Let Nigeria break if North insist on retaining power in 2023, says Gbadamosi

Babatunde Gbadamosi

The governorship candidate of the African Democratic Party in the 2019 election in Lagos State, Mr Babatunde Gbadamosi, has said every region in Nigeria will go their own separate ways if the North insist on retaining power in 2023.

Gbadamosi stated this in an interview he granted to Saturday PUNCH.



When asked to react to those canvassing for the North to continue in 2023 he said: "We cannot cut any period out of the history of Nigeria unless we are being foolish because the actions that were taken impacted on us.

"The constitution was written during the military era, are we going to throw it away? If that is the case we would need to take the opportunity to write a fresh constitution that makes more sense.

"You say we are a secular state and yet the word Sharia appears in the Constitution uncountable number of times, but our country is not a theocracy. Who are we playing with? Is it some kind of joke of some people playing with our intelligence? We also have a Chief Justice of Nigeria that has made some statements that are triumphal like a conquering invader that they are more in number and can change the laws.




"So, what kind of justice can the Christians receive from his court? Some issues need to be addressed- let us rewrite the constitution so that the one that was written in 1999 can go out of the window. You cannot apply something that we did not approve of all of us. Even in countries where they have one major religion like the United Arab Emirates, for instance, they are fighting hard to deemphasize religion in matters of the state.

"These are countries that want to make progress. We need to wake up to decide whether we want to live together or live apart. If they say the Presidency should not come to the South in 2023, then let us end Nigeria and stop deceiving ourselves.


Asked if it is feasible for the North to retain power in 2023 he also said:

"It is not. If they insist then let us break Nigeria. Let each region go their separate ways. It is either that, or we have a loosed confederation with an option to secede, depending on the available option upon the start of the confederation. I disagree with those that say the unity of Nigeria is not negotiable because there is nothing in this world that is created by humans that is not negotiable.

"It is only the law of God that is not negotiable. Are they saying the unity of Nigeria is some kind of gods that we must worship? If the concept of Nigeria is not serving the people that live in that space then let’s break it and let each person go and paddle their own canoe.



He added "Those that are saying if we break up some of us would go hungry let us go hungry because it is the hunger that made Singapore what it is today. Singapore has zero oil and yet they have three of the biggest refineries in the world.

"We have this problem of being unified with people who have no ambition. If Nigeria is not working, just like the Soviet realised that the USSR was not working and they broke up and allowed each country to go and do their own thing and are making huge technological advances, we should do that. It is not about size for those that keep arguing that we are better when we are bigger.