Former Nigerian Presidential candidate and Journalist, Chief Dele Momodu, has disclosed that the opportunity to strengthen Nigeria’s unity was lost following the annulment of the June 12 Presidential election in 1993. ayokinews.com reports
Dele Momodu made this known while featuring on ‘The Toyin Falola Interviews’, a virtual program anchored by Toyin Falola, a professor of history at the University of Texas, USA.
Speaking on Nigeria’s unity, Momodu stated that the country would be strongly united only if a “detribalized” leader like ‘MKO Abiola’ emerges with an improved template of the the late Nigerian leader.
According to him “Human beings globally are never one. Even in America, there is racism. It’s how the leadership manages it that will determine how pronounced it will become.
“We’ve never been one in Nigeria. I’m sure you’ve read and heard about the amalgamation that took place in 1914. So, you have different nationalities, ethnic groups forced together.
“At some point, we were managing ourselves, until that first coup when some of our leaders were summarily executed and then the ethnic tension started rising from that moment onwards.
“So, Nigeria is not one, but I believe Nigeria can be one if we have the right type of leadership. We lost that opportunity 28 years ago when Chief Abiola won an election that was not in any doubt. He was voted for across the length and breadth of Nigeria. But unfortunately, some people chose to kill that election and we have suffered and paid dearly for it in the last 28 years. By 2023, it will be exactly 30 years that we lost that opportunity.
“So, I believe and I’m dreaming that someone will emerge, who has that template that Abiola had. Until we find that template, and we revalidate that example, it may be difficult for Nigeria to unite.
“In fact, the biggest problem confronting Nigeria today is the lack of unity and that is why everybody is agitating that they want to go their separate ways.”
