Former Vice-President Atiku Abubakar on Thursday, April 27, said the north must stop the blame game over lack of noticeable development in the region.
Abubakar made this known in a paper titled; “The Challenge of Unity, Diversity and National Development: Nigeria at Crossroads,” NAN reports
Speaking at the public presentation of Daily Stream newspaper at the Banquet Hall, Nigeria Airforce Conference Centre, Kado, Abuja, Abubakar said Nigerians must continue to live together as one country amidst the seeming pervasive climate of disunity.
He said: “If people get disillusioned, and in frustration, they embrace and imbibe all sorts of views, beliefs and ideas including ones that suggest that people from the other ethnic, religious or regional group is responsible for their woes.
“Today, the three northern zones are the most backward. Instead of us to blame ourselves, we are blaming the south.
“The (former) Senate President was saying we fought civil war about 50 years. When you fly today from the north to the east, they have rebuilt their own east. We have not even rebuilt a hut in the north.
“We are still living in such huts but they have rebuilt the east and then we blame them for rebuilding their own homes.
“But the most germane question is: must we really continue to live together as one country amidst such pervasive climate of disunity, which is impeding our development?
“My prompt answer to this is yes, we should remain together, because it is the best option, and because we will be stronger, greater, and better in one piece than in pieces.”
On his part, the chairman of the occasion and former Senate President, Ken Nnamani, said those advocating for the restructuring of the country were not necessarily calling for dismembering of the nation.
He announced that his committee on electoral reforms was not about restructuring of the country, saying the committee’s duties was purely on electoral matters.
