TheCable

The Ijaw Youth Council (IYC) has expressed dissent with the opinion of President Muhammadu Buhari that the unity of Nigeria is non-negotiable.

Reacting to the recent comment of the president, Eric Omare, spokesman of IYC, said the president’s “old-fashioned” ways had not yielded the desired progress for the country.

Omare said Nigerians are suffering under the current administration, accusing the president of “refusing to change his old ways”.

“The statement by President Buhari to Niger Delta militants on Wednesday, June 6, 2016 that the unity of Nigeria is not negotiable is an old-fashioned approach to the resolution of national problems,” he said in a statement.

“The circumstances of the present-day Nigeria demand a renegotiation of the future unity and existence of Nigeria.

“This demand is not peculiar to the Niger Delta region but cuts across all parts of the country. For Nigeria to make progress President Buhari should dump his old-fashioned approach to the unity of Nigeria and face the reality of the present-day situation.

“Nigeria as presently constituted is suffocating and the federating ethnic nationalities can no longer bear the suffocating effect of the defective structure which hampers the development of the country. It is in the interest of all Nigerians to renegotiate the future unity of Nigeria.

“Nigerians want a country that is united on mutually agreed terms and not the present defective structure. The IYC calls on President Buhari to wake up and face the reality of the situation and stop relying on outdated notion of Nigeria’s unity. Nigerians demand for renegotiation.”