Mass action imminent in Nigeria -Okunniyi 'Over insecurity, removal of fuel subsidy, instability, national conference

Spokesman forPro-NationalCon-ference Organisation (PRONACO), Olawale Okunniyi, has said except Nigerians urgently rise up and take their destinies into their own hands by massively compelling government to respect their will, the country may be plunged into a surprise extra legal intervention.Okunniyi gave this warning, on Sunday, in Lagos during his fifth end of the year review on the state of Nigeria, where he announced the first ever Anthony Enahoro Legal Commission Memorial Media Briefing holding on Thursday in Lagos.The veteran political scientist regretted that 'the Nigeria political class has clearly shown that it is ill prepared for governance as it has been programmed constitutionally by the military from the outset to fail,' lamenting further that in their 12 years in power, politicians had proved to be manifestly self-serving and completely overwhelmed by the art of nation buildingOkunniyi's statement, coming on the heels of a broad consultation of eminent leaders of thought hosted by the leadership of the Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC) in collaboration with the National Consensus Group of Project Nigeria last Wednesday in Abuja, confirms the recently expressed fears of both President Goodluck Jonathan and Chief Olusegun Obasanjo on a possible mass revolt in Nigeria.The Abuja meeting of leaders of thought had also earlier carpeted government on growing insecurity, proposed removal of petroleum subsidy and its refusal to facilitate a national conference for a brand new people's constitution.'Nigerians must note that the general insecurity in the land, the unabated suicide bombings and pervasive frustrations of the masses, the refusal of the ruling class to open up space for genuine national negotiation as well as the politics of fuel subsidy removal and the minimum wage are all ominous symptoms of a deeper structural and governance crisis in the country,'the leaders said.According to Okunniyi, the eminent leaders' group driven by senior citizens like Professor Ben Nwabueze, Alhaji Maitama Sule, Dr Tunji Braithwaite, Alhaji Balarabe Musa, Chief Audu Ogbeh, Dr Kalu Idika Kalu, Dr Lateef Adegbite, Olisa Agbakoba, Labour and civil society leaders among others were completely disappointed over the present state of affairs in the country orchestrated by system and leadership failure.'Given several assessment and consultations we have made on the dangerous state of affairs in the North, Niger Delta, South-East, Middle Belt etc. and on the widening gap of exclusions in governance, the fear of our rulers to allow for a genuine national dialogue and the resultant bottled up anger everywhere, I can bet that, there shall be an organised mass action and a major shaking in the country soon,' he said.
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