Forumites,Akinjide reckons the June 12 1993 was the epitome of the 1914 "amalgamation fraud". No mention of the senseless slaughter and systematic killing(by starvation) of circa 3 million Biafrans.
LESSON: The Biafran story must be carried by Biafrans. A bloke called onuegbe and his side-kick Big steve feel it should be forgotten. I don't think so. June 12 was the repercussion of 1966 to 1970,period!
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The guardian
Wednesday, August 29, 2001
Akinjide blames Lugard for Nigeria's political crisis
From Tolu Olanrewaju and
Iyabo Sotunde, Ibadan
ALMOST 87 years after the historic amalgamation of Northern and Southern Nigeria, a former Justice Minister, Richard Akinjide has cited the action as the root of Nigeria's "democracy and political succession crisis".
Akinjide who also mentioned the Army as part of Nigeria's problems contended that it was a blunder on the part of the architects of the amalgamation - Lord Lugard and Harcourt - to merge the two distinct regions.
Akinjide who spoke at a lecture commemorating the silver jubilee of Radio Oyo, in Ibadan, yesterday also berated former military President-General Ibrahim Babangida, for allegedly nursing the ambition to return to power.
Buttressing his point with the annulment of the June 12, 1993 presidential election result and its attendant crisis, the Senior Advocate of Nigeria (SAN) said that Lugard and Harcourt in their quest to sustain a "poor and indigent North deliberately married it (North) to a wealthy south."
Akinjide went on: "From 19th till today, Nigeria as amalgamated has not been able to find either love, or unity or workable machinery for democracy and the challenges of succession. The June crisis was the epitome of the 1914 amalgamation fraud. That annulment, whether we like it or not, has changed the history of this country forever. And I want to say categorically in my opinion that after that event, Nigeria can never be the same again."
Akinjide who spoke on "Democracy and the Challenges of Succession in Nigeria", also warned against military intervention in governance, urging President Olusegun Obasanjo to keep a tab on the Army.
All governments and political succession must be in accordance with provisions of the constitution, said the erudite lawyer.
He explained that Obasanjo must keep tab on military personal in order to check their excesses and prevent them from venturing into governance.
"The problem of Nigeria is the Nigerian Army. If you are in office and you do not control the Army, you are only in power and not in control. People should never allow law and order to break down again because when it happens, there is confusion," Akinjide said.
The former minister enjoined Nigerians to be wary of those who may want to use the money they siphoned from the public treasury to get power.
He said: "These people must be joking to think they can govern us. Peoples' attitude have changed. We now know what they did. So they can not come back to rule us. We will resist it."
Akinjide vowed to lead forces that would stop Babangida's alleged bid to return to power, saying he lacked the moral right to aspire to lead again.
The legal luminary however, stirred a controversy when he mentioned in passing that the late premier of the defunct Western Region, Chief S.L Akintola, was the one who on March 26, 1957, in the House of representatives, contrary to popular opinion, moved the motion for independence, and not Chief Anthony Enahoro.
According to him, Akintola's motion was seconded by Ayo Rosiji (Egba East) while Jaja Wachukwu moved that for the amendment, which was seconded by Maitama Sule (Kano).
Oyo State Governor Lam Adesina faulted Akinjide's claims, insisting that reports ascribed it to Enahoro.
Adesina also told the gathering that it was only a free and fair election that can forestall crisis and revolution in 2003.
Former Police Inspector-General and Arewa Consultative Forum (ACF) Chairman Mohammed D. Yusufu warned that the clamour for re-election of some political office holders could endanger the current democratic dispensation.
Describing lack of "civilian to civilian" transition as the bane of Nigeria's democracy, Yusufu said: "Unless Nigerians stand up together and do something about the trend, our attempt to build a democracy is heading for the rocks.
"We are not likely to ensure a credible civilian to civilian succession in 2003. This failure would prepare the ground for military or another form of dictatorial rule".
Also at the event were former Police Affairs Minister, David Jemibewon, erstwhile Works and Housing Minister, Abdulkareem Adisa, Oyo State Deputy Governor Iyiola Oladokun as well as members of the state executive council.
And in Port Harcourt, a group, the Niger Delta Peoples Network (NDPN) called for the correction of "imbalances" in the 1999 Constitution to strengthen Nigeria's fledging democracy.
Describing the said imbalances as critical factors, the NDPN in a statement by Lucky Ayomanor (national chairman) and Lucky Eyuwoko Pemu (secretary general) said Nigeria's myriad of socio-political and ethnic problems may remain unresolved if they were not redressed.
"Most of the social and in different parts of the country today are deep-rooted in the imbalances contained in the said constitution, e.g. fiscal federalism and freedom of worship," it said.
On how to correct the imbalances, the network which seeks to articulate ideas and evolve strategies towards providing solutions to the problems in the Niger Delta especially resource control, said "convocation of a national conference of all ethnic nationalities" was the best bet.
Urging the government to sustain dialogue and consultation with all stakeholders, which it described as a dividend of democracy, the NDPN commended the governors of Edo, Delta, Bayelsa, Rivers, Akwa Ibom and Cross River states for their "sensitivity" to the resource control agitation.
"We appreciate the need to sensitise the people towards rallying round the epitome of the struggle so as to sustain the tempo as well as the eventual actualisation of a true Niger Delta region where their national resources would be used to develop the land and people as it was in the West with Cccoa and in the North with groundnut," it said.
"We want and we are prepared to pay the supreme price for resource control and fiscal federalism. We are not saying we will monopolise the entire resources, we are prepared to pay tax on the resources to the Federal Government as it is done
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Awo's political idea was based on the assumption that any town beyond Owo was Igbo or Hausa. Awo was not socialised; he was not a good mixer because he did not have the opportunity, which the secondary school offered. ~TOS Benson, Baba Oba of Lagos
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