Yorubas, Igbos Will Oppress, Eliminate Minority Groups If Nigeria Breaks Up — Obasanjo

Former President Olusegun Obasanjo Wednesday described calls for
the disintegration of Nigeria as unmindful and insensitive to the
plight of the minority groups in the country.

This is coming as the Ambassador of Republic of Korea to
Nigeria, Mr. Kim Young Chae, has condemned the call by
secessionists for the breakup of the country into several
parts.

Speaking in Abeokuta, Ogun State capital, when he received the
Tiv Professional Group (TPG) from Benue State, who paid him a
courtesy visit, Obasanjo recalled a discussion between him and “a
military friend.”

According to the former president, his friend had described the
major tribes in the country as selfish and not sufficiently caring
for the minority groups.

Obasanjo said he aligned with his friend’s opinion and expressed
worry over what would become of the minority groups if the major
tribes decided to secede and operate as separate countries.

“If the Yoruba can stand as a country; if the Igbos and the
Hausa/Fulani can stand as separate countries, where do we want the
minority groups to be?

“Now, by virtue of the present situation, they are a little bit
protected but if Nigeria breaks up, they will be oppressed and
exterminated,” he added.

Obasanjo noted that when he had meetings with a number of
socio-cultural organisations in September 2020, nobody at such
meetings talked about disintegration or breakup, stressing that
“all they clamoured for was a change for good.”

He urged the Nigerian leaders to be mindful of the ethnic
diversity of the Nigerian nation, adding that the country would not
make any meaningful progress without such consideration.

Obasanjo, who expressed hope that the rough times that Nigeria
was going through would not last forever, urged Nigerians to be
patient while the country gathered her goodwill and moved in the
right direction.

The leader of the group, Prof. Zacharys Gundv, in a paper he
presented to Obasanjo, highlighted the challenges of the nation,
including insecurity, poverty religious intolerance, kidnappings
and banditry, among others.

He explained the Tivs were worried about the skewed narrative of
insecurity in Nigeria

In a related development, the Ambassador of Republic of Korea to
Nigeria, Mr. Kim Young Chae has condemned the call by secessionists
for the breakup of the country into several parts.

The diplomat offered his reservation yesterday at a roundtable
discussion with some journalists to mark his 100 days in office as
the Korean Ambassador in Nigeria.

Kim described the idea of balkanisation of Nigeria as very
dangerous, which could result in bloodshed and displacement of many
communities by virtue of conflict that could result from such.

He urged Nigerians to continue to live in harmony, having
intermarried and carried out a lot of activities together for over
100 years.

“The call for the breakup of Nigeria is not a good idea. We had
the Korean War in 1950 and more than one million people were
killed. We also had the Biafran War in Nigeria and more than one
million lives were lost. To divide a country means cutting your
body. Let us imagine we have a whole body and I want to make my own
body into two, then we have to cut some portions. And in the
process I have to bleed a lot, not to wonder the pains and loss of
blood,” he said.

He cautioned that if Nigeria eventually splits into several
parts, the smaller offshoots will become insignificant and
irrelevant in the global stage, without any voice of note.

“Nigeria right now is internationally well-acclaimed. The Korean
candidate was defeated by a Nigerian candidate, Dr. Ngozi
Okonjo-Iweala for the post of Director-General of World Trade
Organisation, which indicates that Nigeria is very strong at the
diplomatic level. We also see many accomplished Nigerian nationals,
notably Amina Mohammed at the UN and Akinwunmi Adesina at the
African Development Bank making their presence felt on the global
stage. Why you have so many high-ranking Nigerian policymakers at
the global level is because Nigeria is a very relevant nation,
otherwise, Okonjo-Iweala would not have been elected. In the event
Nigeria is splintered into many countries, those countries won’t be
of relevance internationally”.

He also warned of the cost implication of running the offshoot
nations, like building new army and institutions like the
presidency, new embassies and the civil service.

Kim also bemoaned decrease in bilateral trade volume between
Nigeria and Korea.

He said last year trade between both countries was $1.2 billion,
which was a sharp decline from the $2.6 billion transactions in
2017.

He attributed the slide to the fall in the global price of oil
and gas, noting the fall negatively affected the two nations’
bilateral trade volume.

Former President Olusegun Obasanjo Wednesday described calls for
the disintegration of Nigeria as unmindful and insensitive to the
plight of the minority groups in the country.

This is coming as the Ambassador of Republic of Korea to
Nigeria, Mr. Kim Young Chae, has condemned the call by
secessionists for the breakup of the country into several
parts.

Speaking in Abeokuta, Ogun State capital, when he received the
Tiv Professional Group (TPG) from Benue State, who paid him a
courtesy visit, Obasanjo recalled a discussion between him and “a
military friend.”

According to the former president, his friend had described the
major tribes in the country as selfish and not sufficiently caring
for the minority groups.

Obasanjo said he aligned with his friend’s opinion and expressed
worry over what would become of the minority groups if the major
tribes decided to secede and operate as separate countries.

“If the Yoruba can stand as a country; if the Igbos and the
Hausa/Fulani can stand as separate countries, where do we want the
minority groups to be?

“Now, by virtue of the present situation, they are a little bit
protected but if Nigeria breaks up, they will be oppressed and
exterminated,” he added.

Obasanjo noted that when he had meetings with a number of
socio-cultural organisations in September 2020, nobody at such
meetings talked about disintegration or breakup, stressing that
“all they clamoured for was a change for good.”

He urged the Nigerian leaders to be mindful of the ethnic
diversity of the Nigerian nation, adding that the country would not
make any meaningful progress without such consideration.

Obasanjo, who expressed hope that the rough times that Nigeria
was going through would not last forever, urged Nigerians to be
patient while the country gathered her goodwill and moved in the
right direction.

The leader of the group, Prof. Zacharys Gundv, in a paper he
presented to Obasanjo, highlighted the challenges of the nation,
including insecurity, poverty religious intolerance, kidnappings
and banditry, among others.

He explained the Tivs were worried about the skewed narrative of
insecurity in Nigeria

In a related development, the Ambassador of Republic of Korea to
Nigeria, Mr. Kim Young Chae has condemned the call by secessionists
for the breakup of the country into several parts.

The diplomat offered his reservation yesterday at a roundtable
discussion with some journalists to mark his 100 days in office as
the Korean Ambassador in Nigeria.

Kim described the idea of balkanisation of Nigeria as very
dangerous, which could result in bloodshed and displacement of many
communities by virtue of conflict that could result from such.

He urged Nigerians to continue to live in harmony, having
intermarried and carried out a lot of activities together for over
100 years.

“The call for the breakup of Nigeria is not a good idea. We had
the Korean War in 1950 and more than one million people were
killed. We also had the Biafran War in Nigeria and more than one
million lives were lost. To divide a country means cutting your
body. Let us imagine we have a whole body and I want to make my own
body into two, then we have to cut some portions. And in the
process I have to bleed a lot, not to wonder the pains and loss of
blood,” he said.

He cautioned that if Nigeria eventually splits into several
parts, the smaller offshoots will become insignificant and
irrelevant in the global stage, without any voice of note.

“Nigeria right now is internationally well-acclaimed. The Korean
candidate was defeated by a Nigerian candidate, Dr. Ngozi
Okonjo-Iweala for the post of Director-General of World Trade
Organisation, which indicates that Nigeria is very strong at the
diplomatic level. We also see many accomplished Nigerian nationals,
notably Amina Mohammed at the UN and Akinwunmi Adesina at the
African Development Bank making their presence felt on the global
stage. Why you have so many high-ranking Nigerian policymakers at
the global level is because Nigeria is a very relevant nation,
otherwise, Okonjo-Iweala would not have been elected. In the event
Nigeria is splintered into many countries, those countries won’t be
of relevance internationally”.

He also warned of the cost implication of running the offshoot
nations, like building new army and institutions like the
presidency, new embassies and the civil service.

Kim also bemoaned decrease in bilateral trade volume between
Nigeria and Korea.

He said last year trade between both countries was $1.2 billion,
which was a sharp decline from the $2.6 billion transactions in
2017.

He attributed the slide to the fall in the global price of oil
and gas, noting the fall negatively affected the two nations’
bilateral trade volume.