Nigeria on high alert, risk of rebellion, CSO warns Federal Government

A civil society organisation (CSO) the Nigerian Working Group on Peacebuilding and Conflict Prevention, has warned that the country is on edge, and that there is a risk of a citizen uprising.

The group lamented that if socio-economic tensions in the country were not resolved, there could be a civil uprising.

The group lamented the economic and social crisis rocking the country that has pushed its citizens to the brink, and said President Bola Tinubu must acknowledge that many Nigerians are suffering.

The group stated this in a statement released on Saturday and co-signed by its National Coordinator, Adewale Adeoye; South-West Coordinator, Taiwo Adeleye; South-South Coordinator, Werinipre Digifa; Middle Belt Coordinator, Abuka Omobaba; North-West Coordinator, Kudu Abubakar; South-East Coordinator, Fred Onijika; and North-East Coordinator, Lawan Idris.

The coordinators said the group came to this conclusion after traveling to six geopolitical zones to engage social and cultural bodies to stem what they called potential ethnic and religious violence that could put the country in a dire situation.

They stated: “Nigeria faces three major problems today: a national problem that has made the definition of national interest non-existent; unwarranted corruption at both the low and high levels, and a breakdown in trust in the public and private life of citizens. These three underlined challenges are responsible for insecurity, violent ethnic clashes, and armed rebellion in some parts of the country.

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“Nigeria is facing an ethnic identity crisis in the context of struggle over primitive resources, distribution and ownership of national and indigenous wealth.

“In this vortex are the struggle for inter-ethnic control by the majority ethnic group and the cries and suffering of the minority ethnic group who feel trampled by the political, economic and social structures that exclude them. While the minority ethnic group is given positions, it does not immediately resolve the contradictions caused by the historical injustices they have experienced for decades that cannot be resolved simply by the establishment of a state based on a decree.”

“Nigeria needs to address the fears and aspirations of ethnic groups in Nigeria through a new people-driven constitution, where ethnic minority groups are also real stakeholders and not just end users of a finished product, laws made without their real representation.

“Tackling corruption involves removing the institutional barriers that support bribery, such as the fake salaries of political officials, the profligacy of private bank owners and financial institutions that perform public functions with public funds that they mismanage, their flamboyant lifestyles, and their intransigence towards decency.

“Corruption not only fuels underdevelopment, it is also responsible for poverty, human misery, extremism and terrorism. Nigeria cannot fight corruption if the law itself creates structures that encourage corruption. One example is the millions allocated to members of parliament for constituency allowances on top of their illegitimate salaries. The situation is made worse by the fact that the process of emerging elected leaders in Nigeria is marred by corruption and incompetence that make it difficult for credible leaders to emerge.

“We are indeed at a crossroads with dire consequences unless leaders get it right. With inflation at 34.2, basic necessities beyond the reach of the masses, and a lack of food on the table amid threats to food security in rural and urban communities, the threat to democracy is undeniable.”

Nigeria restless, at risk of rebellion, CSO warns FG first appeared on Latest Nigeria News | Headlines from Ripples Nigeria.