Ex-President Obasanjo Speaks on What Nigeria Needs in 2023
- Ahead of the general elections coming up in 2023, ex-President Obasanjo said the year has to birth a new Nigeria
- The former president warned that Nigeria may slide back to ground dissolution if the year 2023 fails to bring about the emergence of a new federation
- Obasanjo also condemned the calls for the country's disintegration, saying the minority group will suffer if Nigeria breaks up
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Chief Olusegun Obasanjo, Nigeria's former president, says political leaders must ensure the year 2023 births the emergence of a new federation otherwise the country may be sliding into dissolution.
Source: Getty Images
A statement sent to Legit.ng by the former president's media aide, Kehinde Akinyemi, indicates the elder statesman made the submission on Wednesday, May 5, when he played host to the members of Tiv Professionals Group in Abeokuta, Ogun state.
Obasanjo reiterated that 2023 must mark a watershed for Nigeria.
His words:
“I do believe that whatever else we do we have to make the year 2023 a watershed for Nigeria. The year 2023 should give us the beginning of the emergence of a new federation or failing that, and the rot continues, then we are going to be sliding back to ground dissolution. God forbid."
Meanwhile, Obasanjo has also condemned the calls for the nation's breakup by some ethnic advocates.
The former president described calls for Nigeria's break up as unmindful and insensitive to the plight of the minority groups in the country.
He expressed worry over what would become of the minority groups if the major tribes such as Hausa, Yoruba and Igbo decided to secede and begin to operate as separate countries.
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In a similar development, the national leader of the All Progressives Congress (APC), Bola Tinubu, has kicked against the calls for secession, saying Nigeria is better as one country than separated.
He warned those beating the drums of war to remember what such actions did to countries like Iraq and Sudan.
The APC chieftain disclosed this while giving a speech at a special Ramadan prayer in Lagos on Sunday, May 2.
The presidency has also reacted to secession agitators in the country, saying nobody can bring down the government of President Muhammadu Buhari.
The Senior Special Assistant to the President on Media and Publicity, Garba Shehu, stated this during an interview on Channels Television on Friday, March 26.
The presidential spokesman described the secession agitators as “charlatans” sponsored to bully the president thinking he will cower or panic.
Source: Legit.ng
