It is a new Nigeria ~ By Eke O Eke.

Very little remains to be said about Nigeria, but there is a lot to be done. 

We are caught in a country, where an ethnic group is determined to use religion and state power to dominate others. 

They stall dialogue, but very focused  on achieving what they want no matter how unfair to others because they hold them in contempt. 

They are relaxed about killing others and trampling on their rights. 

Nigeria is a country where a Fulani jihadist is president held  his first security meeting with only northerners who are Muslims. 

After the meeting, 200 army officers mainly from the south were purged, without a single protest from the opposition and the ethnic groups of the compulsorily retired soldiers. 

The president allows Fulani militia to remain armed and show no interest in bringing those who are committing crimes against humanity to justice. 

He implements sectarian polices, which discriminates against non northerners and seeks to grab land all over the country for the sole use of Fulanis

The present Nigeria is set up like criminal enterprise. The country is unable to hold its leaders to account. It cannot enforce its laws  and those in power abuse their position to pursue sectarian interest and legitimise injustices. 

Nigeria is a  country which have  been repeatedly  under ignorant, corrupt, egoistic and sectarian minded leaders, who have divided the country by their actions. 

This has been worse under the current administration of
Mohammadu Buhari. 

Unfortunately,  there has been no attempt by the opposition   to hold the government  to account. This is not surprising because many members of the opposition party were corrupt in office and, if they oppose the government, they will be harassed. This may partly explain why many of them  are joining APC, the party in power. 

Nigeria  has a government, which behaves like a mafia. Instead of prosecuting those who have broken the law, it uses the information to blackmail them, so that they can do as it pleases. This is very very dangerous. 

We have a country where the police and soldiers do not have respect for the fundamental rights of citizens and pronouncements of the court. 

This is a country, where politicians are paid excessive pension for life, for 8 years of service during which they looted the treasury. There is no other country in this world where such open robbery would be accepted 

Nigeria is a country,  where Fulanis occupy all important positions, are pushing to establish grazing ground all over the country for their exclusive use, and have the right to cleanse any village they like without consequences. 

Anybody who does not see that such a country is unsustainable and that the president is acting a script, must have a different way of interpreting reality. 

Under such circumstances, the  best option is to start by holding the government to account within the existing imperfect constitution and laws and them work aggressively to change the constitution(restructure)  through self determination. 

The Strategy is to find a political party which will work in tandem with different organisations and  be bold in asserting and defending the rights of the people. 

Nigerians need to wake up and appreciate the complexity of the problem we must confront to be free. We have to make Nigeria work for all and not just for Fulanis. 

What we want is a new Nigeria, a new settlement, a new constitution  and a new structure. 

We want a new Nigeria, which  will
end the use of government to pursue sectarian objectives.

A country that will end islamisation and remove organised religion from politics and make religion a private affairs. 

A new country where the army, police, Customs,  and judiciary will not be dominated by one ethnic group. A country where the position of defence minister,national security adviser  and other sensitive positions are not the exclusive preserve of one ethnic group. 

These and more  are the reasons why some People are agitating for Biafra and restructure of the country. 

This new Nigeria, needs a new constitution and Requires honest and patriotic people to engage in Nigerian politics to to achieve this new Nigeria,  where equality, justice, rule of law and accountability will sacrosanct. 

Nigerian needs leaders, who are prepared to fight for what they believe in and do everything in their power to achieve it, not leaders who are inspired  by ethnic nationalism and religious intolerance. 

On Biafra 

1. I have said this from the inception of this resurgent Biafran issue, it is an Igbo problem, which requires Igbo leaders to demonstrate vision, intelligence and leadership in its resolution. 

2. Nigeria cannot solve the Biafran problem. All that Nigerian government  can offer is to send in Psychopathic solders to shoot ill-informed youth, who do not appreciate the complexity of the problem and are doing the only thing they can to protest the injustice they suffer. 

3. The Biafran issue, should be the most serious political problem Igbos should be dealing with.

4.  It is our responsibility to stop our youth from putting themselves  in  harm’s way and teach them to pursue self determination through political, legal and economic routes.  

5. We should also move away from a binary view of the problem and the idea that every Igbo will accept the same solution to the problem. 

6. We need to learn the lessons from Northern Ireland, that ethnicity is not a magic construct on which all segregate, when economic and social factors are the other contending constructs. 

7. As I have said, those who refuse to recognise that there are Igbo nationalist and Igbo unionists and neither is more Igbo than the other, are making a grave mistake. 

8.  Biafra is a political issue, with social and economic repercussions and as such, will not yield to any solution that does not recognise these other constructs on which real life depends.

9. I do not care what a country is called or the ethnic group that make it up.

10. What I care about is the values that guide the country and whether the country adheres to civil values, the rule of law, upholds individual liberty and holds leaders to account. 

11. These are the fundamentals which determine whether a country develops to enable its citizens achieve their potential and pursue happiness or decays and become a cesspit of crimes, sectarianism, extremism, toxic collectivism and intolerance. 

12. Therefore, I am averse to any organisation or individuals which believes it can achieve change and liberate the people by ill thought out revolution. 

13. Nigeria is not working not because it is made up of Igbos, Ibibios, Ijaws, Yorubas, Hausa etc. Nigeria is not working because It has a corrupt political elites without conscience, an Hausa- Fulani group which is drunk on Wahabi Islam, who advocate harsh punishment for misdemeanours, hatred of those who are different and the use of violence against those who do not share their religious delusions. 

14. Nigeria is not working because the federal government of Nigeria does not believe in merit and is pursuing discriminatory and scotch earth policies against  Igbos. 

15.Addressing these problems will enable Nigeria to become a better country and create conducive environment for creativity, innovation, discovery and development to flourish. 

16. If the government refuses after a formal appeal to make the necessary and just changes, self-determination becomes a moral duty. 

17.  In  pursuit of independence, a people must be careful of self-appointed and unelected leaders, who exploit religion and mysticism as there are no magical power to solve socio-economic and political problems. Let a journey of one thousand miles begin with one step in the right direction. 

I rest my case.