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Former Minister of Information, Prof. Jerry Gana has told Northerners preaching division that the Middle Belt minorities will not follow them if Nigeria breaks up.
Gana said this while delivering a sermon at the St. Matthew’s Church, Maitama, Diocese of Abuja (Anglican Communion), in Abuja on Sunday.
“We love Nigeria and it was changed to a federal system because of the minorities so that we can have a place. So, we love Nigeria but in the unlikely event that people want to go their way, the Arewa in the Sahel will go. But we will remain here in the Federal Republic of Nigeria.”
He also lambasted a former Vice-Chancellor of the Ahmadu Bello University and the spokesperson for the Northern Elders Forum, Prof. Ango Abdullahi, for supporting the quit notice issued by the northern youths.
He added, “One of them, who also spoke is a former vice-chancellor. I thank God he didn’t sign my certificate. My own was signed by Prof. Ishaya Audu. How can a man of that stature, of that status, of that level of leadership, says he supports the youths in Kaduna to give to other legitimate citizens, an order to go? Who are you? Who says that?
“In this country, there are no second-class citizens. We are all first class. We are all sons and daughters of this land and that was why I decided to call a conference of all the minorities from 14 states and we had to state in clear words that the quit notice was totally unconstitutional. This is our home.”
He suggested that the Federal Government accepts restructuring in order to solve agitations in the country.
The ex-minister said, “In a democracy, dialogue is the language, consultation is the way. Two cannot work together unless they agree. So, there needs to be dialogue and mutual respect.
“Anywhere you have diversity of ethnicity or religion in the world, the type of system that works is federalism. And that is the way. And each one must build his federal system the way it suits him. It cannot be imposed; it cannot be engineered in favour of one person.”
