Nigeria Was Never One – Saraki

By Akinwale Kasali

Former Senate President and former Kwara State Governor, Bukola Saraki, is perturbed by the present economic and insecurity state of the nation, saying that the nation is still work in progress.

The two-term Governor said the entity called Nigeria was two countries joined together by the British for administrative purposes for their own selfish interest.

He said this while responding to questions from newsmen in Abuja, the Nation’s Capital during an Independence Day lunch with diverse Nigerian youths. He said the nation still has a long walk ahead and shouldn’t be compared with some other countries that did not have diversity from day one in terms of its process.

Speaking further, Saraki said that he read a a book on how Nigeria was formed and he realized that contrary to the claim and belief that Nigeria was one, the book showed that from inception when the amalgamation took place, the country was never one.

“I realized that we were never one country. We were two countries but it was efficient for the British to bring the two countries together for administrative purposes.

“It made sense at that time to bring the two countries together for commercial purposes. From day one, Nigeria is going to be a work in progress because it’s a country with so much diversities. So we can’t compare ourselves with some other countries that don’t have diversity right from time.

“A society that continues to allow that, where are the values for hard work? Where’s the value for doing things right? What message are we sending? The message that we must cut corners? As a country, we need to redefine that”, he said.