Vice President Yemi Osinbajo has been criticized over his comment that the greatness of the Nigeria lies first in its diversity and then in the size of the country.
In a message sent to IGBERE TV, a Facebook user, Chukwuemeka Chimerue said that Osinbajo should have understood that the ethnic, religious and regional diversity of Nigeria has been the greatest bane of disunity and division threatening the co-existence of the nations that constitute Nigeria.
He said: “It is with utter disgust and disbelief that we read about the statement credited to Vice President Yemi Osinbajo, in which he stated that “the greatness of this country (Nigeria) lies first in its diversity and then in the size of the country.”
“Unfortunately, Osinbajo forgot to acknowledge that the ethnic, religious and regional diversity of Nigeria has been the greatest bane of disunity and division threatening the co-existence of the nations that constitute Nigeria. A situation whereby we have lived together for 100 years and above and still preach for unity and/or national cohesion is an indication that the Nigeria is not destined to exit as an entity.
“The forced unity of the geographical expression called Nigeria is the reason Nigerian political class and elites will stash away public funds in the national treasury and invest it in Western countries to the detriment of the citizens they swore to govern.
“Since its creation, Nigeria is yet to attain a state of nationhood where the interest of the country will be placed above all the personal interests and ambitions of some few cabals in the government. A country where some instruments are being skewed to the advantage of some regions cannot be preaching about unity and national cohesion.
“For some countries of the world, their diversity may become their strength but the reverse is the case in the entity Nigeria whereby its diversity has become a curse and a thing of worry to its citizen. It has become apparent that people of diverse cultures, beliefs and traditions, cannot cohabit together especially when their individual interests are not aligned. This calls for division so as to achieve the diverse purpose of the human existence.
“Again, Osinbajo averred that “it is better to be a part of a great thing than to be one tiny part of something that is not necessarily great.” We wonder which of the constituent nation he is referring of not been necessarily great but we all know that judging from the things we have seen and the ones we have known, Biafra is far beyond a great country capable of providing succour to not only its citizens but the whole of Africa.
“We acknowledge the fact that Nigeria has a massive political landscape but still massive development has continued to elude Nigeria since its creation. Its large expanse has not in any way, provided the common citizens with the opportunity of attaining the peak of success in life compared to other nations like Japan, Dubai and South Korea where massive development has been experienced all over in spite of having a small landscape.
“We want to put it to Osinbajo that the landscape of a country does not necessarily guarantee its greatness but the unity of purpose, human resources, national interest, determination and hardworking of which has eluded Nigeria since its establishment.
“The breach of agreements and the deliberate scheming against a particular geo-political region by successive governments coupled with her insincerity has even helped to exacerbate the issue and provided the ground for separation.
“Finally, we wish to remind Osinbajo once more that the Biafra agitators are not trying to secede from the British contraption known as Nigeria, but trying to restore a nation that has been in existence for many years before the amalgamation of Nigeria is being conceived.
“Even a toddler knows that there is nothing good or special in the unity of the British creation, Nigeria for it has caused us more sorrow, hardship, deaths, misery and agony and that is why we won’t relent in our efforts to ensure that Biafra’s sovereignty is being restored. Nigeria as a chain of bondage must be broken.”
