The North Is Working Towards Nigeria’s Break-Up – Fmr Gov

chief_john_odigie_oyegunFormer Governor of Edo State and running mate to Malam Ibrahim Shekarau in the last presidential elections, Chief John Odigie Oyegun, in this interview culled from the VANGUARD, speaks on a range of burning national issues including the activities of Boko Haram and the role of northern elders.

Excerpts:

On former Commissioner of Police, Abubakar Tsav’s allegation that Southern leaders were trumpeting the breakup of the country because a southerner is at the helm of affairs of the country.

I am not aware of any Southern leader trumpeting the breaking up of the country. But as a matter of fact, the truth I must say,  is the opposite. With the kind of civil strife going on today in the North, there cannot be any other objective except to break up the country. What is going on in the North is unacceptable. The concept of suicide bombing is unacceptable to me as a Southerner and I insist that it is just crazy, I don’t know where it is coming from, I cannot understand what will make anybody bomb innocent people in churches and also in the market place. I don’t  understand that.

So, if they cannot put their house in order, and as a result there is a threat to the corporate existence of the nation, they should look inward for the causes of the strife that is going on. But it is clear that this is not in our culture and founding of the Nigerian nation, why, this suicide bombing, killing people who are worshipping their God. Why? It is just insanity. So, they should look inward and not point accusing fingers at the South. When we had conflict in the Niger Delta, the purpose was clear.

It was to send a message to say, look, we  are being marginalized; resources are being taken from our environment and the environment is being decremented, please we need attention, we need help. And finally it was even a northern president who saw the injustice of what was going on and constructed what we now call the amnesty programme. The purpose of that was very clear, what is the purpose of the civil strife and the murderous attitude among the so-called Boko- Haram in the North. It is difficult to understand, so, they should look inward, they should not look for solutions where they do not exist.

The year 2014 will mark 100 years of the amalgamation of the South with the North by Lord Fredrick Lugard. Is there a basis for sustaining the union today?

Well, I think there is. There is nothing like a large nation, there is nothing like the population we have, there is this reality that close to 100 years, have worked relatively smoothly together and of course, the struggle for power is always there and it is when there is struggle for power that we remember where we come from and the rest of it. I pray that we can stay as a nation because our impact in the international arena will be much better the way we are and I don’t think there are traces here that will call to question the fundamentals of the amalgamation which took place long ago, which again was for economic reasons and those economic reasons still exist up to today.

I hope we stay as one, but if we can’t at the end of the day after all in the whole world now, we have begun to have nation states all over the place; Belgium; Slovakia, Czech, all in peaceful separation. I hope and sincerely pray that it does not come to that.

13 COMMENTS

  1. ***we are tied on this unending war between northern & southern Nigeria, by the way as a former Governor we are not expecting you to bring out this inflammatory statements. The questions you have puted down such as why killing christian brothers ? So i wants to ask you sir, is it only christian that this current violent affected ? You may say some bombs were planted in the churches but could you compare it those planted in the mosques and muslims dominated areas ? So if you don‘t know the Nigeria of today please stay back and watch . As they said SILENCE IS BETTER THAN….!

    • @bello, shut up imbecile. You fools are the scum of the earth for denying the obvious. If boko haram were a christian organisation we christians will openly condemn and reject them. But you islamic fools continue to deny that bokoharam are islamic terrorists causing mayhem in the name of ISLAM. You continue to make excuses… Idiots.

    • @bello he didnt say christians are being bombed.all he said was people are being bombed as they are worshiping their GOD. so if you did not see well.then put on glasses or just shut up and skip the news.its not all news that needs a comment

  2. BUT IT IS VERY OBVIOUS THAT THE WHOLE THING IS NOT BOKO HARAM BUT CHRISTIAN HARAM RATHER…I DON’T THINK THE CHRISTIAN COMMUNITY WILL STILL BE FOOL EVEN AS THE BLUE PRINT OF THE MUSLIMS UNFOLD DAY BY DAY. IF AT ALL IT IS A FIGHT FOR THE SAKE OF THE POOR MASSES WE WILL GLADLY BEG TO BE MEMBERS. BUT IT IS NOT, IF NOT WHY BOMBING CHURCHES?

  3. Many talents are lost bcos of criminality,Ethno-Religious hatred/violence,indirect cum internal racism,corruption all emanated as a result of diversity of purpose or mission.problems are solved & not managed.N igeria nation is over ripe for separation.

  4. The problem of Nigeria is that whenever someone is out saying d truth, pple will be ready to crucified d person, on many bombing dat has been taking place in d northern part of this country, IBB kept mute as if he does not know what is going on, now dat d so called Boko Haram are after d elderly pple in d north, he’s now saying FG should dialogue wit d sect, can there be any dialogue wit pple are u are not seeing or group dat are not ready to mention what theirs aims n reasons are? I salute d courage of dis formal Governor of Edo state for coming to hit d nail at d head. We got others respected n great men in d north whom shud have come to tell d so called Boko Haram enough is a enough, but they kept quiet as if nothing is wrong. We are all watching.

  5. So who do u want segregate, d north or d muslims? bcos dere so many muslims in ur part like wise dere r xtians in d north. kindly u r calling north as 1, but ur part wll dvd in to 3 when d break happen. u better include dis in ur next outbust. may God cure d illness in u, b4 u die prostrated.

  6. And i will back it up as he is an elder, he is able to see danger dat many of us cant see , we will never see while on top of the tollest iroko tree .nigeria will never be at peace , bcos all this curruption and political fraud will never stop, it has eaten deep into the fabric of our leaders.

    For i.e . We r talkin about 60billion just for the purchase of gsm for famers.tell me it gsm is our major proble in this country ? is there any famer that cant aford to buy gsm at cost of N2,500 ? The fund that should be used to power up electricity are been diverted into this dat never bring development to this country. They mis-use our wealth and ssharing the money among themselves .if the said 60billion is to be used in producing agricultural needs like foods ,this would have been better. “it is high time for us not to keep silence over things that really matter ” (quote Luter king)’.the govt should be careful and start working on all the promises they have made to this country.it is a very big disgrace to all our past and present leaders that uptil now they still cant make this country a better place.it is a shame dat we dont even have a good hospitals .

    The wold are wating this country and they knows that it cant move forward ever. there is no need to hide the truth about dis country and saying that the country may fall to war it a true talk.and no body should think dat dis country will go to war , it will be better to seat down and figure out how to make peace by dividing without going to war.
    .bcos already we can see the sign of war facing the country this time. pastors , leaders ,citizens and other countries has been predicting dat this country may go to war .we are not blind not to see the signs of it.but to me i prefer separation instead of war.

    .we dont need to keep pretending that nigeria will bet better . never becos becos our leaders already knew dat they have not achieved any success for this country. some past leaders still want to come back to lead this country just for them to correct the mistakes and what they have not been able to offer in the past leading.

    start from the first day that i was born in this country, that was the very first day i begin to hear sometin like this country will gett better up to date .yet there is no change .To my own suggestion it would be better if people come together and agree to separate for the country to maintain peace ,and fast forward developement among the divide countries. day by day our leaders move the wealth of this country to other countries .when they fall sick they go for medication outside. oh nigeria . but the poor still remain in thesame country for treatment whn fall sick . see we should stop telling ourselves lies .

    If ever u people see the truth say it out or God will silence you forever.

  7. To me, the greatest mistake of Nigeria before & after her independence is the amalgamation of 1914. Fuel & water can never be the same if mixed together. Naturally we are not one but we need a JOSHUA that will lead us to the promise land.

  8. My problem in this case is people’s greed. Is it too good for Benin people when all of them left their houses like the southeasterns? Though not all Edo people are Biafra. I’m not interested in religion becos no one is a chistian or Muslim but money doublers. I am asking the world, can’t Eastern region have their country as it was before the British people came. In Europe, all are separet, from one erea to the other on air is about 1hr likewise from lagos to the the southeast. Why don’t they set us free? If they meant oil, we were entile of 60% but we have not got 1% of it what kind of cheating is that.
    I don’t know which part of that Niogeria the man is siding, does he look like who have seen money with this kind of dried body. With his name, you need not ask whom he should side he is a mallam.