An elder statesman, Alhaji Tanko Yakasai, has called on the various ethnic groups and regions in Nigeria to avoid engaging in divisive tendencies and explore avenues to ensure a peaceful, united and prosperous country.
Tanko Yakasai made the call on Wednesday in a keynote paper written to celebrate his 95-year birthday, with a topic: ‘Leadership Question and issue of Nigeria’s National Unity’.
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He said the country had suffered a serious setback due to the instinct belief of divisiveness, which, according to him, would not take the citizens anywhere.
He listed constitutional amendment and population census as the major issues that generated heated arguments in Nigeria.
“Accordingly, I picked what I consider important national issues that kept eluding the country for decades. These issues have, over the years, generated endless and often misleading debates; two of which are constitutional amendments and national population census.
“It may be recalled that on the 11th of September, 2020, the Yoruba Summit Group held a meeting and called for the jettisoning of the 1999 Constitution, which they called “fatally flawed” on the excuse that the Constitution was a product of a military decree with imbalances that can stunt the aspirations of many ethnic groups, especially the Southwest zone,” he said.
While thanking Almighty God for the gift of life to him, Yakasai said it was incumbent on leaders and opinion holders to avoid engaging in things that will add to the burdens of the country.
He added that “the North can and should encourage movement towards creating a better united Nigeria by reaching out to other regions and also demonstrating good governance and better capacity for managing the multiplicity and often conflicting national and regional interests.”
