By Bode Olagoke
Abuja
Former Vice President and chieftain of the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC) Atiku Abubakar, has called for the removal of state of origin from the constitution and be replaced with state of residency as part of the restructuring ha has been the vanguard for.
The Wazirin Adamawa believe that if such is done, it will put an end to cases of quit notices in different part of the country, saying it is high time Nigerians realise that they are people of one origin.
In a statement he personally signed in Abuja yesterday, Atiku, who condemned the counter quit notice issued in reaction to the earlier one in July, said it is a fallacy to believe that there are people of Northern or Southern origin, adding that “an eye for an eye will leave Nigeria blind.”
“Just as I strongly condemned the quit notice on people of the Igbo ethnic stock living in Northern Nigeria and the counter quit notices that ensued, I also vehemently condemn the retaliatory quit notice given by certain elements in other parts of Nigeria to persons of other origins be they Northern, Yoruba or any other ethnic grouping within our nation.
It is also for this reason, amongst others, that I have urged and still urge that Nigeria should be restructured and that state of origin ought to be removed from our constitution and other relevant laws and policies, to be replaced by state of residency.
If we as Nigerians are tied to our residency, rather than the state were our ancestors originated from, this whole idea of quit notice would not have arisen in the first place.”
While citing the United Arab Emirate and South Africa among others as example, the former Vice President said if people of different races can live in peace in those countries, Nigeria should do the same.
“Finally, let me use this opportunity to commend the National Broadcasting Commission and the National Orientation Agency for taking steps to sanction radio stations that were guilty of playing the Igbo hate song and for embarking on an anti -hate speech drive.
“Nigeria is our only country and our value as human beings is tied to the value of Nigeria. So if we must give ourselves value, we must first give Nigeria value.”
In another development, Atiku who is the founder of American University of Nigeria (AUN) Yola, has made a passionate plea to Nigerians of means to support charity and humanitarian causes that will help in giving formal education to children who are out of school in the country.
In a press statement released by his media office in Abuja on Saturday, Atiku expressed concern at the depressing statistics of Nigeria currently having the highest number of out-of-school children globally.
The former Vice President noted that the dire situation in education, the most critical tool for transforming individuals and spurring growth and development calls for a state of emergency in the education sector.
Noting that government cannot shoulder the responsibility alone, the Waziri Adamawa said that the situation requires Nigerians with means to support education charity initiatives such as the Feed and Read initiative of the American University of Nigeria (AUN).
According to the former Vice President, the Feed and Read Programme initiated in 2015 is designed to provide a decent meal per day for the most vulnerable of children in Yola, Adamawa State and at the same time give them exposure to classroom experience where they are taught Basic English, Arithmetic and Hygiene.
The statement observed that the Feed and Read programme was a response to the effect of destruction and displacement caused by the Boko Haram menace in the North-East area of the country which further escalated a surge in the number of out-of-school children in the zone.
“I have always been bothered about the parlous state of education in the North. When I was Vice President I called a conference of all the 19 state governors in the North to discuss how we could address the problem of lack of adequate access to formal education by a teeming number of the young population in the region.
“Bad as the situation was, the Boko Haram destruction tore apart the little that was left of the infrastructure for formal education especially in the North-East. The dire situation caused the AUN to champion the Read and Feed initiative which has received tremendous support from the Irish government and the Atiku Abubakar Center for Leadership, Entrepreneurship and Development.
“I personally had to intervene by giving encouragement to this initiative, ensuring that the meals meet with the standard of a balanced diet for school children. I eat food with these children to show that the food is safe and to lure more of them into the programme. I do this every time I visit the school.
“I am happy when I see these children return a formal greeting in English language and when they solve simple arithmetic. There remains a large swath of distance to be covered. Nothing is too much to give in providing formal education to all children who are yet to be captured by the education infrastructure that the government is trying assiduously to create.
That is why I implore more Nigerians who can afford it, to stretch a helping hand to these children. Any amount, no matter how little, will go a long way in making a difference in providing good education for the most vulnerable children not only in the North-East but in other places in the country”.
