Former Secretary to Oyo State Government (SSG), Dejo Raimi has urged Nigerians to heed the various moves towards peaceful coexistence and allow the South-South to produce the next president by 2015 in the spirit of equity, justice and fairness so as not to make the prediction by an agency of the United States of America that Nigeria would disintegrate by 2015 to come to past.
Raimi, who is also the Chairman of the Governing Council, Federal University of Technology Akure (FUTA), told journalists during his 80th birthday celebrations.
“One can only appeal to our brothers and sisters in other zones of the country to give peace a chance and let the South-South go for another term in the spirit of equity, justice and fairness as the zone with the golden geese laying the golden eggs”, Raimi advised.
He stressed that God has united the country for the good reasons “best known to Him” hence Nigerians should pray against the U.S. prediction that Nigeria would disintegrate by the year 2015.
He advised that the warring factions of the ruling Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) should accept reconciliation terms and collaborate with President Goodluck Jonathan “to pilot the affairs of the country till 2015 and beyond”.
“It is just morally right that the president spends two terms in view of the fact that his zone had not ruled the country before.
“Nobody can controvert it that more than 80 per cent of the resources all of us depend upon in this country come from that zone and in view of the fact that it had never been opportune to rule the country in the past, it is just morally right that it be allowed to fully utilise this opportunity fate has bestowed on it,” the former noted.
Raimi who is also a medical expert pointed out that if civil war that lasted for three years could not disintegrate the country, then none of the lingering challenges could tear the nation apart.
Besides, Raimi commended President Jonathan for his relentless efforts in the last two and half years in office in areas like improvement in power supply; reactivation of the rail system and commitment to ensuring security of lives and property in spite of “the challenge posed by the Boko Haram insurgency”.
Raimi who is also the Secretary of the Southern Forum, noted that the forum engaged in a series of consultations far and wide across the country before the South-South geo-political zone was considered for the post of the number two citizen before fate threw it up to become number one with Goodluck Jonathan as the symbol.