All Indices Show Nigeria Is A Failing State — Utomi, Obadiah, Others

Some opinion leaders across ethnic and religion diverse in Nigeria on Friday spoke on the current state of the nation, declaring that noth­ing is working at the mo­ment.

The leaders, which in­clude foremost economist, Professor Pat Utomi; former Deputy Governor of Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) and 2019 presidential candidate of the African Democratic Congress (ADC), Dr. Malai­fia Obadiah; member of the 5th Senate, Senator Henshaw Bassey; Second Repub­lic presidential assistant, Tokunbo Sholu-Ekukinam, stated that the nation’s cur­rent system has been unfair, killing the younger genera­tion and their talents, stress­ing that all indices show that Nigeria is now a failing state.

The eminent Nigerians all spoke at the Second Goke Omisore Annual Lecture organised by a Yoruba In­telligentsia Group, Voice of Reason (VOR), in honour of its late convener, Prince Goke Omisore.

The panelists and guestsu­nanimously agered that impunity, lawlessness, an­archy and subjugation of the younger generation cur­rently reigns supreme in Ni­geria, suggesting that if the political, economic and social structures of the country are not restructured in line with the current realities in the country.

They maintained that Ni­geria as a sovereign country should be terminated peace­fully because, if not ended now, there’s higher tendency that the country would ter­minate herself and if that happens, it would lead to a gargantuan disaster.

They included lawyers and activists, Dele Farotimi and Inibehe Effiong, social cru­sader and Executive Director of Enough Is Enough Nigeria (EiE), Yemi Adamolekun, Ni­gerian Representative to the All African Students Union (AASU), Icon Olawale and Niger/Delta Activist, Annkio Briggs, among others,

They challenged the younger generation to take over the country themselves from the older generation whom they accused of fail­ing to show direction, hon­our, meritorious service and sincerity of purpose to the younger generation in their modus of operations and ac­tions regarding governance.

The speakers, who includ­ed the Secretary-General of the Lower Nigeria Congress (LNC), Mr. Tony Nnadi, ar­gued that what was going on in Nigeria was worse than a Banana Republic as the country had failed to have an identity.

Obadiah said the state­ment credited to some North­ern governors that not all Boko Haram were criminals was an oxymoron of the cen­tury.

Obadiah added: “Nigeri­an constitution guarantees self-defence to anyone who faces threat to his or her life, therefore, it is your right as a Nigerian to defend yourself and your community when­ever you are faced by a treat to live.

“Let me say very express­ly that Amotekun and East­ern Security Network (ESN) are legal; they are doing what they are supposed to do in line with Universal Declara­tion on Human Rights.”

Second Republic Presi­dential Assistant on Legal Matters, Mrs. Tokunbo Sho­lu-Ekukinam, said no one was safe in Nigeria because insecurity had been booming like wave of ocean.

A lawyer and former Stu­dents Union President of La­gos State University (LASU), Mr. Dele Farotimi, who spoke on behalf of the golden jubi­lee generation, said Nigeri­an leaders had turned the younger generation to chat­tered slaves who police could shoot at any time; who’s live could be taken away anytime by the agents of the state and who had no access to ameni­ties, dignity and liberty.

Corroborating her fellow panelists, Adamolekun, said “the clampdown against the youth last Saturday was mas­sive. It is an indication that the youth means nothing to the older generation.”

Adamolekun challenged the Director General of the Development Agenda for Western Nigeria (DAWN), Mr. Seye Olaleye, who was present at the event, to en­sure that the South West Regional Security Outfit, Operation Amotekun, was deployed to all the local gov­ernment areas in the Yoruba land to secure and protect lives.

She advised South West governors that though the Nigerian constitution guar­antees all citizens to move from one place to another, no law stops them from enacting a law to mandate all visitors in their states to register.