Dupe Olaoye-Osinkolu/
“Nigeria has not matured to the level of a nation. What we have is just a colony created by Lord Lugard through amalgamation and submitted to Fulanis to run as fiefdom of Fulani dynasty.”
This was the response of former Chairman, Daily Times of Nigeria and Founder, Nigeria-Canada Chamber of Commerce, Akogun Tola Adeniyi, to a question on his views about the current state of the Nigeria nation.
It was in an exclusive interview with NewsmakersNG.
Akogun Adeniyi said, “There is no nation and no country.” He added that the geographical space called Nigeria is a state of confusion.
“There is no nation. They have not allowed a country to emerge. They have not allowed the nationalities to run their own affairs. They have not allowed them to establish institutions that would make them work. They have been controlling their resources…”
The quintessential veteran journalist turned businessman said that for Nigeria’s progress and stability, the people should be allowed to be governed by their own norms and tradition, their own worldview.
“Let all the various nationalities come together. Just call some Fulani leaders, Yoruba leaders, Efik, Igbo leaders etc, when they agree that some sections have dominated the other sections, they can then fashion out what they want to do, identify the kind of country they want to have, whether it would be presidential or parliamentary system of government,” he said.
Adeniyi added that there was no need for a sovereign national conference because the call for it had been abused.
“The best option is to come together and agree that the country is not united, that some tribe is taking advantage of other tribes. From there, they will decide what to do next. Until they destroy the Fulani oligarchy, Nigeria will not know peace,” he said.
On the mention of Fulani, Adeniyi’s opinion was sought on United Nation’s pronouncement that “Fulani herdsmen were terrorists” and the Federal Government’s reaction that they were not.
He said, “The United Nations said the Fulani herdsmen are the 4th largest terrorist group in the world. It was not said by Nigerians. It’s a world’s statement. Of course, people who go to villages, rape women, and kill their people, what else can they be called? They are terrorizing the people. They are terrorists. Terrorism is when you terrorize people.
Reminded that the Federal Government did not agree with the United Nation’s statement, Adeniyi said: “Which government? We have a Fulani government. So, what else do you want them to say? “We have a government that controls the Army, the Navy, the Air Force, State Security Service, Immigration; they have all the apparatus of violence in their hands. What else do you want them to say? We will ask them where the Fulanis get their weapons from.”
He lamented the selective stance of government on security issues, citing how people from other tribes were being arrested if found with gun, but Fulani herdsmen move freely with AK47 rifles without fear of arrest.
“What else could they be, other than terrorists? They are worse than Boko Haram terrorists. As far as I am concerned, Boko Haram terrorists are not as dangerous as Fulani herdsmen. Boko Haram limited their activities to the North East and occasionally, Abuja. But the Fulani herdsmen are terrorising the whole country, except Sokoto. There is no other name for them. It is the worst terrorist group that has emerged in Nigeria in the last 20 years.
On the ease of doing business in Nigeria, Adeniyi who was a member of the Round Table, the highest diplomatic committee discussing African policies and politics, worldwide, scored the business climate in Nigeria low, because of non-availability of electricity supply. He said that business would not thrive on diesel or petrol driven economy.
He observed that business organisations like Dunlop Nigeria, Michelin Tyres, Cadbury and others relocated their businesses to Ghana and South Africa because of lack of necessary infrastructure, and hostile business terrain in Nigeria. He urged government to solve the power issue in order to save the business community and woo foreign investors.
Adeniyi recalled playing a great role in promoting Nigeria’s business relations with other countries.
He also recalled how he found Nigeria-Canada Chamber of Commerce to promote business relations between Nigeria and the country, when he saw that the level of business relations between Nigeria and Canada was not impressive.
He said that he had invited three Nigerians of like minds – Dr Sebastian Kabiawu, Dr Babatunde Sego and Tony Okonga to get the Chamber registered, adding that they all worked together for the good of the Chamber.
Adeniyi further projected Nigeria through the media, in his column in the Toronto Star and his own magazine, York Region Business World.
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