I wonder why Buhari thanked Britain for Nigeria’s unification –Falana

Femi Falana

The Nigerian human rights activist and Senior Advocate of Nigeria, Femi Falana, has said he was amazed that the President, Muhammadu Buhari, could thank Britain for uniting Nigeria in his Independence Day speech.
In his Independence Day speech, the President had said, “For 1st of October 1960 to happen, all hands were on deck. East, West, North all came together to celebrate freedom. Today should not only serve as a reminder of the day the British handed over the reins of power to Nigerians, but also unified Nigerians from all ethnic groups, religions, and regions.”

Falana, while speaking on a program on the Channels TV, said that Nigeria is still grappling with underdevelopment due to its failure to remove structures mounted by the British colonialists.

“When President Muhammadu Buhari’s broadcast yesterday (October 1) was thanking the British for uniting us, I was wondering where that was coming from because the colonial regime engaged in divide-and-rule,” he said.
The lawyer added, “Nigeria has refused to get it right; whereas, in 1960, Nigeria was ahead of many countries in Asia, including, Singapore, Malaysia, Indonesia, and the rest of them. Today, some of these countries have frog jumped; they have left us like a Third World country and they have metamorphosed into First World.

“So, for the majority of our people, 1960 provided an opportunity to start all over again but, unfortunately, the nationalist politicians who took over the reins of power from the British colonial regime did not decolonize the country and the psyche of our people. And all of them retained the colonial structures. The laws and ordinances were simply changed to the Act of Parliament. The institutions were left intact.”

When asked if it had been so far so good since Nigeria’s independence in 1960, Falana concluded it had been “so far ,so bad.”