Quit notices: An eye for an eye will blind Nigeria, Atiku warns

A former Vice-President, Atiku Abubakar, has called for caution
over the quit notice issued to some Igbo residents in the
North.

Abubakar said the issue was generating heat in the polity,
adding that the counter-notices issued to other Nigerians in
certain parts of the country, were among the ripple effects.

The Waziri Adamawa spoke in a statement he signed on Sunday.

The statement, titled, ‘An eye for an eye will leave Nigeria
blind,’ called for restructuring of Nigeria and replacement of
state of origin with state of residence to promote unity.

He said, “First and foremost, it is a fallacy to believe that
there are people of northern or southern origin. Nigeria only has
people of one origin. We are all of Nigerian origin.

“As Nigerians, we must be pragmatic enough to realise the
obvious truth that an eye for an eye will leave Nigeria blind.

‘Let me at this juncture remind these “quit noticers” that when
brothers fight to the death over a domestic dispute, it is their
neighbours that eventually end up inheriting their father’s
property.

“It is also for this reason, among others, that I have urged and
still urge that Nigeria should be restructured and that state of
origin ought to be removed from our constitution and other relevant
laws and policies, to be replaced by state of residency.

“If we, as Nigerians, are tied to our residency, rather than the
state where our ancestors originated from, this whole idea of quit
notice would not have arisen in the first place.

“Let us remember that though we have many ethnic nationalities
in Nigeria, we are all largely of one race. In the United Arab
Emirates, foreigners exceed the native Emiratis in number, yet the
UAE is one of the most peaceful nations on earth. If people of
different races can live in peace in South Africa and the United
States, why can’t we do the same here?”

The former Presidential aspirant of the All Progressives
Congress commended the National Broadcasting Commission for taking
steps to sanction radio stations playing Igbo hate songs.

Meanwhile, the National Coordinator of Oodua Peoples Congress,
Gani Adams, says it is time to restructure Nigeria to curb hate
speeches currently being experienced in the country.

Adams in an interview with the News Agency of
Nigeria on Sunday said that hate speeches indicated that
all was not well with the country politically.

“With the present hate speeches, it is an indication that all is
not well with us politically and we need to do something fast about
it before it degenerates into crisis.

“I have been hearing from the government that there are
increasing  hate speeches in the country from different
groups, even from the political players.

“I believe that under democracy, the government must learn the
civil way of addressing such anomaly because of freedom of speech
as entrenched in the constitution.

“Also, if anyone says anything that contravenes the law, such an
individual is liable to face the full weight of the law but that
does not mean the government should go overboard,” he said.

Adams said that various  agitations within the federation
were a reflection that injustice was prevailing in the country,
adding that only restructuring would help douse the tension.

“We can’t cow the people. I am aware of the various interest
groups such as the Indigenous People of Biafra and Arewa Youths and
other groups.

“With Arewa Youths giving October 1 as deadline; I believe that
in any society, when injustice prevails, such a society will be
experiencing the same situation we are experiencing. This country
needs restructuring.

“The only problem we have is that we are not well structured
from the time we had our independence which warrants all these hate
speeches flying around.

“In our society, if the right thing is not done or delayed, it
may bring anarchy; I appeal to the Federal Government to, as a
matter of urgency, restructure Nigeria now,’’ he told NAN.

Adams said that if the country continued without restructuring,
many groups would rise to agitate more for their rights.

“This country cannot continue without restructuring because
people will express their rights for liberty and we cannot avoid
this. They will continue to agitate.

“If we consider what happens during the military we will see
that we cannot stop agitation from people. We fought the military
through agitation and we won.

“At the end, the wish of the people will prevail, so to reduce
all these ugly incidents and to sanitise our society, the
government  has  its responsibility.

“Government must do the wish of the people because democracy is
the government of the people, for the people and by the people. We
cannot call the peoples bluff,’’ he said.

A former Vice-President, Atiku Abubakar, has called for caution
over the quit notice issued to some Igbo residents in the
North.

Abubakar said the issue was generating heat in the polity,
adding that the counter-notices issued to other Nigerians in
certain parts of the country, were among the ripple effects.

The Waziri Adamawa spoke in a statement he signed on Sunday.

The statement, titled, ‘An eye for an eye will leave Nigeria
blind,’ called for restructuring of Nigeria and replacement of
state of origin with state of residence to promote unity.

He said, “First and foremost, it is a fallacy to believe that
there are people of northern or southern origin. Nigeria only has
people of one origin. We are all of Nigerian origin.

“As Nigerians, we must be pragmatic enough to realise the
obvious truth that an eye for an eye will leave Nigeria blind.

‘Let me at this juncture remind these “quit noticers” that when
brothers fight to the death over a domestic dispute, it is their
neighbours that eventually end up inheriting their father’s
property.

“It is also for this reason, among others, that I have urged and
still urge that Nigeria should be restructured and that state of
origin ought to be removed from our constitution and other relevant
laws and policies, to be replaced by state of residency.

“If we, as Nigerians, are tied to our residency, rather than the
state where our ancestors originated from, this whole idea of quit
notice would not have arisen in the first place.

“Let us remember that though we have many ethnic nationalities
in Nigeria, we are all largely of one race. In the United Arab
Emirates, foreigners exceed the native Emiratis in number, yet the
UAE is one of the most peaceful nations on earth. If people of
different races can live in peace in South Africa and the United
States, why can’t we do the same here?”

The former Presidential aspirant of the All Progressives
Congress commended the National Broadcasting Commission for taking
steps to sanction radio stations playing Igbo hate songs.

Meanwhile, the National Coordinator of Oodua Peoples Congress,
Gani Adams, says it is time to restructure Nigeria to curb hate
speeches currently being experienced in the country.

Adams in an interview with the News Agency of
Nigeria on Sunday said that hate speeches indicated that
all was not well with the country politically.

“With the present hate speeches, it is an indication that all is
not well with us politically and we need to do something fast about
it before it degenerates into crisis.

“I have been hearing from the government that there are
increasing  hate speeches in the country from different
groups, even from the political players.

“I believe that under democracy, the government must learn the
civil way of addressing such anomaly because of freedom of speech
as entrenched in the constitution.

“Also, if anyone says anything that contravenes the law, such an
individual is liable to face the full weight of the law but that
does not mean the government should go overboard,” he said.

Adams said that various  agitations within the federation
were a reflection that injustice was prevailing in the country,
adding that only restructuring would help douse the tension.

“We can’t cow the people. I am aware of the various interest
groups such as the Indigenous People of Biafra and Arewa Youths and
other groups.

“With Arewa Youths giving October 1 as deadline; I believe that
in any society, when injustice prevails, such a society will be
experiencing the same situation we are experiencing. This country
needs restructuring.

“The only problem we have is that we are not well structured
from the time we had our independence which warrants all these hate
speeches flying around.

“In our society, if the right thing is not done or delayed, it
may bring anarchy; I appeal to the Federal Government to, as a
matter of urgency, restructure Nigeria now,’’ he told NAN.

Adams said that if the country continued without restructuring,
many groups would rise to agitate more for their rights.

“This country cannot continue without restructuring because
people will express their rights for liberty and we cannot avoid
this. They will continue to agitate.

“If we consider what happens during the military we will see
that we cannot stop agitation from people. We fought the military
through agitation and we won.

“At the end, the wish of the people will prevail, so to reduce
all these ugly incidents and to sanitise our society, the
government  has  its responsibility.

“Government must do the wish of the people because democracy is
the government of the people, for the people and by the people. We
cannot call the peoples bluff,’’ he said.