Nigeria should not disintegrate under Tinubu, by Ochereome Nnanna

By the clip you work this, President Bola Tinubu whitethorn person work the accepted Independence Day nationalist broadcast. It is usually afloat of platitudes utilized to animate the citizenry, reassure them of the glorious promises of the federation contempt contiguous challenges, forge nationalist unity and patriotism and promote the radical to beryllium acceptable to laic down their lives for the uplift of the nation. Things similar those.

When we were overmuch younger, successful the 1970s and 1980s, the Independence Day broadcast drove america to our radios oregon the black-and-white screens of the Nigerian Television Authority, NTA. The level of decay we unrecorded with contiguous was obscurity successful the skyline of our imaginations. The situation, however, dramatically changed erstwhile Muhammadu Buhari and Bola Tinubu joined successful their quest to seizure power. The All Progressives Congress, APC, founded by the duo yet seized powerfulness utilizing their acolytes.

A erstwhile APC chieftain, Abubakar Kawu Baraje, confessed that the bandits decimating information successful the North-West and North-Central (including his ain Kwara State) were imported by immoderate leaders from neighbouring countries to combat erstwhile President Goodluck Jonathan if the 2015 elections were “rigged”. They soon turned into Frankenstein Monsters which the Buhari authorities tried but failed to subdue; the Tinubu medication has truthful acold not been capable to get escaped of them.

Other antagonistic legacies that Buhari and Tinubu openly oregon tacitly promoted  are utmost nepotism and taste hatred. Buhari shamelessly broadcast to the satellite that helium would not beryllium just to each Nigerians; that helium would favour lone those who voted for him (mainly the North and Tinubu’s followers). He implemented his threat, peculiarly against the South-East. In the process, helium resuscitated wide agitations for Biafra and triggered the emergence of Mazi Nnamdi Kanu to stardom successful the East. To worsen matters, Buhari besides fulfilled his earlier menace to dispersed sharia to each parts of the state by throwing the Northern borders unfastened and inviting equipped Fulani fighters to invade forests each implicit the state to prehend indigenous people’s lands and occupy.

Nnamdi Kanu is 3 years successful Federal Government custody due to the fact that helium formed the Eastern Security Network, ESN, to support Igboland from Fulani invasion.

When Tinubu took implicit connected May 29, 2025, radical similar maine had hoped helium would close Buhari’s  machinations by putting an extremity to nepotism, flushing retired bandits and herdsmen terrorists, rebuilding the fractured strategy and fostering a agreed nation. Instead, helium chose to proceed Buhari’s utmost taste nepotism, loading the juiciest offices with radical from his taste stock, peculiarly his idiosyncratic trusted bagmen and women. Where adjacent Buhari shied distant from a Muslim-Muslim ticket, Tinubu readily went for it, afloat of assurance that the absorption to this would beryllium easy absorbed. But successful doing so, helium violated the Federal Character Principle successful the Constitution which was enshrined to beforehand nationalist unity, consciousness of belonging, solidarity and patriotism.

The effect is that the South-East has been joined by the North successful feeling mostly cheated. Buhari’s minions (the Congress for Progressive Change, CPC) successful the APC person near to pack up against Tinubu successful the African Democratic Congress, ADC. Right now, the statement is not that Tinubu corrected Buhari’s blunders arsenic Nigeria’s leader. Rather, Tinubu’s spokespersons are mocking Buhari’s governmental orphans, asking them: “how does it consciousness to deterioration the pinching shoes”? If we are to spell connected similar this, however volition Nigeria survive? How tin Nigeria beryllium united?

I don’t deliberation that Buhari and Tinubu were bothered astir nationalist unity, though they blithely pontificated it conscionable for governmental correctness. When Buhari was successful power, immoderate “Northern youths” saw the Biafra agitation which Buhari triggered arsenic crushed to harass and intimidate the Igbo residents successful the North. On the 1 hand, they issued a “quit notice”. But, connected the other, they opposed Biafra referendum and exit from Nigeria which Nnamdi Kanu and his Indigenous People of Biafra, IPOB, were pursuing! What bash you telephone a idiosyncratic who can’t marque up his caput astir something?

Tinubu’s minions person adopted precisely the aforesaid “strategy”. Immediately aft the EndSARS protests successful October 2020, the Tinubu radical started promoting the fallacy that IPOB and Igbo residents were liable for the mayhem that followed the Lekki Toll Gate Shootings. And since 2023 erstwhile Tinu...