An excerpt from the Centre For Change Maiden Lecture... ......Any rebuilding process must visit the very foundation and a lot has been said of how our founding fathers sowed the seeds for the woes that have plagued our nation from the late pre-independence era till date. Critics make reference to utterances and actions attributed to some of these leaders. For instance, Tafawa Balewa, many years before his visit to America, while addressing the Legislative Council in 1948 reportedly said: “Since 1914, the British Government has been trying to make Nigeria into one country, but the Nigerian people are historically different in their backgrounds, in their religious beliefs and customs and do not show themselves any sign of willingness to unite … Nigerian unity is only a British invention”. Chief Obafemi Awolowo, in his book, Path to Nigerian Freedom (1946) argued that: “Nigeria is not a nation. It is a mere geographical expression. There are no ‘Nigerians’ in the same sense as there are ‘English’, ‘Welsh’ or ‘French’. The word ‘Nigerian’ is a merely distinctive appellation to distinguish those who live within the boundaries of Nigeria and those who do not”. Sir Ahmadu Bello, as reported in the now defunct newspaper, The Parrot, on October 12, 1960 and quoted years later in This Day, October 1st 2012, said: “The new nation called Nigeria should be an estate of our great grandfather, Uthman Dan Fodio. We must ruthlessly prevent a change of power. We use the minorities in the North as willing tools and the South as a conquered territory and never allow them to have control over their future.” Get the full thrust here: wp.me/p3Cxdt-2l5
Posted on: Tue, 15 Oct 2013 17:22:52 +0000
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