Biafra, Niger Delta: Atiku reacts to call for secession

Author: Nomso Obiajuru

UPDATED: 6 HOURS AGO

VIEWS: 23581

- Former Vice-President Atiku Abubakar says the north must stop blaming others for lack of development in the region

- He says Nigerians must continue to live together as one country amidst the seeming pervasive climate of disunity

Former Vice-President Atiku Abubakar on Thursday, April 27, said the north must stop the blame game over lack of noticeable development in the region.

Abubakar made this known in a paper titled; “The Challenge of Unity, Diversity and National Development: Nigeria at Crossroads,” NAN reports

Speaking at the public presentation of Daily Stream newspaper at the Banquet Hall, Nigeria Airforce Conference Centre, Kado, Abuja, Abubakar said Nigerians must continue to live together as one country amidst the seeming pervasive climate of disunity.

He said: “If people get disillusioned, and in frustration, they embrace and imbibe all sorts of views, beliefs and ideas including ones that suggest that people from the other ethnic, religious or regional group is responsible for their woes.

“Today, the three northern zones are the most backward. Instead of us to blame ourselves, we are blaming the south.

“The (former) Senate President was saying we fought civil war about 50 years. When you fly today from the north to the east, they have rebuilt their own east. We have not even rebuilt a hut in the north.

“We are still living in such huts but they have rebuilt the east and then we blame them for rebuilding their own homes.

“But the most germane question is: must we really continue to live together as one country amidst such pervasive climate of disunity, which is impeding our development?

“My prompt answer to this is yes, we should remain together, because it is the best option, and because we will be stronger, greater, and better in one piece than in pieces.”
On his part, the chairman of the occasion and former Senate President, Ken Nnamani, said those advocating for the restructuring of the country were not necessarily calling for dismembering of the nation.

He announced that his committee on electoral reforms was not about restructuring of the country, saying the committee’s duties was purely on electoral matters.

SOURCE:https:www.naij.com/amp/1101767-dont-blame-south-lack-development-zones-atiku-northerners.html


NB
A healthy dose of self-truth never hurt anyone, won't you agree.
Let's hope folks at the Presidency are seeing this!

MODIFIED
Another Update, guys
just saw this off: http://www.premiumtimesng.com/news/top-news/229839-nigeria-not-making-progress-atiku.html
It seems it was "quite a long" paper because Premium Times reporting the same issue came in with a slight shift in perspectives
The points I found interesting are bolded/italicized!

Why Nigeria is not making progress — Atiku
Former Vice-President Atiku Abubakar says Nigeria will continue to grapple with the crisis of severe and debilitating socio-economic problems unless it gets the structures of the federalism and governance right.

Atiku stated this in a paper titled; “The Challenge of Unity, Diversity and National Development: Nigeria at a Crossroads’’, which he delivered at the formal public presentation of the Daily Stream newspaper, at the Banquet Hall, Nigeria Air force Conference Centre, Kado, Abuja.

According to him, the current system, which is characterized by a focus on sharing rather than production, is clearly not conducive to development.

He noted that virtually all the development indices had not been favourable to Nigeria: massive and pervasive poverty, double-digit inflation, unemployment, dwindling foreign exchange receipts, poor GDP growth rates, high infant and maternal mortality, high levels of illiteracy, and millions of school-age children out of school.

“For Nigeria to develop – or even make any appreciable progress – we must re-structure Nigeria’s political, administrative and political architecture.
“That way we can free resources that would otherwise go to unviable ventures and projects, then commit same to areas that directly cater for and benefit the people.’’

He said restructuring would facilitate the emergence of a leaner bureaucracy, enhance efficiency, block wastages and promote more prudent management.

He said this would make for happier constituent units more committed to the progress and unity of the country and the emergence of a sense of nationhood.
“However, I am not here just to lament over the sad and unenviable state of affairs in Nigeria.
“I firmly believe in the viability of the Nigerian Project, I remain unshaken and completely persuaded that we can eventually change the story of
Nigeria for good by collectively making Nigeria a productive, prosperous, peaceful and united nation whose people are happy and contented and one that is able to really lead Africa and assume a pride of place in the comity of nations,’’ he added.

Atiku, who narrated his experiences from his recent trip to Malaysia, said he had concluded arrangements to assemble a class of economic experts to brainstorm on the best ways to boost the economies of the three tiers of government in Nigeria.

The former vice-president, who affirms that Nigeria is truly in crossroads, said “the problem with our federalism is that over the years it has become so skewed in favour of the centre that it impedes our economic development, distorts our politics, weakens our people’s commitment to the country and threatens our existence as a united country’’.

He, therefore, stressed the need to discuss and agree on the kind of federal structure desirable for the country.
“Reverting to the regions of the past seem untenable because those minority groups which feel that they have been liberated from their bigger, dominant neighbours, are unlikely to accept a return to that older order.
“We may consider using the existing the geo-political zones as federating units because they will be more viable economically and address some of the minorities’ concerns?
“If we prefer to keep the current state structure, could we consider introducing a means-test such that a state that is unable to raise a specified percentage of its revenues from internal sources would have to be collapsed into another state?’’

Abubakar, who described himself as more of a businessman than politician, said he would never implement a uniform National Minimum Wage structure across the 36 states of the federation and the Federal Capital Territory (FCT).

He said under his leadership, state governments in Nigeria would be allowed to pay their workers’ salaries based on their respective financial standing.

lol

Conclusion of the whole matter.

He says Nigerians must continue to live together as one country amidst the seeming pervasive climate of disunity.

I expected nothing more nothing less tho.

Atiku your ASPIRATION is DOA.

Why is it that they always sound like saints once dey leave office

You are just preaching to gain sympathy from SE and SS against 2019.
But the people you are trying to draw closer want to have their separate country nah.

What's my own sef ?, let me go and be coming.

Nigeria does not have a bright future. It is better the country divides now while there's a chance or we wait for another impending disaster in the future.

the funny thing is why weren't they all saying all this before.

I figure politicians will tell us anything just to get their 2019 scams through.

secondly, and most disappointingly, they all know the truth but don't care enough to give the people a better deal.

Ohhh

Sweet talk
On Referendum we stand

Atiku just dey look for means bcz of his next presidential ambition comes 2019 n Biafra people go Bleep u up ooo in short they will drag u into the other room ooo