Standup9ja: Quit notice to igbo, grazing rights denial to Fulani unconstitutional- Yakasai

Standup9ja: Quit notice to igbo, grazing rights denial to Fulani unconstitutional- Yakasai

An Elder Statesman and Political Adviser in the Second Republic, Alhaji Salihu Tanko Yakasai has said that both the quit notice to Igbos and the denial of grazing right to Fulani herders are unconstitutional.

Reacting to the joint position paper by the Arewa Citizens Action for Change, Yakasai said, “The quit notice to Igbos by some people in the north and the purported denial of grazing right to Fulani herders in the south are against human rights provisions of the Nigerian constitution, which guaranteed freedom of movement to all Nigerians.”

Yakasai lamented that even the state laws enacted by some governors which denied Fulani herders from driving their animals in areas that were not legally granted to any individual or corporate bodies was infringement of the provisions of Nigerian constitution.

He said, “I read the joint position paper by the Arewa Citizens action for change. First of all I believe there is only a Nigerian citizenship, as long as we have a Nigeria. It is a good beginning, but I think we needed a deeper and more serious extermination of our situation, which I believe is overdue.

“It does not matter whether Nigeria will continue as a single political entity or not. We in the north need to have a kind of master plan for our future and the future of our people. It is wrong for us to be living in the way we are without any plan for our development for the present and for our future.”

The former political adviser opined that the recent meeting should be seen as a call for action, suggesting that it should be followed by a much more serious meeting to be attended by leading figures from all parts of the North, both from the middle belt and the far north.

He added that knowledgeable people from various strata and disciplines should be invited to attend the meeting without any discrimination whatsoever and individuals should be allowed to present position papers on different aspect of social life.

Yakasai pointed out that the papers should make specific recommendations for uplifting the society, with a road map for the achievement of set goals, saying that “A preparatory committee should be set up to define the objectives for the meeting. I for one never believed that Nigerians will be better off in separation.

“I have been having this conviction right from 1953 and my position remains the same till today. But, it will be foolhardy to sit idly bye in the face of one agitation after another. In a period of uncertainty, it wrong to assume everything is normal.

“It is better to have as many options as possible at your disposal. Even if the need to use any option shall not arise, in the end you have nothing to lose by being prepared for the unexpected,” he concluded.