Nigeria May Not Last Till 2023 – Olajide

The Secretary-General of the Yoruba Council of Elders, Kunle Olajide, on Saturday noted that Nigeria may not last till 2023 for the general elections.

Olajide noted that the call for separation in the country and level of attacks on government agencies are signs that all is not well with Nigeria and urgent actions must be taken to bring it back from the brink.

The YCE Secretary-General stated during an interview with Punch on Saturday.

He said, “The attacks on police stations, Independent National Electoral Commission offices are a manifestation of general disenchantment of Nigerians. When INEC offices are being attacked, and police stations are also attacked, that is a direct attack on the state.

“It is a reflection of how bad we have descended in the last six years of this administration. It is still a manifestation of the general disenchantment of the people and something has to be done urgently otherwise, may God forbid, the country may not even last till 2023.”

Asked if what is happening now should be blamed on the present government, Olajide said his answer was “yes and no.”

He  said, “They inherited a country that has been dysfunctional because if the structure and fraudulent constitution of 1999. But they promised Nigerians so much in 2014 that they were going to restructure the country to reflect true federalism and the basis of our union in 1963.

“What have we found since President Muhammadu  Buhari came to power? The President and his people  did not say anything about restructuring until 2017. They wanted to creat an impression that they were sincere and (Governor Nasir) El-Rufai committee was constituted.

“The committee came up with a very good report but not one word  has been said about that report since 2017. I think Mr President must have underrated reactions of Nigerians and this thing has gone beyond him now.

“This is the ninth National Assembly and they have been amending the constitution since. You can’t continue to panel beat a badly destroyed accident vehicle. We need a new constitution. The 1999 Constitution should be discarded and a process of writing a new one should be put in place.”

He said the 1999 constitution turned politics to commercial ventures when politicians go to invest and make huge returns on their investment within a short period at the expense of the citizens.

He said the new constitution should address such trend and make politics an avenue to serve the people.

Commenting on the response of the Attorney General of the Federation, Abubakar Malami (SAN) to the ban in open grazing declared by southern governors, the YCE leader described the AGF’s response as childish and unfortunate.

He added, “The response of the Attorney General is infantile and very elementary. His response reflects the quality of people we have at the highest level in this country. That is how low this country has descended.”

“The chief law officer of this country doesn’t realise that there is no freedom of movement for cows in our constitution. Animals are restricted to the zoos and ranches. They don’t have freedom of movement like human beings.”