Emeritus Archbishop of Abuja Catholic Archdiocese, John Cardinal Onaiyekan, has declared that Nigeria’s unity is negotiable and that those holding contrary opinion should be disregarded.
Onaiyekan made the statement at the weekend while reacting to persistent herders/farmers clashes in the country during a visit by TIV Professionals Group (TPG) in Abuja.
‘We must admit that the unity of Nigeria is negotiable. Negotiation means you give and take. In fact, right now, Nigeria is up for negotiation. I think that is where different groups come in to make their demands.
‘The truth is that the nation is in danger and whatever anybody can do to prevent the worse, they should do it. There must be a way that we can save ourselves from self destruction. We cannot continue like this. Very few people are happy with the status quo. If we do not talk, we might end up killing one another.’
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The cleric also accused the National Assembly of neglecting its duties, stating that the role of the National Assembly is to discuss pressing issues plaguing the peace of the nation and to find possible solutions.
‘Under normal circumstances, it is the National Assembly that should handle these kind of things. The system is set up so that the National Assembly can challenge the government. But we have reached a situation where we have a National Assembly that is proud to be a rubber stamp. Somehow every member of that House has remained silent. We realise that there is no difference between the political parties;whether PDP or APC, nobody complains. Which means the things that are serious are not discussed.
‘Unfortunately, we have reached a stage in Nigeria where we cannot trust politicians. TIV land, where are your politicians, what are they saying? What are the issues that they talk about in political gatherings? Are they blind to the fact that there’s a bigger thing than who will win the next election?’
During the visit, the chairman, TPG, Prof. Zachary Gundu, alleged that the army, sometimes, supported the herdsmen attacks, as they look the other way instead of protecting the people.
Gundu, who described the Fulani livestock trade as a Trojan horse used to masquerade the true intentions of the herders, explained that the Fulani are merely riding on the back of the cow to grab land at the expense of indigenous crop farmers for the Fulani of the whole world.
‘We want the return of displaced people to their ancestral lands and full compensation be paid to those who have lost lives and property. The strategy to violently subsidise open grazing by blood and ancestral lands must stop.’
AFRICA TODAY NEWS, NEW YORK