Former President, Olusegun Obasanjo warned that Nigeria is approaching a tipping point.
Obasanjo who gave the warning on Friday in Lagos at the the 25th Anniversary celebration of Odua People’s Congress (OPC) and one year Memorial of Late Dr Federick Isiotan Fasehun, held on Friday in Lagos said impunity and poor handling of the country by the president Muhammadu Buhari administration has fractured the country further. He said the time has come to restructure the country else the restructuring agitation would turn to self-determination by groups.
“We should not allow the restructuring agitation to degenerate to self-determination agitation. Thanks to Buhari’s administration and its impunity and all. With the fractional political division, poor management of the economy, the non-protecting security and the politics of uncertainty in the land.
“The agitation at the end of the last century was for ‘true federalism’ substantially brought about by Abacha’s autocratic and pernicious rule and self-succession and perpetuation and the process by which the democratic Constitution emerged. My administration was an inheritor of part of that agitation.
“The product of the political conference set up to address the agitation in part, if not in full, and which was personally handed over to the National Assembly was not advanced to the conclusion by the National Assembly.
“President Jonathan’s efforts of a National Conference did not even get to the National Assembly. Today, the agitation has moved up to restructuring.
“There is still a window of opportunity for us to nip in the bud a possible and indeed likely agitation for self- determination that will be violent, destructive and all-empowering.
“We have descended to lack of civility bordering on uncivilization, indignity, mutual disrespect and crudity in the language of our debate, dialogue, discourse, address, comments and remarks across tribe, section, religion, region, ethnicity and community.
“If not halted, it will degenerate and poison the atmosphere to the tipping point or point of no return. If the issue becomes conceptualized as an issue of freedom or liberation, there will be no wall or gate to effectively prevail against it.
“Some well-meaning Nigerians are worried and understandingly so. Threats and intimidation do not build a community, they rather destroy” the former president said.
On Amotekun, Obasanjo said, “I will strongly advise that Amotekun and other measures put in place should continue to be refined and improved upon to serve as adequate complement and enhancer of the present, disappointing and inadequate, national security architecture and provision.
“We must learn from the past particularly from Native Authority Police. Professionalism and adequate equipment for the job are imperative for a serious security apparatus.
“Security is the foundation of all human development and progress. Common assured security should lead to common and shared prosperity and development.
“There has been embarrassing paralysis and katakata in the present nation’s security house as if we have nobody in charge. If it had happened before, it was not so brazenly in the public domain.
“This type of situation cannot do credit to us as Nigerians and it can only sap confidence in the security architecture for people to say, ‘no wonder”.
