₦airaland Forum

9jafreak:
First of all, I congratulate you warmly for winning the nomination of your party for the presidency of Nigeria.

Though you and I are different in ethnicity and religion, we have many important things in common. I am a few years older than you – which means that if you and I had been Yoruba boys born in the same Yoruba town or village, we would have belonged to about the same age-grade Association ( with us Yoruba, age-grade loyalty is traditionally a very important factor of life). Moreover, you and I were young Nigerians in an era, the 1950s, when our up-and coming country of Nigeria was a source of great pride to its citizens, and an emerging titan eagerly awaited by most informed people all over the world.




The three regions of our federation (East, North and West) were engaged in an ambitious rivalry for progress and for improvements in the quality of life of our people. They were able to do that and achieve considerable successes because our constitutional structure gave them much leeway to manage their own affairs within the common Nigerian family. We arrived at independence in 1960 believing that our country was set on the path to becoming the blackman’s world power of modern times.

Unhappily, now that you and I are in our seventies, there is nothing left of our country’s ambitions and pride – indeed, there is hardly anything left of our country itself. Relentlessly crooked up, violated, robbed and depleted since 1960, our Nigeria seems now to be stumbling towards its demise.

As you prepare for your election, I decided to write you this open letter concerning our country, because I know you will understand the pain and expectations behind my words. The purpose of most of Nigeria’s rulers since 1960 has been to weaken and even destroy regional and local initiatives in order to gather all power, control and influence together at the federal center. Their success in doing that has enabled them to remove the management of development far away from our people, and to institute at the federal centre a viciously corrupt, wasteful and incompetent monstrosity. Reduced to the status of beggar clients of the federal robber barons, the state governments, as well as the local governments, collapsed and fell in line as submissive incompetents and mini-robbers.

In the process, real and productive enterprise quickly declined among our people, as the best and most ambitious rushed to join the ranks of the sharers of fraudulently acquired wealth from the public coffers. Our schools and universities, our public service, our police force, our military, our judiciary, all our governmental agencies (electoral commission, secret service, central bank, ports service, immigration service, public examination bodies, etc) – all collapsed under the weight of crooked control, massive corruption and generalized disloyalty. Poverty descended mightily into our country and became the lot of the overwhelming and increasing majority of our people. Our government itself admits that, today, about 70% of our citizens live in “absolute poverty” and that that percentage keeps increasing. With the growing poverty have escalated horrific crimes, a culture of dishonesty, a rush of our youths to Salafist fundamentalist terrorism, and mass flights of the educated to other lands – all of which are compounding the poverty.

From your well-known record as a leader of our country, I know that you are not only aware of these things, but that, in common with many members of our generation, you are seriously pained by them. I confess that I was very angry with you during your brief stint as military ruler, 1983-5. First, you seemed to me to be power-drunk at the time—because you made no distinction between the corrupt who had been stealing and sharing public money under Shagari and those who were known to have been resisting the robbery. I belonged to the frontline of senators who were well known to have, on the floor of the Senate, resisted the mass corruption, and yet your military government detained me (and many like me), and I languished for four months in prison without any accusation–even without being asked any question by any official.

And then, you and Idiagbon expended most of your obviously shining capabilities in pursuing nebulous and amateurish programmes like WAI (War Against Indiscipline), when what our country really needed was (after you had fiercely shot down corruption as you did) to massively divert our enormous oil revenues into investments in the lives of our people–through programmes for expansion and diversification of education, modern job skills development, entrepreneurial development, small business development, promotion of modern farming, policies for improving the quality and reputation of our labour force and thereby attracting investments and businesses into our country, policies for promotion of exports, etc. Put a people to work and persistently multiply the economic opportunities available to them, and the attraction to prosperity through competitive enterprise will gradually suppress indiscipline in their land. Fanciful programmes like WAI can have no lasting benefit or future – as I hope you must know by now. That is why the man who ousted you, Babangida, was able quite easily to wipe out all the patriotic gains of your regime.

Furthermore, I though t it was a pity that you did not appear to recognize that the over-centralization that was being given to our federation was the foundation of our ills as a country. You were wrong in thinking that punishing the corrupt leaders would destroy corruption abidingly. What is needed is to change the system into which corruption has been built. In our country’s case, we needed (and we need) to reduce the magnitude of our federal government and empower our state and local governments, which are nearer the people, to bear most of the burden of development. Then we need to give recognition and respect to our various nationalities in structuring the federation – which should mean that our larger nations would each constitute a state, and contiguous groups of our smaller nationalities would be assisted to form states, just as the Indians sensibly and profitably did in the 1960s.

By refusing to go that route, Nigeria has abysmally depressed its nationalities. For instance, my Yoruba nation came into Nigeria in 1914 as easily the fastest modernizing nationality in Black Africa; and we entered into independence with Nigeria in 1960 as the development front-liner and pace-setter in Africa. Today, we are a battered, poor, and disoriented nation, and most of our achievements have been wrecked, thanks to our being part of a Nigeria that destroys its peoples. Every other Nigerian nationality has similar stories to tell. My brother, I am, by nature and by upbringing, averse to merely lamenting an evil development; I act to change it. My potential urge, even as I write this, is to exert myself with others like me towards pulling my Yoruba nation out of Nigeria if Nigeria will not change course – and that is something that we Yoruba are perfectly capable to achieve if we are pushed to start upon it. And the same is true of some other persons and nations. In short, let’s not ignore or minimize the danger of Nigeria’s dissolution.

I know you have what it takes to change and save Nigeria. I wish you luck in your election – and I wish Nigeria luck.

Source: http://saharareporters.com/2014/12/18/letter-gen-buhari-prof-banji-akintoye

Purity1:
Forgive me, but this is trash

hizroyalflynes:
But d $2.8bn nd 53 suit cases isn't about been a thief

If gmb or GEJ win it still d same thing
The system is corrupt those that make our Constitution didn't think deep even deeper
Nigeria constitution only favors A citizens
Salaries of political office holder is abysmal
Those that did d real jobs are d ones suffering

The money and power that comes with political office is d reason y pple rush and thus turn it to business
20% of budget goes into less than 400 people's pocket yet same system is been relied on to take us to d nxt level
Itz aiming for 5..yet u keep adding 2+1,2+2 it will still be the same thing

WhiteTechnology:
What the elderly said its what we the people of SS / SE have being talking about on Naira land but you guys failed to understand


CORRUPTION IS NOT THE PROBLEM BUT THE SYSTEM

Resource control / Fiscal federalism

Privatization

True federalism eg state police


Are the shortest route to national development.


Thank God in one of the thread

BUHARI PLAN FOR NIGERIA


I explained it in detail


Buhari won't achieve it because he comes from the part of Nigeria that opposes all these things


Finally


I believe this elderly read my comment which inspired him to write to saharareporters

omack:
whether buhari or osibanjo or whatever GEJ till 2019 APC can go and get fried

9jafreak:
My opinion:
1. This is the MOST PERFECT & MOST SUCCINCT summation of Nigeria's history, woes, and potentials ever!
2. Once again the Yoruba Nation will decide who 'lords over' over-centralized One Nigeria. But we are no fools. We mostly supported President Jonathan in 2011 and will mostly support Gen. Buhari in 2015 but the core question of our unfettered capacity to properly govern our nation within the Nigerian experiment remains at the height of our deepest desires.
3. And by God we will pull out of Nigeria if the General refuses to heed the words of wisdom.
4. To be honest, we have nothing really to lose in 2015. Jonathan in fact may lead Nigeria faster to the seemingly inevitable disintegration than GMB. We wait even as we plan...

eleojo23:
It is amusing that many people think that one man will just come and fix this country with some magic touch. Our problems have accumulated and it's going to take years and a lot of hard work to solve them. These problems have been caused partly by the leaders and to a large extent by the citizens themselves. We want someone who will come and fight corruption when we are not ready to leave our corrupt ways behind and embrace honesty. Everyone claims to have the fear of God but corruption is rife.
Nigeria will only be fixed when the citizens are ready to cooperate with the government. We all must change our values to promote right over wrong.

Until we realize that nation building is not the work of the president alone, we will keep waiting for the 'messiah' and I tell you, it's going to be a very long wait.

thefakestan:
Firstly I dedicate my account to "TherealStan"

Well I think the problem of Nigeria is clear to most Nigerians,

The Most Corrupt people are the "Civil Servants / Public Servants, where corruption is a "Norm" to them.
"So soldier go, soldier come, "Barrack" remains".

Our Judiciary is the Bedrock of corruption, If for instance we have an autonomous Judiciary, I'm sure 90% of our problems would be solved, Because I can confidently Sue PHCN or Kaduna or Portharcourt Electricity distribution company whenever they fail to perform their duties and this is also related to other aspects.

No matter How good the Head is, If the Legs are rotten, it cannot take the Head to where it wants to go!!!


N.B - No system is completely efficient, but we can improve greatly.




For Instance

Muhammed said the N9.2billion inclusive of Value Added Tax was approved for the procurement of 750,000 units of clean cook stove and 18,000 wonder bags.

He said the stoves are expected to be delivered by Messrs Integra Renewable Energy Services Limited within a period of 12 weeks.


Same company !!!


The Federal Government and Messrs Signature Value Homes Ltd., on Tuesday signed over 80 million dollars Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) to develop 1,672 houses in the FCT.


Where are our Journalists?

500GP:
YOU MEAN 2.8 MILLION VOTES, 5 STATES IN SOUTH WEST CANVASS FOR GEJ

HOW MANY VOTES DID SOUTH SOUTH /SOUTH EAST GAVE HIM?

Chukkasy:
Buhari ruled in the military era, thus he had the power to do add he wished without being questioned......we're talking about democracy here, where the president does not have the full right to determine who goes to prison........he can't even make a law without passing through the house...anything the house refuses can't be implemented. We're talking of a house full of corrupt people....for those of you clamoring for the so called change, I hope you're not bitterly disappointed......before anybody comes to lash me with abuses, I'm not siding with any party, just a concerned Nigerian.

ISpiksDaTroof:
Wow, and 43 people actually clicked "Like" for this? You want the country to change but instead of blaming the Government --- which is the body responsible for law and order--- you turn around and point fingers at the ordinary citizens for not policing and prosecuting themselves.

If Government doesn't lead, citizens won't follow. End of story!

And this Govt has shown that it is unwilling to lead in the fight against the scourge called corruption.

judiciarypalava:
Ahhhhh, no wonder ppl don't trust Yoruba ppl. Just because of Thiefnibu puppet as VP you guys are singing different songs jus now, jus now. Proudly Igbo man, if you get money Na for your pocket and your house. So long as my daily bread does not come through you, you are OYO. We forget easily and often, the North is in the mess they are now because of some ingrates and wicked ppl like Atiku, GMB, Babanhida that will rather 'selfishlessly' keep their ppl in a perpetual state of poverty just to have foolish illiterates to work with for popularity. In the North there is no middle class, just the supper rich and the paupers.
That's the kind of orientation you guys want for the young youths. Shine your eyes and be wise nawali or forever remain...

judiciarypalava:
Ahhhhh, no wonder ppl don't trust Yoruba ppl. Just because of Thiefnibu puppet as VP you guys are singing different songs jus now, jus now. Proudly Igbo man, if you get money Na for your pocket and your house. So long as my daily bread does not come through you, you are OYO. We forget easily and often, the North is in the mess they are now because of some ingrates and wicked ppl like Atiku, GMB, Babanhida that will rather 'selfishlessly' keep their ppl in a perpetual state of poverty just to have foolish illiterates to work with for popularity. In the North there is no middle class, just the supper rich and the paupers.
That's the kind of orientation you guys want for the young youths. Shine your eyes and be wise nawali or forever remain...

knowledgeable:
Do you know, that most 10 yrs old in Igbo land know that restructuring Nigeria will restructure out those vices like corruption, underdevelopment, bad governance at the center, and ultimately poverty. Why are Nigerians not bold enough to undertake that clear and straight forward approach?, cos some groups are afraid, and therefore are willing to destroy or even bring their group to extinction as long as the other group is destroyed too. This was what Obasonjo daughter was trying to point out to her dad on that letter about the unsustainability of the present system.

mickeyenglish:
...THRASH u call it! I don't know if u r dat good in History, but I guess u r not due to ur inability to read as signified by dat previous gentleman. History has made his claims known to us dat d Yorubas were truly an advanced race b4 dis failed experimental lab work known as Naija ,and when u talk of great Kingdoms and Empires in Africa, u will discover that d Yorubas were neva found wanting. Where were the so-called Igbos when we where busy expanding our kingdoms to empires? Where were d so-called ibos when the Ijebus were creating the first African gears of war? Where were dis cannibals when the Oyo empire waded-off the the Fulani jihadist of sheku Ahmadu and Uthman dan Fodio? Where were d slimy git worms know as d ibos when d Yoruba nation decide to av a field marshal over all oda generals in Yorubaland know as d "Aare Ona Kankanfo"? Where were dis creature of d underworld when the Yoruba traditional system of Government was d envy of the Europeans? Where were dis soulsess son and daughter of raped Biafran women when the Yoruba city-states were developing into independent super-powers(ekiti,Ibadan,Ijaiye,Owu,Ilesha)? Where were they when all dis happened...oops! Lemme guess! They were still evolving 4rm Homo-erectus to Homo-sapiens....look u race or tribe is literally unknown to various African history students because u were neva part of d African super power of the 16th,17th,18th and 19th centuries. We know d like of d Bantus, the Koisans and Sans, the Hottentous and d Zulu nation all of which r 4rom d Southern part of Africa simply because they had culture,traditions,norms,values,working system and great warriors of which we can relate to(Shaka the Zulu,Zwide of Dingiswayo)...go to any History class in d world where they teach Africcan History and u would be proud of what d Yoruba nation has acheived as a whole. U bloody ibos should thank ur stupid and dim stars dat u r part of a country where d Yoruba inhabitants dwell... And less I forget! There's no such thing as d "born to rule" syndrome dat u pple clamour about and d envy shown to ur filthy people by the Hausas and Yorubas because dis set of pple have being beta,stronger,powerful and smarter than ur tribe 4rm d creation of mankind. That's just d way tnz are my lady. Ur tribe has being inferior to the Yorubas and Hausas 4rm time past, r inferior now to them,and if u don't pull out of Nigeria, will remain INFERIOR till the rest of eternity. It was not ordained by man, but by God himself. U were meant to be our stooges y we were meant to be ur lords.d Yorubas av being in buisness b4 ur pple came into existense, we av being into advanced warfare b4 u apes became "thinking" creature(d dead BIAFRAN soldiers and warlords would testify to that) we had dabbled into the murky waters of politics when u guys were busy gathering fruits,seeds and nuts(typical of chimpanzees), we av being producing sane intellectuals and game changers b4 ancestors started putting syllabes 2geda to form words( it took an intelectual Awolowo to ensure dat u pple were notoriously and universally disgraced with a Guinness world record of not borrowing a penny 4rom outside d shores of Nigeria), we av being producing great warriors and Generals b4 ur ancestors leaped down 4rm d trees and started exploring and living in caves(it took a certain Colonel Benjamin"Black Scorpion" Adekunle and the 3MCD(3rd Marine Commando Devision) to ensure dat ur tribe remains bitter in agony 4 d rest of their "industrious" lives;in other words, he gave them something to remember..lol), the Yorubas av being erecting great structures 4rm time past even b4 ur pple knew wat "shelther" was meant 4(go to Oke Eri in IJEBU ODE the alleged final resting place of the Queen Of Sheeba( d queen who visited King Solomon)and d Great Pyramid there, the Yorubas av been into International relations even b4 d indigenous apes of d presnt day Anambra knew about d existence of the leave eating chimpanzees of d present day Ebonyi, the Yoruba av being creating magnificient and nearly imposible art works and artifacts( dat d European had to wage unnecesary wars and raids just to still them and take to their countries) even b4 u Orangutans started wearing animal hides and leaves as clothings....lemme stop here b'cos if I should continue u'll be amazed to aw insignicant u pple,WHERE,ARE and WILL always be. As d saying goes"one mans bright future is alway anoda mans gloomy past......!

WhiteTechnology:
Moderator

Why did you hide my comment



Anyway what this elderly said its what I have being talking about since


CORRUPTION IS NOT OUR PROBLEM BUT THE SYSTEM WE OPERATE


RESTRUCTURE NIGERIA NOW


Resource control/Fiscal federalism

Privatization

True federalism eg state police


Are the shortest route to National development


Buhari won't achieve it because he comes from a part of Nigeria that opposes all these things

safarigirl:
brother go siddon for one corner...Yoruba holds wetin where? Una sabi road to pull out?

We're here talking about one Nigeria and you have the gall to make the entire election about one out of over 250 ethnic groups, shey the ewedu wey you chop this evening no done?

Please take this your tribalistic talk somewhere else, as if only Yoruba people will vote in 2015. Make una no dey spoil Buhari's chances with dumb tribalistic statements

bonechamberlain:
nice...... but still don't understand the purpose of the letter

mickeyenglish:
...THRASH u call it! I don't know if u r dat good in History, but I guess u r not due to ur inability to read as signified by dat previous gentleman. History has made his claims known to us dat d Yorubas were truly an advanced race b4 dis failed experimental lab work known as Naija ,and when u talk of great Kingdoms and Empires in Africa, u will discover that d Yorubas were neva found wanting. Where were the so-called Igbos when we where busy expanding our kingdoms to empires? Where were d so-called ibos when the Ijebus were creating the first African gears of war? Where were dis cannibals when the Oyo empire waded-off the the Fulani jihadist of sheku Ahmadu and Uthman dan Fodio? Where were d slimy git worms know as d ibos when d Yoruba nation decide to av a field marshal over all oda generals in Yorubaland know as d "Aare Ona Kankanfo"? Where were dis creature of d underworld when the Yoruba traditional system of Government was d envy of the Europeans? Where were dis soulsess son and daughter of raped Biafran women when the Yoruba city-states were developing into independent super-powers(ekiti,Ibadan,Ijaiye,Owu,Ilesha)? Where were they when all dis happened...oops! Lemme guess! They were still evolving 4rm Homo-erectus to Homo-sapiens....look u race or tribe is literally unknown to various African history students because u were neva part of d African super power of the 16th,17th,18th and 19th centuries. We know d like of d Bantus, the Koisans and Sans, the Hottentous and d Zulu nation all of which r 4rom d Southern part of Africa simply because they had culture,traditions,norms,values,working system and great warriors of which we can relate to(Shaka the Zulu,Zwide of Dingiswayo)...go to any History class in d world where they teach Africcan History and u would be proud of what d Yoruba nation has acheived as a whole. U bloody ibos should thank ur stupid and dim stars dat u r part of a country where d Yoruba inhabitants dwell... And less I forget! There's no such thing as d "born to rule" syndrome dat u pple clamour about and d envy shown to ur filthy people by the Hausas and Yorubas because dis set of pple have being beta,stronger,powerful and smarter than ur tribe 4rm d creation of mankind. That's just d way tnz are my lady. Ur tribe has being inferior to the Yorubas and Hausas 4rm time past, r inferior now to them,and if u don't pull out of Nigeria, will remain INFERIOR till the rest of eternity. It was not ordained by man, but by God himself. U were meant to be our stooges y we were meant to be ur lords.d Yorubas av being in buisness b4 ur pple came into existense, we av being into advanced warfare b4 u apes became "thinking" creature(d dead BIAFRAN soldiers and warlords would testify to that) we had dabbled into the murky waters of politics when u guys were busy gathering fruits,seeds and nuts(typical of chimpanzees), we av being producing sane intellectuals and game changers b4 ancestors started putting syllabes 2geda to form words( it took an intelectual Awolowo to ensure dat u pple were notoriously and universally disgraced with a Guinness world record of not borrowing a penny 4rom outside d shores of Nigeria), we av being producing great warriors and Generals b4 ur ancestors leaped down 4rm d trees and started exploring and living in caves(it took a certain Colonel Benjamin"Black Scorpion" Adekunle and the 3MCD(3rd Marine Commando Devision) to ensure dat ur tribe remains bitter in agony 4 d rest of their "industrious" lives;in other words, he gave them something to remember..lol), the Yorubas av being erecting great structures 4rm time past even b4 ur pple knew wat "shelther" was meant 4(go to Oke Eri in IJEBU ODE the alleged final resting place of the Queen Of Sheeba( d queen who visited King Solomon)and d Great Pyramid there, the Yorubas av been into International relations even b4 d indigenous apes of d presnt day Anambra knew about d existence of the leave eating chimpanzees of d present day Ebonyi, the Yoruba av being creating magnificient and nearly imposible art works and artifacts( dat d European had to wage unnecesary wars and raids just to still them and take to their countries) even b4 u Orangutans started wearing animal hides and leaves as clothings....lemme stop here b'cos if I should continue u'll be amazed to aw insignicant u pple,WHERE,ARE and WILL always be. As d saying goes"one mans bright future is alway anoda mans gloomy past......!

9jafreak:
First of all, I congratulate you warmly for winning the nomination of your party for the presidency of Nigeria.

Though you and I are different in ethnicity and religion, we have many important things in common. I am a few years older than you – which means that if you and I had been Yoruba boys born in the same Yoruba town or village, we would have belonged to about the same age-grade Association ( with us Yoruba, age-grade loyalty is traditionally a very important factor of life). Moreover, you and I were young Nigerians in an era, the 1950s, when our up-and coming country of Nigeria was a source of great pride to its citizens, and an emerging titan eagerly awaited by most informed people all over the world.



The three regions of our federation (East, North and West) were engaged in an ambitious rivalry for progress and for improvements in the quality of life of our people. They were able to do that and achieve considerable successes because our constitutional structure gave them much leeway to manage their own affairs within the common Nigerian family. We arrived at independence in 1960 believing that our country was set on the path to becoming the blackman’s world power of modern times.

Unhappily, now that you and I are in our seventies, there is nothing left of our country’s ambitions and pride – indeed, there is hardly anything left of our country itself. Relentlessly crooked up, violated, robbed and depleted since 1960, our Nigeria seems now to be stumbling towards its demise.

As you prepare for your election, I decided to write you this open letter concerning our country, because I know you will understand the pain and expectations behind my words. The purpose of most of Nigeria’s rulers since 1960 has been to weaken and even destroy regional and local initiatives in order to gather all power, control and influence together at the federal center. Their success in doing that has enabled them to remove the management of development far away from our people, and to institute at the federal centre a viciously corrupt, wasteful and incompetent monstrosity. Reduced to the status of beggar clients of the federal robber barons, the state governments, as well as the local governments, collapsed and fell in line as submissive incompetents and mini-robbers.

In the process, real and productive enterprise quickly declined among our people, as the best and most ambitious rushed to join the ranks of the sharers of fraudulently acquired wealth from the public coffers. Our schools and universities, our public service, our police force, our military, our judiciary, all our governmental agencies (electoral commission, secret service, central bank, ports service, immigration service, public examination bodies, etc) – all collapsed under the weight of crooked control, massive corruption and generalized disloyalty. Poverty descended mightily into our country and became the lot of the overwhelming and increasing majority of our people. Our government itself admits that, today, about 70% of our citizens live in “absolute poverty” and that that percentage keeps increasing. With the growing poverty have escalated horrific crimes, a culture of dishonesty, a rush of our youths to Salafist fundamentalist terrorism, and mass flights of the educated to other lands – all of which are compounding the poverty.

From your well-known record as a leader of our country, I know that you are not only aware of these things, but that, in common with many members of our generation, you are seriously pained by them. I confess that I was very angry with you during your brief stint as military ruler, 1983-5. First, you seemed to me to be power-drunk at the time—because you made no distinction between the corrupt who had been stealing and sharing public money under Shagari and those who were known to have been resisting the robbery. I belonged to the frontline of senators who were well known to have, on the floor of the Senate, resisted the mass corruption, and yet your military government detained me (and many like me), and I languished for four months in prison without any accusation–even without being asked any question by any official.

And then, you and Idiagbon expended most of your obviously shining capabilities in pursuing nebulous and amateurish programmes like WAI (War Against Indiscipline), when what our country really needed was (after you had fiercely shot down corruption as you did) to massively divert our enormous oil revenues into investments in the lives of our people–through programmes for expansion and diversification of education, modern job skills development, entrepreneurial development, small business development, promotion of modern farming, policies for improving the quality and reputation of our labour force and thereby attracting investments and businesses into our country, policies for promotion of exports, etc. Put a people to work and persistently multiply the economic opportunities available to them, and the attraction to prosperity through competitive enterprise will gradually suppress indiscipline in their land. Fanciful programmes like WAI can have no lasting benefit or future – as I hope you must know by now. That is why the man who ousted you, Babangida, was able quite easily to wipe out all the patriotic gains of your regime.

Furthermore, I though t it was a pity that you did not appear to recognize that the over-centralization that was being given to our federation was the foundation of our ills as a country. You were wrong in thinking that punishing the corrupt leaders would destroy corruption abidingly. What is needed is to change the system into which corruption has been built. In our country’s case, we needed (and we need) to reduce the magnitude of our federal government and empower our state and local governments, which are nearer the people, to bear most of the burden of development. Then we need to give recognition and respect to our various nationalities in structuring the federation – which should mean that our larger nations would each constitute a state, and contiguous groups of our smaller nationalities would be assisted to form states, just as the Indians sensibly and profitably did in the 1960s.

By refusing to go that route, Nigeria has abysmally depressed its nationalities. For instance, my Yoruba nation came into Nigeria in 1914 as easily the fastest modernizing nationality in Black Africa; and we entered into independence with Nigeria in 1960 as the development front-liner and pace-setter in Africa. Today, we are a battered, poor, and disoriented nation, and most of our achievements have been wrecked, thanks to our being part of a Nigeria that destroys its peoples. Every other Nigerian nationality has similar stories to tell. My brother, I am, by nature and by upbringing, averse to merely lamenting an evil development; I act to change it. My potential urge, even as I write this, is to exert myself with others like me towards pulling my Yoruba nation out of Nigeria if Nigeria will not change course – and that is something that we Yoruba are perfectly capable to achieve if we are pushed to start upon it. And the same is true of some other persons and nations. In short, let’s not ignore or minimize the danger of Nigeria’s dissolution.

I know you have what it takes to change and save Nigeria. I wish you luck in your election – and I wish Nigeria luck.

Source: http://saharareporters.com/2014/12/18/letter-gen-buhari-prof-banji-akintoye

coldFLARES1:
Your fears are quite valid,methinks. Then again we are witnesses to the extensive powers of the president and as such would expect some positive change. Not a transformasun azenda that puts our development in reverse gear.
As for an uncooperating NASS, dissidents would be identified and creative means, like recall, would be used to weed them.
Once there's the will; a way is sure to materialise

zubizareta:
So guy u don't know what Messrs mean? who told you those companies are same thing? Smh...

eleojo23:
So those in government were imported from another planet, right?
They come from among the citizens and majority of the citizens have embraced corruption. Until the citizens change, the government will not change. What is democracy defined as again? Is it not government of the people by the people for the people? So you see that it is the same people that are leading/ruling themselves.

bareal:
Correct! so much talk from the professor without actually saying anything, no wonder he was jailed.