Babangida

Nigeria’s former Military President, Ibrahim Badamasi Babangida has cautioned those clamouring for a break-up of the country to have a rethink.

Nigeria, he reasons, is most likely to come out worse than its current state if it were allowed to break into various parts.

He says: “That a people share common identity, language, history, doctrine, culture, mores and values is not synonymous with development, growth, stability and peace.”

Babangida who delivered a statement in Minna during prayers to mark his 76th birthday, gave some direct examples to underscore his argument that break-up may even worsen the socio-political and economic lot of Nigerians.

“As a former Military President who had the rare privilege to travel around Africa to sustain the African cooperation through peace-keeping operations, I have come to the conclusion that nations are driven by a common ideal and not by the homogeneity of their race.

“I saw Somalia, such a homogeneous conclave yet one of the most troubled countries in Africa today.

“I saw South Sudan, which broke away from the old Sudan, but peace and stability have eluded them.

“Rwanda genocidal experience is not romantic either. But a president from the minority ethnic group repositioned the country to assume its pride of place in the comity of nations.”