From Desmond Mgboh, Kano
The governor of Ekiti State, Fayemi Kayode, yesterday, cautioned that breaking up the country into different countries is not a solution to the present challenges bedeviling the nation.
Delivering a keynote address before a gathering of eminent scholars and prominent Northern politicians at the 21st anniversary celebration of Mambayya House, Fayemi warned that secession would only replicate the present challenges facing the country, rather than resolve them.
His words: “If we break up into three places, the problem will be replicated into three places. If we break up a hundred places, the problems will be replicated a hundred times.”
Fayemi, who is the chairman of the Nigeria Governors Forum, explained that Nigeria has enough examples to warn it against such thinking, saying that South Sudan fought for almost half a century to decouple themselves from Sudan, but succeeded only to begin a war against itself.
Fayemi also cited the case of Eritrea and Ethiopia, both countries, he also lamented were presently at war in one form or the other after breaking away.
He added that what Nigerians need is “a united Nigeria that is founded on core principles of equity, fairness and justice to all.”
He stressed that a united, equitable, fair Nigeria would give a sense of belonging to all parts of the country, as well as best serve the interest of all Nigerians.
Fayemi implored those in leadership and political positions to emulate the virtues of Mallam Aminu Kano, the late sage of Talakawa politics, insisting that it is not enough for a few scattered leaders to emulate his virtues, but for all those in governance to collectively adopt his lifestyle in the governance of the people.
In his paper entitled: “Democracy, Good Governance and the Question of National Integration”, Fayemi also argued that the present crisis of nationhood bedeviling the country is not all about religion and ethnicity, but as a result of the challenges of social livelihood.
He called for the empowerment of the masses and the citizens of Nigeria, as well as the protection of their welfare and well being, as articulated and exemplified by the generation of Mallam Aminu Kano.
Those who attended the anniversary are the governors of Kano and Jigawa states, Abdullahi Umar Ganduje and Abubakar Badaru; the Vice Chancellor of the Bayero University, Kano, Prof Sagir Adamu Abbas; Prof M.D Sulieman and a host of other notable academics and politicians in Kano and in the Northwest.