23rd August, 2017
A member of the House of Representatives, Rep. Abubakar Amuda-Kannike, has advised agitators for break-up of Nigeria to drop the idea, saying the unity of the country is not negotiable.
Amuda-Kannike told the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) in Abuja on Wednesday that unity of Nigeria could not be sacrificed on the altar of greed by some mischievous politicians.
He said that he did not understand restructuring as “secession’’ or suggesting that “we should break the entity called Nigeria’’.
“There are people that are talking about Biafria, who want to break away.
“I think that is another discourse and there are people who are talking about restructuring under the entity Nigeria – devolution of powers from Federal Government to states.
“What the president was saying is that the unity of this nation is not negotiable; you can’t put the unity of this nation on the table for discourse.
“I think there is no better time for him to reinforce it than now, because we are all living witnesses to the antics of those who want to secede,’’ he said.
The lawmaker reiterated the need for Nigerians to live together and ensure peaceful coexistence.
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“With due respect to those who want to secede, their manner and approach is endangering the entity, Nigeria. In this age and time, I don’t think we should be fanning the embers of war.
“Even without war, we are already not doing too well. Are Nigerians looking at nations that are at war? Do they know how long it takes to come out of war?
“For the people who witnessed the civil war, they know how long it took Nigeria to get over it. The question is, have we even come out of it fully?
“So, what the president is saying is not negotiable is the unity of the nation, but he is not saying people should not agitate or express their feelings on the issues of devolution of powers and all that.
“In fact, he advised them that under the current circumstances, the National Assembly and the Council of States are the best platforms for people to express their concerns about restructuring, which is the truth because these are organized structures,’’ he said.
Amuda-Kannike admitted that some recommendations of the 2014 National Conference, which he described as “fantastic’’, could address the agitations, and therefore called for presentation of the report to the national assembly.
“In my opinion, these documents or suggestions can even be brought back to be discussed at the level of the national assembly.
“There is no better platform to discuss them more than the national assembly.
“We as legislators can go back to our constituencies and hold town hall meetings and get the constituents’ opinions about restructuring and what their perceptions are,’’ he said.