Dr. Olisa Agbakoba, a well-known lawyer and former President of the Nigerian Bar Association, highlights the need to recognize Nigeria’s many different ethnic groups. He mentions several historical empires such as the Borno Empire, Onitsha Empire, Benin Empire, Oyo Empire, and Sokoto Caliphate, arguing that these groups are the true owners of Nigeria.
In an interview with Punch, he said, “We had the Borno Empire, the Onitsha Empire, the Benin Empire, the Oyo Empire, the Sokoto Caliphate, and others. They are the owners of Nigeria, and these are the ethnic nationalities that the government of the day must be magnanimous and open-minded enough to allow to speak.”
Agbakoba believes that the current government should be open and fair, allowing these ethnic groups to share their views and ideas.
He argues that these groups should have the right to decide how they want to be governed, instead of having decisions imposed on them from a central authority.
He also criticizes the shallow political talk surrounding terms like “restructuring,” “rearrangement,” “redesigning,” and “political devolution.”
According to him, these terms are often used more as political slogans, especially during election campaigns, rather than fostering real change or meaningful conversations about how the country should be governed.
He calls for a deeper and more genuine engagement with Nigeria’s ethnic diversity and history to create a government that truly represents all its people….V¡ew–Moré