January 17, 2020

The Hausa/Fulani dominated federal government cannot hold the rest of the country to ransom on the existential question of security. There is no way you can interpret the constitution and it will lead to the position that people should willingly submit to death in the hands of bandits and organized criminals. It is clear that the Nigerian army has not been able to protect Nigerians against organized armed violence. There is no doubt that the Nigerian police failed to protect Nigerians from organized crimes. Indeed, evidence shows that the police have been the authors of most crimes in the land. In such circumstances, it is eminently proper that the people must seek conventional and unconventional means of organizing for their security. I would expect the attorney general of Nigeria to focus his energy on how to use the laws of the land to help these efforts by different states to ensure safety and law and order in the various communities. If the AG uses the letters of the constitution to seek to frustrate these noble efforts, the affected regions should seek to amend that constitution. If anybody poses an obstacle to that, then the affected states should consider whether it is still in their interest to remain part of the country or whether they should move in alternative directions that will best guarantee the security of their communities. Somebody should be able to tell the attorney general the truth, which is that if forced to choose between the Nigerian Constitution and the lives of the people, it will be to hell with the Constitution. Any constitution that promotes your death is one that you must discard and repudiate in its entirety. I hope that the Governors of the Western States will stand their grounds and resist any blackmail from the federal government on the matter.  And why should anybody in the West worry about the Attorney General's threats? Just tell him that if he insists on his position, then the western States are prepared to withdraw from Nigeria. That will panic them so much they will leave you alone. What gives the North the courage to dictate to Nigeria is the belief that the West will never seek to break off from Nigeria. If there is any serious challenge to that belief, that is the end to domination. The North cannot cope with a situation where both the east and west want to leave Nigeria.