A civic group, ActionAid Nigeria has said there is no solution in sight to the agitation for the secession of Biafra unless every section of Nigeria begins to feels the benefit of democracy.
The group stated this in Abuja at its annual general meeting on the state of the nation.
According to the group, the federal government needed to create a process of discussion between the citizens, intelligence agencies and the government at all levels.
The country director of the group, Ojobo Atuluku, said: “Nigerians are dissatisfied with how the federal structure operates because the citizens have not seen the benefits of democracy and are yet to enjoy the nation’s wealth.
“There is dissatisfaction everywhere. The gap is that Nigerians do not want to trust our leaders. When our leaders get together to discuss the dimension of the country, those who are not around the table do not want to trust those that are there.
“It is an issue of how well our leaders represent our interest and how transparent and open they are to us.”
She further explained that agitation in different forms was taking place in all the six geo- political zones of the country, warning that unless space is created for discussion and equitable provision of democracy dividends to the poeple, more agitations would spring up.
Also speaking, the chairman of the governing board of the group, Patricia Donli, further warned that as long as there were perceived marginalisation and inequality, the agitations would go on.
“People have come up with good recommendations on how these issues can be solved but nothing has been done, which includes the suggestion of the National Political Reform Conference under the chairmanship of late Niki Tobi”, she said.
Another leader of the organisation, Amaka Azuike, said the major issue raising tension in Nigeria is tribalism, predicting that when this is tackled, other causal agents like greed, immorality and leadership mediocrity can be worked on.
“We should desist from the myopic notion that one nation is impossible.
“Ask a Nigerian where he is from and his first answer will be his tribe rather than declaring himself as a Nigerian. All hands must be on deck against all Issues of war, ethno-religious war and selfishness”, she noted.
She said for Nigeria to be one is a task for everyone, stressing, “We must declare ownership of the nation together and delete the notion of a Biafra nation”.
Commentaires