Prof Ben Onyeukwu DESTROYED UNITY

DESTROYED UNITY:

The unity of Nigeria would have been formidable, if those who received power from the colonial masters, at independence, adhered to the concept of, "in brotherhood we stand", as enshrined in the Nigeria's independence national anthem. But, instead of keeping faith with the tenets of the principles of brotherhood, design to have held the country together, they rather chose the path that destroyed the foundation of the proposed unity. 

   It is alleged that the same region of the Nigerian State, who today, chant the indivisibility of the country, were the people that played the inglorious role that enforced the failure of the 1966 ad hoc national conference, designed to discuss Nigeria's political future. Also, the Aburi Conference of 1967, which recommended a confederation structure for the nation was equally dropped by the same people, in favour of the Nigeria-Biafra civil war, which massacred millions of people from both sides.

   Furthermore, the 2005 National Political Reform Conference (NPRC), convened by President Olusegun Obasanjo's administration to discuss constitutional reforms and address issues affecting the country, as well as the 2014 National Conference, inaugurated by President Goodluck Jonathan on March 17, 2014, to discuss Nigeria's future and address issues like power devolution, national security, and economic development, were all allegedly downplayed by the region under review. Recently, there has been a call for a Sovereign National Conference (SNC) to tackle marginalization and disunity, by a notable advocate. To this end, the Chief Afe Babalola's call for a SNC in January 2026 to address the country's problems, is outstanding, but may have come too late, since it came at highest point of the wounds of the high-handedness of the same people who have deliberately refused to adhere to the principles of unity since independence.

   Definitely, with the high level of the alleged Islamic agenda, which prompts the concept of christian genocide, as well as the stern agitations of Oduduwa and Biafran Republics, it becomes too hard to raise hope for Nigeria's continued unity.