Babagana Kingibe, a former secretary to the government of the federation (SGF), says the idea that any aggrieved group that make up Nigeria can’t secede no longer stands.
Kingibe said the assertion that Nigeria’s unity is not negotiable was a view held by his generation and not millennials who were dissatisfied with the situation of the country.
Speaking at the Sun Newspaper awards for 2020 in Lagos, the elder statesman said that even couples who had grown tired and weary of their union sought separation.
He, however, admonished those agitating for secession to weigh the consequences of such action, noting that the land they will inhabit even if they got their wish will still be Nigeria.
Kingibe said he was born in Nigeria, groomed in Nigeria and he and his contemporary believe in Nigeria, noting that they had never for once harboured the thought of a divided Nigeria as they had no other option.
Kingibe, Nigeria’s envoy to Chad and the Lake Chad basin region, however, said some of his colleagues are of the view that the unity of Nigeria is not negotiable.
He added that he does not share the sentiment of his colleagues, he asserted that the unity of Nigeria is negotiable, noting that even the unity of a family and the union of husband and wife can be negotiated.
He averred that once either party felt short-changed or that the purpose of the union had been defeated and that he or she wants out, the sensible thing is to call them and talk while considering their condition after an assiduous and sensible examination of the merit and demerit of how to be together that they make the decision which suits them best.
“It is not enough to say I do not fare well where I am. So I am going,” he said.
