Former Head of State, Gen. Ibrahim Babangida during
prayers to mark his 75th birthday celebration at the Hilltop, Minna, Niger
State made remarks towards restructuring
the country. He called for the devolution of more powers from the federal level
to the states even as he urged Nigerians to embrace the creation of state
police. He said the fear of state governors using state police to run amok was
not as strong as the greater benefit that creating state police would do for
the nation.
While passionately appealing to
leaders of the different divides in the country to show more maturity by
reining in the younger elements, the former military president observed that
war is not a joke anyone should toy with and in this few Paragraphs, newsin123words
covers the former Head of States thoughts and quotes in extracted and reformatted
manner.
General Babangida touched on the “Embers
of war” being blown across
Nigeria,
my dear country, is not a stranger to crisis, nor is she immune to it. In a
profound sense, she can be said to have been created out of crisis, a nation
state that will continue to strive to subdue and transcend crises.
“In over a
century of its formalized colonial architecture, Nigeria has grown and made
remarkable progress in the midst of crises.”
The most tragic and horrendous episode in
Nigeria’s history has been the 30 month Civil War of July 1967 to January 1970,
in which many of our compatriots lost their lives. Indeed, many others also
suffered terrible injuries of human and material dimensions.
So, who really wants to go through
the depth and dimensions of another Civil War in Nigeria again? Who does not
know that that Civil War was preceded and started by intolerance and a series
of hate pronouncements, hate speeches, hate conducts and actions that were
inflicted upon one another by the citizens?
Today,
with a deep sense of nostalgia, I still carry within my body the pains of
injury from the Civil War: there is nothing romantic about war; in any form,
war is bad, condemnable and must be avoided. I need hardly say I am very
worried by the current on-going altercations and vituperations of hate across
the country by individuals, well-known leaders, religious leaders, group of
persons and organizations. We need to remind ourselves that conflicts are not
evidently the stuff of politics and governance, particularly so of democracy,
hence we must apply caution in our utterances, body language and news
reportage. We cannot and we must not allow the current hate atmosphere to
continue to freely pollute our political landscape unchecked.
“The
management of conflicts is the acid test of maturity, of mutual livelihood and
of democratic governance.”
Personally,
I reject the proceedings of hate and their dissemination and urge my fellow
citizens to strongly condemn the scourge and orgy of the current crisis which,
in my view, is an outcome of vengeful appetites within the multiple contexts of
our democratic governance and the profound inequalities that have distorted our
social relations. Nonetheless, it is not the place of leaderships to fuel and
hype conflicts nor should we allow losers and gainers of our governance regimes
to make pronouncements and threats that exploit our ethnic, religious and
geopolitical construct.
Starting
wars or political upheavals comes with the slightest provocation, but ending
them becomes inelastic, almost unending with painful footages of the wrecks of
war. I have been involved and its ripples are tellingly unpalatable, with gory
details of destruction and carnage………
“Democracy,
anywhere in the world, is a work in progress; and one that is subject to
constant evolution and debate. The drums of war are easy to beat, but their
rhythms are difficult to dance.”
…. I am a Nigerian, a citizen,
patriot and concerned stakeholder. It is my strong belief that Nigeria can
attain greater greatness if we all nurture our minds in the direction of
building a nation, and accepting responsibility for its successes and failures.
We cannot deny or repudiate our progress at nation-building in spite of the
limitations and challenges that we have continued to experience. As a people,
we need a proper study and understanding of our history in order to correct the
warped perceptions of our past so as to minimize the dangers of badly skewed
stories of our democratic experience in governance; and to regenerate mutual
confidence and uphold the tenets of living together as one country…...
On a final note, I really wish we see strength, determination, commitment and
confidence in our diversities rather than adversities.
As
a heterogeneous country with flourishing skills and numerous endowments, we
should dictate the pace in Africa and lead by example of what is possible
amongst a people that are focused and determined to pursue common national goal.
As
a former Military President who had the rare privilege to travel around Africa
to sustain the African cooperation through peace-keeping operations, I have
come to the conclusion that nations are driven by a common ideal and not by the
homogeneity of their race.
I saw Somalia, such a homogeneous
conclave yet one of the most troubled countries in Africa today. I saw South
Sudan, which broke away from the old Sudan, but peace and stability have eluded
them. Rwanda genocidal experience is not romantic either. But a President from
the minority ethnic group has repositioned the country to assume its pride of
place in the comity of nations.
That
a people share common identity, language, history, doctrine, culture, mores and
values is not synonymous with development, growth, stability and peace.
At 76, I have seen it all. I have seen war. I
have fought war. And I have survived war, even though I still suffer the pains
and injuries of war, it is part of the selfless sacrifice to keep the union
afloat. We must build a country that is forward looking for our children and
future generations of Nigerians. We cannot afford to toil with the destinies of
the 170million Nigerians by the shape of our discourse and the content of our interaction.
We must carry out conscious attitudinal orientation that will change the
mindset of our youths and the held beliefs of the elderly. We must explore the
therapies of dialogue and constructive engagements in our desire to make life
more meaningful for our people. My friends cut across all regions, zones and
states.
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