PRESS STATEMENT

Ethnic Nationalities Movement (ENM) facilitated meeting in Lagos.

Issues
Time running out for resolution of conflict by government through Restructuring of the country by ensuring Fiscal Federalism, Devolution of power to be evolved through Sovereign National Conference of Ethnic Nationalities being the constituent stakeholders of Nigeria.

Atlas Cove – not an attack against any Ethnic Nationality especially the Yoruba and therefore unpatriotic elements wanting to take advantage of the unfortunate incidence should realize that Nigerians understand and appreciate the circumstances that led to the extra legal measures deployed to carry out the attack. To commend Soyinka, Odumakin, Falana etc for their statements that doused tension.

The fraud of the 1999 Constitution now being challenged in court by well meaning patriotic citizens of Nigeria deserves the support of all of us and therefore Ethnic Nationalities across Nigeria and other civil society organizations to support the initiative and do so openly.

The manipulation of our people by a particular group who employ various means and with state funds to set Ethnic Nationalities against each other must end. Those who fall for the ploys at different times must begin to watch closely so that the evil design that has succeeded in keeping our Nationalities apart and in turn set them against one another can be confronted and eliminated. It is therefore judge patently wrong for any Nationality to rejoice at the maltreatment of its neighbour by the same overbearing internal oppressor.

All progressive patriotic movements and true lovers of Nigeria and freedom fighters to come together and harmonize views that are already quite similar for a quick realization of the objective of saving our country from sliding into a failed state. Some of the groups include Conference of Ethnic Nationalities of the Niger Delta (CENND), Ohaneze, Afenifere, Yourba Council of Elders etc. In the same vein patriotic organizations like Movement for the Emancipation of the Niger Delta (MEND), Movement for the Actualization of the Sovereign State of Biafra (MASSOB), Odua People’s Congress (OPC) Arewa Youth Forum (AYF) etc should come together to prosecute the same agenda.

The Federal Government should be told in plain language that it cannot order any state government as in the case of Lagos to tow any particular line no matter how much it thinks it is in the right. It is only the courts that can adjudicate and settle any case that may arise between governments including the Federal Government.

The case of citizens who are rioting in some states of the North is indicative of the faulty nature of governance that has been foisted on us. The group that says that it abhors western education are perfectly entitled to their opinion and rather than subjecting them to mass murder, government should listen to and respect their views. The breakdown in communication is responsible for the avoidable huge loss of lives in the states where the agitation are going on. In a Federal System of government, all segments should have the freedom to choose what they want.

ETHNIC NATIONALITIES MOVEMENT [ENM]
#9, Twins Obasa Close, Opposite Deeper Life Bible Church, Ifako Gbagada, Lagos.
E-mail: forum@yahoo.com”>ethnicnationalitiesforum@yahoo.com
Tel: 08056037816

PRESS STATEMENT

The Ethnic Nationalities Movement (ENM) is alarmed at the extremely precarious state of the country and taking this into consideration, it summoned an enlarged special meeting of the Movement in Lagos to which some other well placed and well meaning Nigerians were invited on Monday, July 27, 2009.

Some of the extremely worrisome developments that necessitated this action include amongst others:
The heightened state of restiveness across Nigeria and in particular the Niger Delta, the Atlas Cove attack by militants, the riots in several parts of Northern Nigeria, the spate of industrial actions and strikes by university teachers and non academic staff and other workers that have lasted for weeks, the rather odd order issued by President Yar’Adua to Governor Fashola to disband local governments in Lagos, the actions and reckless utterances of the Petroleum Minister Rilwann Lukman and diversion of the developmental project of PTI to Kaduna etc.

The spate of unchecked corruption in the running of government activities such as the Halliburton scandal, the unreasonable self allocation of atrocious and indefensible salaries and allowances by Senators and House of Representatives members etc.

The overall state of siege that Nigerians have been placed by such criminalities as kidnappings and armed robberies about which the government and the police and security agencies are clearly unable to check or abate.

In assessing these and other issues of concern in the country, the meeting deliberated extensively and arrived at the following conclusions:
That it is now clear that time is running out for government to resolve the many conflicts holding down development in Nigeria. The solutions to the conflicts should have been achieved through the restructuring of the country which would have ensured Fiscal Federalism to usher in proper devolution of power to constituent units of governance. It further agreed that Ethnic Nationalities of Nigeria who are the true owners of the country should long have been invited to participate in an all embracing National Conference to redefine the terms of association of the constituent units of the country and place her on the road to development and progress.

The meeting agreed that the manipulation of our people by a group of Nigerians mainly of an Ethnic Nationality stock is responsible for the absence of development in our country. It called on those who in the past have fallen for, and continues to fall for the divide and rule tactics of this particular Ethnic Nationality to have a rethink and refuse to be used to compromise the destiny of our country that God has willed to be prosperous by providing her with copious human and natural resources. Furthermore, the devious ability of the same Ethnic Nationality to set the others against one another will be limited or abated if the rest of us realize that our Nigeria can only develop if we all pull together in the direction of positive change and progress.

The meeting agreed that the attack on Atlas Cove by militants cannot be regarded as an attack either on Lagos where all Nationalities of Nigerians are represented or the Yoruba Ethnic Nationality who without doubt is one of the most progressive in the country. It therefore cautioned that the incidence should not be converted by anybody particularly the Dominant Group that runs the affairs of the country to a propaganda weapon to be used to set the Yorubas against Ijaws. The two Ethnic Nationalities suffer the same deprivation and have common aspirations especially with regards to freeing the country from the stranglehold of the oppressive Dominant Group. Prof. Wole Soyinka, Yinka Odumakin and Femi Falana were specially commended for helping to stem reprisal attacks by people who misunderstood the action and felt that they were the intended targets.

The meeting took particular note of the riots in several states in the North of Nigeria and ascribed the unfortunate development to the faulty nature of governance that has been foisted on Ethnic Nationalities of Nigeria. It agreed that groups and individuals should be free in their country to express and achieve their desires as in the case of the present rioters who abhor western education and demanded that government should listen to and allow them fulfill their desires. It was also agreed that Boko Haram and Talibans rejection of Western Education will sail through easily at a National Conference in line with the principle of self-determination in a truly Federal Republic because we as Federalists would be inconsistent if we say MEND has a legitimate demand and Lagos has the right to create its LGs but Boko Haram and Talibans cannot have their own civilization for as long as they do not force it on the unwilling.

The fraud that is considered the 1999 Constitution now being challenged as such in the courts was also extensively discussed. It was agreed that the actions instituted in the courts particularly that espoused by Chief Bankole Oki SAN should be openly supported by all Ethnic Nationalities in Nigeria. The reason is that the so-called constitution is a “military document” crafted in cohort with the same Dominant Group that seeks to manipulate and dominate other Ethnic Nationalities of Nigeria. Ethnic Nationalities are urged to support the action by turning up in large number on days of hearing to openly demonstrate their support for the action.

In the case of the Local Governments of Lagos State, the Ethnic Nationalities condemned the posturing of Alhaji Yar’Adua on the matter of the creation of Local Governments in the state. It agreed that Alhaji Yar’Adua and his government should be told in plain language that Lagos state is in no way subordinate to his government in matters where the latter has legal powers as in the case of local government creation. Alhaji Yar’Adua was reminded that he has other pressing national issues leading the country rapidly towards the status of a failed state which need his urgent attention. However if he considers the creation of additional local governments in Lagos more important than his other numerous problems, Alhaji Yar’Adua should seek redress in the law courts and avoid the further heating up of the polity by issuing threats like a military ruler to a government that is not under his command.

The role of foreign collaborators of the Nigerian ruling cabal represented by Britain is again being signposted by a recent development. In this regard, our attention has been drawn to a highly suspect warning by the Foreign and Commonwealth office of the British Government to its nationals part of which reads “Credible information suggests that Niger Delta Militants will also now be seeking to hijack aircraft where they believe there is a significant target”. The veracity of this claim is definitely questionable because given the dubious roles the British Government has played in the history of Nigeria since the colonial era, we see this effort as attempting to brand freedom fighters in Nigeria as terrorists in order to mobilise international angst against them to aid the hegemony they foisted on Nigeria when they departed in 1960. We are well aware that we do not have credible elections in Nigeria today, no accurate census and lack equity in power relations because the British manipulated all these to aid the oligarchy they foisted on Nigeria. We warn the British Government to be very careful in its interventions in the Nigerian crisis henceforth. In the words of Tunde Bakare, “God forbid that a nation be led by a pack of greedy dogs who never say enough”

Finally, the meeting advised all progressive patriotic movements and true lovers of Nigeria and freedom fighters to come together and harmonize views that are noticeably already quite similar, for a quick realization of the objective of saving our country from sliding into a failed state. Some of the groups include Ethnic Nationalities Movement (ENM), Conference of Ethnic Nationalities of the Niger Delta (CENND), Ohaneze, Afenifere, Yoruba Council of Elders (Y.C.E.) etc. In the same vein patriotic organizations like Movement for the Emancipation of the Niger Delta (MEND), Movement for the Actualization of the Sovereign State of Biafra (MASSOB), Odua People’s Congress (OPC), Movement for the Survival of the Ogoni People (MOSOP), Arewa Youth Forum (AYF) etc should also come together to prosecute the same agenda.

Mr. Michael Orobator
Secretary General
Ethnic Nationalities Movement (ENM)