Fashola sees opportunities in separatist agitation
Nigeria minister of works Babatunde Fashola has said their are opportunities that could be derived from separatist agitation in the country.
There have been intense agitations in the South East and South West for Biafra Nation and Yoruba Nation respectively.
Leader of the south east group Nnamdi Kanu has been in detention since he was arrested and repatriated from Kenya in June, while South West leader Sunday Igboho was arrested and is facing trial in the Republic of Benin.
However, there seems to be hope for Kanu after Igbo leaders visited president Muhammadu Buhari on Friday, with the number one citizen promising to look into the case.
Speaking on Channels TV on Friday night, Fashola opined that there are opportunities in the agitations of these separatists.
“I see opportunities in the challenges that we have as a country; there are always opportunities every time that we have a problem and that is why people tell you: ‘don’t waste a crisis’. There is one thing to have a crisis but the worst thing is to waste one.
“There are opportunities in every problem that we face and I am always positive in my outlook: how do I get better from this? A life without problem is not a life lived at all. A life lived is a life that confronts problem, solve them, learn from them.”
“There are opportunities there for a conversation around why those voices are now louder perhaps than they were 20 years ago.
“Those agitations are not unique to Nigeria; the Scottish wants a referendum and they want to leave if the opportunities provide them, so it not unique to us. These are human issues and how we engage with one another and to then ask a genuine question and we would always be better off together and to find out how to make that union stronger, better and more fulfilling. That is an opportunity and it is a conversation I will like to have.”
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