Today a great march and protest is taking place in the Catallan region of the nation of Spain. According to the polls 52 per cent of the people from that region wish to break off from Spain and to establish a new European sovereign state. Later this year the people of Scotland are having their own referendum to determine whether or not they will stay in the United Kingdom and again, from the polls, it is very clear that the majority of Scots wish to have their own new sovereign state and that the Scottish Nationalist Party enjoys massive support. Nobody in either Spain or the United Kingdom has insulted those people or labelled them as ”ethnic jingoists” or ”primitive tribalists” for wanting to break
off from the greater whole and establish their own country.

This is because everyone respects the right of the various ethnic groups and nationalities within their wider nation to exercise their right of self- determination which is an integral and fundamental aspect of international law. Exercising that right does not turn them into
villains and does not make them any less patriotic than their compatriots who do not share their views. It just means that they have a different perspective and that they believe, as many believed before Malaysia and Singapore broke up, that the interests of their various peoples are better served when and if they go their separate ways.

They opted to be friendly neighbours rather than to be compelled to remain within the same territory against their collective will. As we in Nigeria approach the 100 year anniversary of our 1914 Lugardian amalgamation and, as the 2015 elections are fast approaching with both the
northern region and the south-. south zone desperate to take or to hold on to power at any cost respectively, we need to begin to
ask ourselves some basic and fundamental questions about our future. For example is our interest better served by remaining as one nation or is it time for those nationalities that wish to leave the federation in a peaceful and orderly way, as a result of a legitimate and honest
referendum, be alllowed to go? If the breaking up of larger countries into smaller and more viable ones is good enough for India (which broke into three), the Sudan (which broke into two), Czechoslovakia (which broke into two), Yugoslavia (which broke into 5), the Soviet Union which broke into 15) and numerous other countries over the years why is it not good enough for us? Again why should those that believe
that Nigeria ought to break up be subjected to so much suspicion, ridicule, contempt and insults from those that do not share
their views? Some of the questions that need to be answered are as follows- firstly is our union working? Secondly is our marriage a good one and if it is is it a happy one as well? Are we satisfied with what has essentially become a country that has been turned into nothing more than (with apologies to Chief Bode George) ”Turn by Turn Nigeria?” where each ethnic group simply looks forward to enjoying its time to control the
federation and all the nations resources from an all powerful centre? Are we not meant to be far more than this? Is this what the founding fathers of our nation envisaged? More than anything else the recent igbo/yoruba debate over the issue of the status of Lagos state and the deportation of a handful of igbo destitutes back to the east has proved to me that we as a people are very different from one another and
that our interests may be better served if we are no longer bound together as one. I dare to voice this opinion even though many yorubas share it but will not say so publicly. Is it not time for us to begin to accept the bitter truth that our marriage is uncomfortable and unhappy and that it may not have been made in heaven or ordained by God? Is it not clear that each region or each nationality ought to be able
to develop at their own pace? Is it not time for us to have a confederation of nationalities in Nigeria and to restructure the country drastically to give maximum autonomy to the various regions and nationalities or indeed is it not time to just break up and go our separate ways?

Many may disagree but one thing that I believe that we can at least agree on is that perhaps it is time for us to be courageous enough to begin to talk about these issues openly and debate them. We must not sweep our differences under the carpet and ignore them as if they do not exist but instead we must find the courage and muster the resolve to acknowledge them and understand them. As far as I am concerned this is the challenge of our time and these are the questions that needs to be answered. Whatever happens in 2015 and whoever wins, whether it be a northerner or Goodluck Jonathan of the south-south, I see blood on the horizon and I see disaster approaching. We must
open up the space now and consider the unpleasant assertion that the price that a united Nigeria attracts may not be worth it because we are getting nothing but failure after failure as our return. I do not have the answers and I do not claim that I do. Indeed I may well be wrong which is why I would be interested in hearing the views of others and particularly those from the younger generation who may see things
very differently. Whichever way it goes and regardless of what we all think let us not allow this debate to be driven by ignorance, pettiness, hate or acrimony. Let us not insult one another here or act as if any tribe or nationality are angels whilst others are demons. Let us join issues and exchange ideas in a civil, restrained and decent manner without hurling any insults at one another or allowing our emotions to becloud our thinking.

At the end of the day we all want the same thing- namely, what is in the best interest of the Nigerian people and what type of arrangement will allow them to achieve [b]their full potentials? [/b]That is the issue and that alone. Over to you.
By: Chief Femi Fani-Kayode

I am not a fan of this guy but i do reckon with all what he said in this article. People should not be bonded to a destiny they want no part of.

I fink this is one of the boys I sold in the 60's,baby factory product@FFK

Femi Fani-Kayode you have been proven to lack the Moral ability to engage in a decent discussion as u have the tendency to relapse to ur abuse and spew rubish. I hope the blood u see will start from ur household.

Bobandgreat: Femi Fani-Kayode you have been proven to lack the Moral ability to engage in a decent discussion as u have the tendency to relapse to ur abuse and spew rubish. I hope the blood u see will start from ur household.

Can you please talk about the message and not the messenger. Stop being sentimental.

Yoruba people are confused tribe

Wily1Wily: Yoruba people are confused tribe

Normally i dont engage in this but.
Can u name a tribe that wanna leave nigeria and at the same time fighting for presidency in 2015.?
Can u name a tribe dat kip talking bad about anoda tribe. and at the same time flock to their lands?
Now u knw d the answer.
Keep it to ur self.
Quietly drop ur fone and take a nap

Good to see the country-'playboy' has moved on from the BIANCHARLOTTI mess!
I love his 'swag' sha!
Not to mention his IBB gap-tooth!


https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eueqkNgv9Xw

So IGBO WOMEN LOVE TO PHOCK MAD YORUBA MEN?

Whoever pays this man any mind is, perhaps, unwell himself. For folks who forget easily, let me rewind FFK a little bit for you. This was a man who praised Ojukwu for his courage awhile ago. In fact in the piece he penned, he clearly informed all who cared to listen that the North may have gotten away with Aburi then but this time if such event were to repeat he and his 'likes' would put up a fight. He even wished he were from Ojukwu's ethnic group, great right? Not so fast.

One year after Ojukwu praises he slammed Ojukwu's Igbos for destroying Nigeria after the book, There was a Country, by Achebe was published. He raved on the indiscriminate slaughter of Ojukwu's people and called them all sort of unprintable names. In case you've forgotten, he accused Igbos of trying to dismember Nigeria. Let me back up a little and chronologize this for folks. 1) He was for Ojukwu's courage and would have put up a fight were he present. 2) In less than one year after Ojukwu's passing he blamed Ojukwu's people for trying to balkanize Nigeria and raved on the massive slaughter of Igbos. He implicitly believed the massacre was collateral damage and nothing more.

To add to that FFK glorified Adekunle, one of the actors of the ensuing war and a man whose actions during the war were genocidal. Ok, let me be clear, Adekunle's utterances regarding the war were, without doubt, genocidal. Whether he followed through with his "shoot everything that moves or don't move" mantra remains a debate. But we know he said he wanted to prevent any Igbo woman, child, or elderly, from eating a thing before their "capitulation." Folks you'll agree that such a war actor and field commander deserves no praises, especially if you believed a year earlier that those the commander was fighting were right in their cause.

Ok, another one. If you recall earlier this year, I think around Jan or Feb this yr, this same fella came out with a huge sensational headline where he accused GEJ of trying to secede from Nigeria should he not win the presidency in 2015. We know he took his attack to the next level as soon as he joined APC. He believed GEJ will dismember Nigeria and it's APC that's about to save it. In the interest of full disclosure, I have no qualms with APC or PDP. On the contrary, I think they're all the same. Just bunch of unclean characters switching allegiance. Anyway, lets move on. So, according to this fellow, GEJ wants to break up Nigeria but he and his 'likes' must resist it. Well, folks there you have it. The same FFK has just told us we should consider parting ways because Nigeria ain't working and may never work.

I do not dislike his message, I'm just confused right now. I really dont know which FFk is talking. He seems to be talking from both sides of his mouth that, quite frankly, I wished he blessed us with some silence until he takes care of his bi-polar. We, the people of this geographical expression deserve that from FFK.

FFK is confused