Nigerians will be better off in separation – Yakasai

An elder statesman, Alhaji Tanko Yakasai, has said both the quit notice served to Igbo by northern youths and the refutation of grazing right to Fulani herders are both unconstitutional.

Yakasai said this while reacting to the ultimatum given to the Igbos by some Northern Youth.

He said, “The quit notice to Igbos by some people in the north and the purported denial of grazing right to Fulani herders in the south are against human rights provisions of the Nigerian constitution, which guaranteed freedom of movement to all Nigerians.”

He also described the denial of Fulani herders from grazing their animals as an infringement on the constitution.

He said, “I read the joint position paper by the Arewa Citizens Action for change. First of all, I believe there is only a Nigerian citizenship, as long as we have a Nigeria. It is a good beginning, but I think we needed a deeper and more serious extermination of our situation, which I believe is overdue.

“It does not matter whether Nigeria will continue as a single political entity or not. We in the north need to have a kind of master plan for our future and the future of our people. It is wrong for us to be living in the way we are without any plan for our development for the present and for our future.”

He, therefore, opined that a meeting should be held for a call for action and with people from different disciplines coming together to discuss how to uplift the society.

He pointed out, “A preparatory committee should be set up to define the objectives for the meeting. I for one never believed that Nigerians will be better off in separation.

“I have been having this conviction right from 1953 and my position remains the same till today. But, it will be foolhardy to sit idly by in the face of one agitation after another. In a period of uncertainty, it wrong to assume everything is normal.

“It is better to have as many options as possible at your disposal. Even if the need to use any option shall not arise, in the end, you have nothing to lose by being prepared for the unexpected,”