I commend Acting President. Yemi Osinbajo for his style of governance; which is predicated on sound reasoning, humility, intellectualism and pragmatism. I have written severally and others have also asserted that “God is a Nigerian.” By that, I mean that the way the almighty God fixes things for us, it can be seen that it is only an almighty God who sees Nigeria as his own, indeed, that can be doing all these for us. We are endowed with good people, wonderful climate and ecosystem. But, what is our problem? Sheer mistrust, distrust and misunderstanding.

Cast your mind back. There have been critical and precarious moments that you would think, this is the end but miraculously, we would bounce back.  The list is endless: the civil war, the needless coups, and interventions by the over-ambitious self-serving soldiers, the twelve two-third imbroglio in 1979, the rancorous elections of 1983, the June twelve wickedness and stupidity, the bungling of the PDP primary in Jos where somebody who dared the military by forming groups, the G-18 and G-36, to chase the military away was robbed of his impending victory through intimidation, and now, we have hate speakers.

God loves this country but unfortunately, we do not understand. We like to be heard and we like to be seen. We take it for granted that we have a youth group that is active both in quantity and quality. A youth group that is capable of wreaking havoc, yet we pretend and we do not nip things in the bud.

I praise the acting president for the actions he has taken on the problem created by IPOB and Arewa Youths. The consultations are good but they came late. The presidency should have nipped the whole thing in the bud by handling the IPOB sit-at-home order in a way that it should not have angered other people and created a wrong impression. The security agents would also have stopped the press conference in Kaduna by the Arewa Youths as the police usually give clearance for press conferences and they usually find out why such conferences are called but they allowed the whole thing to get out of hand. The National Assembly, too, did well to douse tension.

But, all these while, it should have come up with solutions that can truly solve the national questions. It is yet to be known or seen if they are, indeed, serious about the call on the presidency to hand over the 2014 National Conference Report to them for a review. It could be that it is a ploy to douse tension; it is also possible they meant it. But, it is imperative that the document be worked on by our elected representatives. Those people there are the Nigerians who speak for us. We can, therefore, not do otherwise but trust them.

Honestly speaking, we should go on as one united country. Our diversity is a plus for us. The large population, the variety of cultures, good tourist places, vibrancy, they make this country tick. We know that there is religious and ethnic mistrust and divergence. But, we can play these down and highlight our positive sides. Why is it that outside these shores, people of Nigeria love themselves but as soon as they enter Nigeria, things change? Is it the name Nigeria? May be because a non-Nigerian coined the name?  If that is the case, let us then answer the Republic of Wazobia,  in which case, we will be Wazobians.      

We will express ourselves and maximize our potentials in a larger Nigeria. We like to interact, we like to travel and we love nature, especially when it is diversified. Different groups are talented and endowed differently and this is part of what we can harness. If we manage this country very well, and if we live in peace and harmony, I do not see what any person will be looking for outside this country except for the fun of travelling.

The Federal Government should look at the issue of marginalization and address it, especially as relates to the  Igbo. Majority of Igbo people, especially the reasonable and realistic ones, do not want a separation or secession in the true sense of it.

The whole agitation is all about marginalization; lesser number of states, lesser number of structures, no serious position at the federal level whether at the Executive level, Service Chiefs, Police, Army, Navy and Air force.

These are the issues. If these things are addressed, the Igbos do not have time for trouble that will hinder their progressive instincts. But, they hate being ignored. WAZOBIA, We Hail Thee!

Dr. Azubuine is a lecturer at Bayero University, Kano.