Nigeria’s Break-Up: Cleric Allays Sheik Gumi’s Fears

A Port Harcourt-based clergyman, Rev (Dr) Sokari Soberekon has responded to comments credited to one Sheik Gumi recently that the North will suffer if Nigeria breaks up.
Speaking to journalists in his office in Port Harcourt, recently, Rev Soberekon said if there is fairness, equity and justice, Nigeria will not break up.
He said the reason there are agitations for restructuring of the country is because of the years of injustice, unfairness and marginalization in the sharing of the nation’s resources, adding that most of the oil producing areas, especially the Niger Delta, are not given the opportunity to control their resources .
According to him for Nigeria to move forward, every area should be allowed to control their own resources, adding that if crude oil from the Niger Delta continues to sustain the nation’s economy, the groundnut and livestock from the north and the gold mine in Zamfara State and the cocoa from the West, Coal from East should also be controlled by the federal government and use to sustain the nation’s economy.
He stated further that if Nigeria is restructured into six geopolitical zones, each of the zones has enough resources that will sustain it, noting that gold was even discovered in the north recently in Zamfara State.
“No part of Nigeria, including the north, will suffer as Sheik Gumi said, if the nation breaks up or is restructured”, he said