A Senior Advocate of Nigeria, Robert Clarke, has warned that Nigeria could collapse in six months’ time “if care is not taken”.
“The problem with Nigeria is that people who should know don’t want to know and they do not know,” he said on Channels TV, in response to a question on the warning issued by the Department of State Security to people it said were out to destabilize the country.
“The security section of talking and talking. What are they doing?” he queried. “The situation in this country today is so bad that I, Robert Clarke, cannot guarantee Nigeria will stay another six months.
He said the problems are so overwhelming and they have been created by these same politicians. “Since the 1999 constitution came into effect, this same crop of politicians, young boys then, who are swimming in Abacha’s loot and trying to form as many political parties for him, got into money and came into politics, Nigeria has never been the same again.”
“Nigeria today is worse than it was in 1982 when (Shehu) Shagari was the President. It was a better Nigeria than today, in 2021. What is the cause? The cause is the leadership we have.
Look at what is happening in the Eastern region. It is no more banditry. It is becoming a civil war.
Many things are happening. If care is not taken, and I swear by my father’s grave, Nigeria will collapse in six months’ time,” the lawyer said.
The DSS said in a statement on Sunday that it would no longer tolerate people trying to plunge Nigeria into anarchy. The statement signed by its spokesperson, Dr. Peter Afunnaya, read that while the “Service reaffirms its unambiguous support to an indivisible, indissoluble and united Nigerian State in accordance with the provisions of the Constitution, it will no longer tolerate deliberate machinations by subversive and hostile groups whose agenda is to throw the country into anarchy so as to serve the interests of their sponsors.”
The DSS sent direct warnings to past political leaders and religious leaders, stating that calling for “forceful change of government or mass action against it” is an indication to cause “the disintegration of Nigeria. “Consequently, the Service is assiduously working with other security and law enforcement agencies to ensure the maintenance of peace and internal security of the country.” “Some religious and past political leaders who have either called for a forceful change of government or mass action against it.”
“It has been established that the main objective for these is to cause a disintegration of the country,” he added. “It is unfortunate that those in the forefront of this are respectable individuals who should be patriotic and not allow their personal ambitions to ruin the nation. The Service has also noted their desperation and penchant to collaborate with external forces and influences against Nigeria.”
Afunnaya warned that “even though democracy offers free speech, it does not give room to reckless pronouncements capable of undermining security. It is instructive to note that the ballot box remains the vehicle of change in a democracy. “In this regard, self-centered individuals and groups are warned to stop engaging in acts inimical to the peace and sovereignty of this nation. In the same manner, influential personalities should be sensitive to emerging situations and guard against divisive and inciting utterances that may cause a breakdown of law and order.”
