From Yakubu Busari,Jos
The former Minister of Youths & Sports Development, Barr.Solomon Selcap Dalung has lamented the hardship, kidnapping and killing of Nigerian by terrorists and bandits while mimicking the late musician and social crusader, Sunny Okosuns’ “which way Nigeria,”?
Speaking on the state of the nation at his Sabon-Baraki ,Jos South LGA of Plateau State on Monday, Dalung expressed worry over what he termed ” the spree of kidnapping and banditry which is fast advancing the collapsing of the Nigeria state if urgent steps are not taking.”
According to him, ” W are presently at the stage of anarchy and calamity in the nation in Nigeria because this is characterized by inability of those in government to manage the catastrophe of a dwindling economy.
“This is so since inception of the President Ahmed Tinubu palliative administration the has also failed woefully because on the side of Federal Government, we keep hearing only of huge figures released for palliatives in tranches and also hearing grains released to state governments.’
He explained further that “on the side of the national government, there are outcry and total denial and in own side of the states who are close to the people we are yet to see evidence of the palliatives disbursement whether in money or in grains that would have change the condition of Nigerian.”
Dalung disclosed that the “situation is getting worse everyday as the figures and statistics of the people dying daily keep soaring, that is, on the side of kidnapping, killings without any response from the government under the palliative administration.”
He emphasized that the issue of insecurity is becoming unbearable to Nigerians, many of whom are now leaving the shores of the country to relocate to the neighboring countries of Chad and Cameron.
Dalung stressed that a friend of his was returning from Chad and passed through Niger Republic had raised concern over the population of Nigerian immigrants in those countries, particularly those from Adamawa/Taraba states, who have also migrated to Cameroon.
He pointed out that the Nigerian immigrants are struggling to survive in the neighbouring francophone country the bitter aspect of which is that many in southeast Nigeria are now trading with francophone currency instead of the naira, lamenting the “we have lost our nation currency and our indices of survival kept going down below expectations.”
“Governance is also collapsing like a pack of card, so the situation has reached alarming rate and scary with more worrisome for anyone who loves Nigeria. Just yesterday, I spoke with my brother the son of late Emir of Gobiri and he said over 600 people were kidnapped during the time that the Emir was killed in Gobiri community alone.’
Dalung lamented that recently 30 womens were taken to the bushes by the bandits, also a traditional ruler in Taraba state, a Clergy man from ERCN church and another traditional ruler, all of them languishing in the kidnapper’s camp .
He noted other cases of a twin mother in Kasina State with one raped in the presence of her children and taken to an unknown destination, including the massacre of 70 people in Yobe state.
“The question is, which way Nigeria ,we need to answer this question raised by Sunny Okosuns in a1976 album. Is Nigeria going to break up and die? As Okosuns prophesied, is Nigeria going to collapse ? We are fast advancing towards that prophetic message.*
