The presidential candidate of Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) in the last general election, former Vice President Atikiu Abubakar has expressed concern that Nigeria is at the risk of becoming a failed state.
The Wazirin Adamawa in an opinion piece he shared with journalists, Monday, noted that “the current ethnic and religious clashes bedeviling the country are symptoms of the disease. They themselves are not the illness. We must address the root causes of the various symptoms of insecurity Nigeria now faces.”
“Nigeria needs peace, unity and prosperity. But all three of these virtues are dependent on Nigeria having social justice. Without justice, there cannot be cohesiveness in a multi-ethnic and multi-religious nation as Nigeria,” Atiku added.
He also noted that “Nigeria has foundational issues, which we have to resolve. Until we resolve those issues, our nation may not fulfill its potentials of being the beacon of light for the Black Race, even if we have the most righteous people at the helm.”
He continued: “We have been operating from the same unitary foundation, and have given it several names since January 15, 1966. Other than slight name changes, the mould has remained the same, and the yield has changed little.
“Nigeria needs to restructure to avoid the various failed state prophecies, first advanced by an American think-tank against Nigeria in 2006, Mmost recently regurgitated by the Financial Times of London, about a month ago. To be forewarned is to be forearmed.
“What is a failed state? A failed state is a political sovereign geographic territory whose government has deteriorated to a level where it cannot fulfill a sovereign government’s basic responsibilities, such as the security of life and property, and upholding law and order.
“Nigeria is not a failed state. However, we are at risk of becoming a failed state, if we do not resolve our foundational challenges that make it rather difficult for the central government to discharge her responsibilities effectively.
“Nigeria is now of age. It is now time to trust the component units of this federation with devolution of powers from the central government to handle issues such as policing, in tandem with the Federal Government.
“In simple terms, what this means is that, unless we halt the entropy, things will not improve.
“It is time to feel our nation’s pulse and steer the ship of state away from a failed state destination. Restructuring is the lighthouse that will guide the Nigerian state’s ship back to the safety of land.”
