Nigeria Will Remain One, Edwin Clark Affirms As He Cautions Igboho, Others.

Nigeria Will Remain One, Edwin Clark Affirms As He Cautions Igboho, Others.

As agitations for the breakup of the country continue in various parts of the country with promoters of Yoruba Nation grounding socio-economic activities in Osogbo, Osun State on Saturday, Elder statesman Edwin Clark has warned that the solution to the numerous problems confronting the country is not secession.

The elder statesman said he did not believe in Nigeria’s breakup in spite of rising insecurity and economic challenges in the country.

According to him, rather than fan the embers of war by making cessation calls, workable strategies should be evolved to solve the problem of insecurity and other challenges making life unbearable for Nigerians.

“Nigeria will remain one. Some of us do not believe in the call for secession.  Where do we go to, who are we leaving the country for, who owns it.

“We cannot flee, where do we go. Though I am seeing this danger but I do not believe that Nigeria will split.

“Recently 17 Southern governors met and they also agreed that Nigeria will remain one. They are not just PDP but also APC governors.

“Even during the civil war in 1967, we never believed Nigeria would break up and the war eventually ended in 1970.

“That was the nearest we got to breaking up but Nigeria did not break up,” he said.

The elder statesman called for restructuring rather than call for break up.

“Let us have a federal system of government as we had in 1963. Once that is done, there will be peace in Nigeria. With that, every region will have a State Police.

“So, the only cure to the problem of insecurity in Nigeria is to return to the 1963 Constitution with a few amendments.”

He further said, “I have been in politics for about 70 years in this country and I have seen it all.

“In 1960, there was the Independent Constitution, drawn up in Britain by the Whites and Nigerians.

“They agreed that this country has more than 250 ethnic nationalities, therefore a unitary form of government will not work and that there should be a federation which we had.

“The 1960 constitution made it that every region had its own constitution and develop at their own pace and keep half of what is developed in their area.

“That was why Obafemi Awolowo was able to develop the West because we had the cocoa boom at the time. The price of cocoa was very high in the international market.

“So he was able to introduce free primary education which other regions could not do at the time.”

He blamed the military for the present economic and security challenges faced by Nigerians, saying the military changed into a unitary form of government.

“Aguiyi Ironsi changed this country into a unitary government.

“It continued until the Army handed over in 1999 and they left behind a unitary form of constitution.

“That is why we are facing so much problem as a nation and that is why we are calling for restructuring,” he said.