First Republic Aviation Minister, Chief Mbazulike Amechi says anyone saying Nigeria is stronger today is “sick and living in a fool’s paradise”.
The elder statesman stated this Tuesday in reaction to a remark by President Muhammadu Buhari that stronger was united than divided.
Speaking late March, President Buhari said he fought in the Nigerian Civil War to keep the nation as one and would never support its balkanisation.
He urged the populace to embrace peace and unity, noting that “Nigerians are better today, and even strong.”
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“I can also relate personally to ideas of one Nigeria. I fought for the unity of Nigeria during the Civil War from 1967 to 1970. We must count our blessings in Nigeria. We must keep the faith of a great Nigeria. I think the advice of the colloquium is clear. It is to see that justice and harmony reign in Nigeria,” he said at the 12th Bola Tinubu Colloquium in Kano.
Reacting, Amechi explained that the present economic condition, insecurity and other challenges confronting the nation did not show that the nation was as united or as strong as it should before.
He said it was not enough for the president to mouth support for Nigeria’s unity but must stop his alleged divisive leadership style.
“Buhari is the one dividing Nigeria through his leadership style and if he does not want it divided, he should stop what he is doing,” Vanguard quoted the 92-year-old Amechi as saying.