We’re Lying To Ourselves About Nigeria – Akingba, Afenifere Chieftain

Amos Akingba, NADECO and Afenifere Cheiftain

What is your reaction to the assertions of the Arewa youths?
I am not surprised at all, Nigeria is threatening everybody and groups. What do you mean by Nigeria, are we not Nigerians? Yes, when we lie to ourselves and we are reaping the fruits of lying. We say we are a federal republic, we are not republic. We say the state of Nigeria is secular, we are not secular. We use tax payers’ money to send people to Saudi Arabia and Israel every year, a country that is built on fraud will reap fraud and when the fraud is coming, we say people are shouting, why wouldn’t they shout? Hospitals are gone, schools are gone, the roads are not there, electricity does not exist, water is scarce and you think people will not cry.

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What is the way out?
The way out is to go back to the drawing board, this constitution is not made by Nigerians, it is imposed. A federal constitution should be a truly federal constitution, you don’t centralise everything. The people at the centre in Abuja, they are loafers, there is too much centralization of responsibilities, of rights and so the thing is breaking down and people are shouting and you begin to blame the victims, we are all victims. Does this administration have the capacity to fix Nigeria? Nobody can fix this system, it is like putting square pegs in round holes, it wouldn’t work. Square pegs in round holes it is not Buhari’s fault or Jonathan’s or the previous ones, they were handed instruments, i.e the constitution that cannot work the way it is.
How do we approach this because we have seen people coming to government; either they come into government or before they leave, they talk about restructuring or ensuring that we have a proper federal system but when they are in government the story changes?
When you are eating you don’t talk, that is what they say and they are all eating now; the executhieves, the legislooters and the judisharing systems! I am really embarrassed that we are too docile. If your government or institutions are not serving you, you take them and redress them and make them work.

Should people take laws into their hands?
Which law? The law that is not their law? The law that oppresses them? You are asking the oppressed to go and ask permission from his oppressor how he is going to get out of oppression.

Culled: Channels TV

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