An elder statesman and prominent northern politician, Alhaji Tanko Yakasai, says one of the aims of Nigeria’s founding fathers was for the country to remain united and indivisible.
Yakasai stated this in an exclusive interview with the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) on Sunday in Abuja.
He said that during the struggle for the country’s independence, none of the founding fathers thought the country would look like what it is today.
Yakassai, however, said that the kind of Nigeria we now have was dependent on the circumstance and the situation before the country.
He likened nation building to the construction of a house whereby “the architect will look at the land space and plan in line with it.
“The type of country we envisioned is determined by the size, the ambition, the ability, financial and other capabilities, just like in house construction, the inputs of a painter, bricklayer, are all brought together for the construction.
“But the founding fathers had one big thing in mind which I feel they achieved and that was making Nigeria the biggest country in Africa.
“”And sustaining that unity till date is one big goal I can say is central to the aims of our founding fathers, which we have achieved.
“I say this because so far in Africa, there is no country as big as Nigeria in the whole of the continent.
“In terms of achievements, everything will certainly take its course in a matter of time,’’ he said.
Yakasai, a prominent member of Arewa Consultative Forum, who described himself as a ‘patriot’ rather than a ‘nationalist’, said that nation building was not a one target aspiration.
According to him, 65 years after independence, Nigeria is still trying its best.
“I don’t think things have really gone wrong in Nigeria. As one building a house, you keep adjusting your plans as new ideas come, even after finishing, you can still add new things and so I feel Nigeria is still work in progress,’’ he said.
The elder statesman said that the problem that confronted the country shortly after independence was keeping the nation one due to the Nigerian/Biafran civil war when one side wanted to leave .
“But as God will have it, other components of the country fought against the one side that had wanted to secede and today, that side that initially wanted to secede had realised that it was a big mistake for them to go away.
“Now the unity of Nigeria is confirmed and every Nigerian is committed to building a single, strong and viable country.
“”Nobody is thinking of breaking away. I don’t know if you know of anybody at this time considering to leave,” he asked.
According to him, if a referendum is organised today, especially for the Igbo people who had formerly sought to break away from Nigeria, majority will vote against splitting the country.
“Having one united Nigeria is in the best interest of everybody because that will bring a better country for all of us and the future generation,’’ he said.
Yakasai said when the late Chief Chukwuemeka Odumegwu Ojukwu and some people were struggling to leave Nigeria, they didn’t really understand the magnitude of the problem.
“They didn’t ask the key question: if other Nigerians team up against us, can we defeat them in a fight? And that was why they lost out in that civil war,’’ he said. (NAN)
