Former President Olusegun Obasanjo on Wednesday described calls for the
\ndisintegration of Nigeria as unmindful and insensitive to the plight of
\nthe minority groups in the country.<\/p>\n
Obasanjo made the observation when he received the Tiv Professional
\nGroup (TPG) from Benue State, who paid him a courtesy visit in Abeokuta.<\/p>\n
The former president recalled a discussion between him and \u201ca military
\nfriend\u201d\u00a0 who, according to him, has described major tribes in the
\ncountry as selfish and not sufficiently caring for the minority groups.<\/p>\n
Obasanjo, who aligned with his friend\u2019s opinion, expressed worry over
\nwhat would become of the minority groups if the major tribes decided to
\nsecede and begin to operate as separate countries.<\/p>\n
\u201cIf the Yoruba can stand as a country, if the Igbos and the Hausa\/Fulani
\ncan stand as separate countries, where do we want the minority groups to
\nbe?
\n\u201cNow, by virtue of the present situation, they are a little bit
\nprotected, but if Nigeria breaks up, they will be oppressed and
\nexterminated,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n
He recalled the meetings he had with a number of socio-cultural
\norganisations in September 2020 and noted that nobody at such meeting
\ntalked about disintegration or breakup, saying that \u201call they clamoured
\nfor was a change for good\u201d.<\/p>\n
The elder statesman stressed the need for Nigerian leaders to be mindful
\nof the ethnic diversity of the Nigerian nation, adding that the country
\nwould not make any meaningful progress without such consideration.<\/p>\n
Obasanjo, who expressed hope that the rough times that Nigeria was going
\nthrough would not last forever, urged Nigerians to be patient while the
\ncountry gathered her goodwill and moved in the right direction.<\/p>\n
The leader of the group, Prof. Zacharys Gundv, in a paper he presented
\nto Obasanjo, highlighted the challenges of the nation, including
\ninsecurity, poverty religious intolerance, kidnappings and banditry,
\namong others.<\/p>\n
He explained that the Tivs were worried about the skewed narrative of
\ninsecurity in Nigeria Proffering solution to Nigeria\u2019s challenges, Gundv
\ncalled on well meaning Nigerians to be united in serving the country.<\/p>\n
He called for intensified advocacy against nomadic pastoralism and an
\n\u201cAll Nationalities Summit\u201d to discuss and proffer solutions to Nigeria\u2019s
\nchallenges.(NAN)<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
Former President Olusegun Obasanjo on Wednesday described calls for the disintegration of Nigeria as unmindful and insensitive to the plight of the minority groups in the country. Obasanjo made the…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":80398,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_lmt_disableupdate":"","_lmt_disable":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[5],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-80397","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-news"],"yoast_head":"\n