Coalition of Civil Society Organisations of Nigeria, COSCON and the Operation Sanitize Nigeria OSAN, have called on the National Assembly to re-visit the 2014 National Confab and see to the implementation of the aspects of the confab report that can take Nigeria to another level. They also insist that the fiscal and structural restructuring of Nigeria as canvassed by several Nigerian groups is the only desideratum for lasting peace in Nigeria. In a statement made available to Vanguard, the groups lambasted Nigerian politicians for pitching Nigerians against each other for their selfish motives. “These politicians benefit from the tension in the country. They make more money when there is tension everywhere. “Is is not at this time when common and suffering youths from the North and the South are foolishly at each others throat that the National Assembly is buying exotic cars for their members? Is it not now that the security votes of governors and the president have even doubled? The more these misguided and “mu mu” youths whose future is being damaged are at each other’s throat, the more money is voted for security agents and the politicians and they smile to their banks. “When shall Nigerian youths learn their lessons? Is the suffering of the talakawa from Daura not the same with that of the pauperized man in Mbaise? When will Nigerian youths take their fate into their hands? “A legislator in the National Assembly takes home jumbo pay running into millions of Naira every month and the minimum wage is eighteen thousand Naira and yet all Nigerians go to the same market . What of our millions of unemployed youths? We have been bombarded with news of billions of Naira stolen by past politicians and militicians and thousands of houses and other assets they bought with their loots. Are these not what should dominate the concern of these youths giving quit notice and those agitating for one thing or another? Is it not here in Nigeria that top military officers pocketed monies meant for fighting soldiers in the North , East and purchased mansions with them, yet even the suffering soldiers will quickly accede to dangerous orders to shoot at unarmed fellow suffering Nigerians” ? The CSOs said Nigeria must be built on the rule of law and social justice and move from big men to big and enduring institutions. The president of the groups, Chuks Ibegbu and the Secretary, General Aminu Mohammed, however called on President Muhammadu Buhari to act like the father of the nation and carry every part of the country along . They also insisted that brutal force cannot solve problems of agitations in the country, but equity, justice and fairness to all parts of the country. They said: “The coalition will organise rallies in the 36 states and Abuja in the coming months to mend all broken fences and to interface with all sections of the country on the need to build a Nigeria based on equity , justice and fairness.” ‘Nigerian unity negotiable’ Meantime, two key Igbo groups , the Igbo Peoples Congress and the Igbo Aborigines have disagreed with President Muhammadu Buhari that Nigeria’s unity is not negotiable. The two groups noted that Nigeria’s unity can only be non -negotiable if there is structural, fiscal and geo-political equity in the system. In a statement in Lagos, the groups said a section of the country cannot be cheating other sections or want the status quo to remain and be deceiving themselves that Nigeria’s unity is not negotiable. “Which unity, a unity of the cat and the rat or a unity that favours them? Who owns 80 percent of the oil blocs in the Niger Delta? Why has Kano State 44 local government areas and Lagos 20 when Lagos is more populated than Kano? Why has the entire south east only 95 local government areas and five states when the north west has 188 local government areas and seven states? Is that the kind of unity Buhari is talking about? If it is so , then its a unity of the grave yard and must be reviewed.” Bitterness of Arewa youths The groups wondered why Arewa youths are always embittered to the point of hatred on Nnamdi Kanu when at their backyard is Abubakar Shekau who has murdered more than 100,000 Nigerians in his insurrection against the Nigerian state. “We had expected people like Gujungu and Yerima to have suggested by now, a road map to end the Boko Haram terror in the North which even the Igbo have been paying heavily for. Instead of that, they are going about making money from the quit notice and hate songs they are spewing against Ndigbo in the North.” The groups however noted that a working Nigeria is still far better than a working Islamic republic in the North East or Niger Delta Republic or Middle belt republic or Oduduwa Republic or Biafra. “The problem now is how to make Nigeria work with the kind of wicked and selfish rulers we have everywhere. How can Nigeria work when a Senator takes home more than ten million naira every month, whereas another Nigerian with the same head takes home only eighteen thousand Naira a month and they go to the same market? This should be the concern of Gunjungu and Yerima and not Nnamdi Kanu. If Nigeria is well run and there is social justice, Nnamdi Kanu will have no reason for what he is doing now. This is a challenge to President Buhari rather than telling us how he and Ojukwu agreed that Nigeria must be one. Who was there when he and Ojukwu unilaterally took that decision?” The groups however called on Nigerians to support President Muhammadu Buhari in his bid to rid the nation of corruption at all levels in the country but wondered why all the past looting governors and political office holders are still enjoying their loots till now. The groups warned that corruption will continue to drag Nigeria to the mud unless tackled with vigour. They insisted that the 2014 Confab and restructuring Nigeria is the only way forward for the country.
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