Ebun Francis || Atiku Abubakar, Nigeria’s former Vice President and one of the politicians jostling for the Presidency in 2019 has said that the quit notice issued to the Igbo in northern Nigeria by a coalition of Arewa youths groups and the counter notices being issued from other parts of the country is generating tension and capable of destroying the country.
Atiku’s position was contained in a statement on Sunday titled, ‘An eye for an eye will leave Nigeria blind,’ where he called for restructuring of Nigeria and replacement of state of origin with state of residence to promote unity.
The Statement read, “First and foremost, it is a fallacy to believe that there are people of northern or southern origin. Nigeria only has people of one origin. We are all of Nigerian origin.
“As Nigerians, we must be pragmatic enough to realise the obvious truth that an eye for an eye will leave Nigeria blind.
‘Let me at this juncture remind these “quit noticers” that when brothers fight to the death over a domestic dispute, it is their neighbours that eventually end up inheriting their father’s property.
“It is also for this reason, among others, that I have urged and still urge that Nigeria should be restructured and that state of origin ought to be removed from our Constitution and other relevant laws and policies, to be replaced by state of residency.
“If we, as Nigerians, are tied to our residency, rather than the state where our ancestors originated from, this whole idea of quit notice would not have arisen in the first place.
“Let us remember that though we have many ethnic nationalities in Nigeria, we are all largely of one race. In the United Arab Emirates, foreigners exceed the native Emiratis in number, yet the UAE is one of the most peaceful nations on earth. If people of different races can live in peace in South Africa and the United States, why can’t we do the same here?”
The former Presidential aspirant of the All Progressives Congress commended the National Broadcasting Commission for taking steps to sanction radio stations playing Igbo hate songs.