Elder Tanko Yakasai speaks about northern Nigeria’s preparedness for eventual break-up
- Nigeria has remained tensed since a recent order given by some northern groups asking that Igbos in the region should quit
- A leader in the region, Tanko Yakasai, said even the refusal of the south to allow free grazing of cattle owned by Fulani herdsmen is an infringement
An elderstatesman and leader in the northern part of Nigeria, Alhaji Tanko Yakasai, has warned leaders in the region to begin to prepare for the eventual breakup of the country.
“I have been having this conviction right from 1953 and my position remains the same till today. But, it will be foolhardy to sit idly by in the face of one agitation after another.
“In a period of uncertainty, it is wrong to assume everything is normal.
“It is better to have as many options as possible at your disposal.
Yakasai said the north must prepare for the future
“Even if the need to use any option shall not arise, in the end, you have nothing to lose by being prepared for the unexpected,” Yakasai said.
NAIJ.com understands that Yakasai spoke in reaction to the three months ultimatum given by some northern groups to the Igbos inhabiting in the region to leave for their various states in the south-east.
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The Punch reports Yakasai as saying the quit notice served to Igbo by northern youths and the refusal by the south to allow free grazing of cattle owned by Fulani herdsmen are unconstitutional.
“The quit notice to Igbos by some people in the north and the purported denial of grazing right to Fulani herders in the south are against human rights provisions of the Nigerian constitution, which guaranteed freedom of movement to all Nigerians.”
“I read the joint position paper by the Arewa Citizens Action for change. First of all, I believe there is only a Nigerian citizenship, as long as we have a Nigeria.
“It is a good beginning, but I think we needed a deeper and more serious extermination of our situation, which I believe is overdue.
“It does not matter whether Nigeria will continue as a single political entity or not. We in the north need to have a kind of master plan for our future and the future of our people.
“It is wrong for us to be living in the way we are without any plan for our development for the present and for our future,” he reportedly said.
He suggested a meeting should be conveyed for a call to action and with people from different disciplines to discuss how to uplift the society.
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“A preparatory committee should be set up to define the objectives for the meeting. I for one never believed that Nigerians will be better off in separation,” he said.
NAIJ.com had reported that the Ohanaeze Ndigbo Youth Council (OYC) had asked all Igbo people in the northern part of Nigeria to immediately get ready to defend themselves in the face of threat from the region.
The warning came on Wednesday, June 7 against a notice by a coalition of northern organisations asking Igbo people in the region to leave within three months.
The group also warned northerners in the south-east to begin to move back to their original states.
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