The Chairman of Air Peace, Barrister Allen Onyema, has said the practice of ethnic nationalism has slowed Nigeria’s development while also stressing that the country’s ease of doing business is poor.
Onyema made the statement in an address he delivered on August 28, 2023, at the Annual Conference of the Nigerian Bar Association held in Abuja.
The Air Peace CEO who harped on the issue of regional and tribal nationalism as one of the major banes besetting the Nigerian state, remarked that attaining nationhood with that kind of mindset is impossible.
“It is only when we start fighting for one another that we can have a nation. What we are doing now is fighting against one another which is the bane that has stunted our development. It is not good. Nigerians are fighting against each other instead of fighting for one another. Until we fight for one another, there may never be nationhood. We need to fight for one another”, he maintained.
Stressing the need to embrace broad nationalism and eschew tribal sentiments that have snailpaced the nation’s development across various economic fronts, the aviation cognoscente and lawyer said the Tinubu-led Government should imperatively come up with policies and action plans to unite the country.
Also on nationhood, development and insecurity, citing the myriads of insecurity challenges which have bedevilled the country over time, Onyema emphasised that no nation develops in an atmosphere of rancour and insecurity, adding that until these security issues are tackled, the country will continue to grapple with economic problems.
“The issue of Boko Haram insurgency, famers-herdsmen clashes in the North, ritual killings and gangsterism in the South West, separatist violence with the attendant criminal opportunism in the South East, piracy and oil theft in the South South. So, you have a nation where insecurity is the order of the day. Unless this is surmounted, we are going to have economic problems. No country develops in an atmosphere of rancour and insecurity.
“The insurgency has led to the death of thousands of Nigerians. Also, you cannot build nationhood in an environment of insecurity. In the South East, people are hiding under the cloak of being marginalised to commit serious crimes”, he asserted.
