just want to add that the younger ones need to be mentored to be able to challenge the status quo. The rich class are united against the common people, therefore, the younger generation should be united to wage war against the status quo.”
The Chairman, VOR, Dr Olufemi Adegoke, had earlier in his opening remark decried the way the country was being run by its leaders, saying it was one of the reasons the group had made restructuring the focus of its activities. ,,
- PUNCHNG
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