To be clear and unequivocal, if Nigeria must disintegrate then it will. But then to whose benefits? I think the fervour of the separatist movement has clouded our misadventure.
Nigeria’s misfortune is not rooted in our diversity but rather in the rapacious and cataclysmic greed of Nigeria’s elite. Make no mistake, unless our unbridled greed is addressed, the splintering of Nigeria will not achieve the desired objectives.
Instead, the current elite will simply be replaced by other elite and the greed continues while the poor masses suffer.
Let’s look at the Niger Delta’s recent example: remember the grievances about underdevelopment in the Niger Delta? Remember the legitimate gripes of pollution and degradation of the riverine communities? Remember the guerrilla warfare, the kidnappings, the killings and the bombings? The agitation necessarily led to negotiation which resulted in more allocation of resources to the riverine areas and the creation of the Niger Delta Development Commission (NDDC).
Then what happened? A set of greedy elite were replaced by other elite. Governors and Ministers from the Niger Delta region became overnight billionaires and the NDDC created to develop the Niger Delta became another avenue to siphon funds.
The masses of the riverine communities remained poor while their environment remains degraded. Asari Dokubo (the Nnamdi Kanu and Sunday Ighoho of the Niger Delta agitation) became a multi-billionaire.
We need to reorient our consciousness to recognize that diversity is an asset, not a liability. India with about 1.4 billion people is probably the most diverse nation on earth with a multiplicity of languages, cultures and religions, yet they are able to coexist peacefully.
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Another reason to keep Nigeria together is economics. Most investors are interested in big markets for their products and Nigeria with over 200 million people is a huge market for multilateral corporations, if we can fix our infrastructure and stem the tide of insecurity.
It is not a secret that the presently constituted Nigeria is not working. The solution, in my humble opinion, is restructuring rather than disintegration.
Felix Okhiria, MPA, MA, CMPE, CPC, CCP, United States.
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