Biafra, 50 years after: Nigerians are greater together than staying apart – Osinbajo

.Says citizens have a right to discuss their continued existence in Nigeria

.Nigeria’s political system jaundiced, unfair, exploitative, and unsustainable – Ohaneze Ndigbo

The Acting President, Professor Yemi Osinbajo, SAN, on Thursday, said that Nigerians are greater together than apart.

Osinbajo, a Professor of Law, maintained that instead of trying to flee every time we face frustrations, it is best for us to come together to build the nation.

This is even as the former President Olusegun Obasanjo maintained that engaging in dialogue with those agitating for an independent state of Biafra is a sure way to resolving the issue.

Osinbajo and Obasanjo spoke at a conference to mark the 50th anniversary of the declaration of the Republic of Biafra at the Shehu Musa Yar’Adua leadership centre in Abuja, the nation’s capital.

The Acting President Yemi Osinbajo (SAN), though admitted that citizens have a right to discuss their continued existence in the country but said Nigerians were greater together than apart.

He therefore ‎urged all Nigerians to work together to build the country, and to not let their frustrations drive them to see their compatriots as enemies.

The acting President reasoned that the time and the resources spent on the war could have moved the country leaps further in development.

His words: “Some say secession is the answer to charges of marginalisation. Some say Nigeria is colonial contraption and that we should be independent ethnic nationalities. This is what forms the call for Biafra which is sometimes vitriolic.

“I have to differ, we are greater together than apart‎. Instead of trying to flee every time we face frustrations, it is best for us to come together to build the nation.

“We should not use the media, and the social media as a means to propagate hate. We cannot benefit from that. Our frustrations must not drive us to see other people as enemies.

“And, I believe Nigerians should exercise the right to discuss their existence here”.
On his part, former President, Chief Olusegun Obasanjo, reasoned that engaging in dialogue with those agitating for an independent state of Biafra is a sure way to resolving the issue.

Obasanjo, who was the President of Nigeria between 1999 and 2007, advised that Nigerians must treat the country with care.

‎He however identified the nation’s fundamental problem as what he called lack of national leaders.

He said: “We never had a national leader. Our leaders at the beginning were mindful of their regions. That is our problem till today.

‎”I have maintained that the young officers who struck in 1966 were naive but there were some element of nationalism in some of them. Be that as it may, it set us back”.

The war, he said, showed the bad side of the country.

His words: “The language used in the war did not help matters, the people on the Biafra side called us vandals and we called them rebels.

“We thought we would end the war in three months, but it took us 30 months, and the federal side nearly lost it.

‎”Civil war is more difficult than fighting in a foreign land because we are fighting to unite.

‎”‎Even a soldier of mine who tried to rape a woman… I had to chase him with a gun. He did not succeed in raping the woman, and I did not have to gun him down”.
Obasanjo pointed out that some of those agitating for Biafra today lacked an understanding of what it entails.

“Some of the people agitating for Biafra today were not even born then. They don’t know what it entails.

‎”But I think, we should even appeal to those saying they want to go, we should not tell them to go, we should make them understand that there is enough cake to share. We should massage Nigeria just like in a love relationship”, Obasanjo said.

In his address, President-General of Ohaneze Ndigbo, Dr. John Nnia Nwodo, harped on the need the Igbos not to rest on their oars, stressing that the best way to sustain the unity of the country is to apply it to achieve a higher objective; namely, nation building.

Nwodo pointed out that the political system of the country is jaundiced, unfair, exploitative and unsustainable, noting that since the attainment of independence, civilians have not been able to agree on a political structure. The present constitution and the previous 1979 constitution, he lamented, were impositions of the military – an unrepresentative and dictatorial corps whose decrees were seriously influenced by the lop-sidedness of their composition.

Nwodo, in his address, said: “Reflecting on 50 years after the Nigeria-Biafra conflict, it would seem to me that we have made very elaborate efforts: constitutional, political and administrative to ensure a united Nigeria. We must not shy away from giving our nation its due credit, after all, some other societies with challenges like ours did not fare as well as we did.

“However, we should not rest on our oars. Unity is not an end in itself; and ultimately, the best way to sustain our unity is to apply it to achieve a higher objective; namely, nation building.

“Our political system is jaundiced, unfair, exploitative and unsustainable. Since attainment of independence, civilians have not been able to agree on a political structure.

“Our present constitution and the previous 1979 constitution were impositions of the military – an unrepresentative and dictatorial corps whose decrees were seriously influenced by the lop-sidedness of their composition.

“The economic and development data from Nigeria is unencouraging in many sectors. Our law and order system including the police, the court system and the penal system has been characterised by impunity, incompetence and indiscipline.

“On the global Terrorism Index, Nigeria ranks 3rd after Iraq and Afghanistan and ahead of Pakistan and Syria.

“The World Economic Forum ranks Nigeria 127 out of 138 on the Global Competitiveness Index.

“The UNESCO ranks Nigeria with Chad, Pakistan and Ethiopia as the worst educational system in the world. Nigeria, according to the report, has the highest number of children out of school and one of the world’s worst education systems due to a combination of corruption, conflict and lack of investment.

“In the Human Development Index of the United Nations Development Program, Nigeria ranks 152 out of 188 countries and is the lowest among OPEC countries. The data points to a bleak future as we march to post-oil world without a coherent plan to reduce conflict and build a new national consensus.

“On the positive side, there is a global consensus that Nigeria is highly potentiated. With a population of about 182 million people, by current estimates; and with our vast mineral and material resources; a well-organized Nigeria should be a land of plenty that supports its people and a leader in the comity of nations. Sadly, this is not the case.

“Almost every Nigerian is agreed that Nigeria is not working but there is no clear consensus on why; or on what to do about it.

“Some say that it is merely a problem of leadership and once that is fixed all other things will fall in place. Others say that it is a problem of corruption. Once you tackle that, everything will be fine.

“Others have said that our problem is one of law and order; some say it is more fundamental and has to do with control of resources, structure of the Federation and thus requires more equitable sharing of revenue and the devolution of powers.

“Others say it can be fixed with power rotation and a more level playing field.

“It has been said that it could be a bit of all of the above; and that Nigeria cannot be fixed without a fundamental change of values and attitudes. Whatever the case, it will not profit us to pretend that we do not face existential challenges “, he said.