Governor Seyi Makinde of Oyo says Nigerian elites are responsible for the disunity and division in the country.

Mr Makinde stated this in Abuja on Wednesday at the public presentation of a book titled “Headlines and Soundbites: Media Moments that Defined an Administration”.

The book is authored by the former minister of information and culture, Lai Mohammed.

The governor warned that divisions among the political class were undermining national unity and progress.

According to him, ordinary Nigerians across all divides had largely reached a consensus on remaining united as one country.

He lamented that elites often exploited ethnic, religious and regional differences for political ambition.

The governor, therefore, called for “elite consensus” on the way forward, urging leaders across party lines to identify Nigeria’s present challenges and design solutions appropriate to current realities.

“My experience is that ordinary Nigerians already have a consensus that they want to be Nigerians. But we the elites are the ones dividing the country because of our ambition.

“Oh, he’s a Muslim, he’s Christian, he’s South-South, he’s Yoruba.

“We need elite consensus on how to move forward,” he said.

Mr Makinde also called for far-reaching political reforms to move Nigeria forward.

The governor, who noted that he was not a member of the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC), said his presence at the event underscored the need for national dialogue that transcends partisan boundaries.

He also used the opportunity to reaffirm his position that he was not decamping to the ruling APC.

Congratulating Mr Mohammed on the publication, the governor encouraged leaders to document their experiences in public service to enrich Nigeria’s history.

“Our leaders should enrich our history by documenting how they saw events from their own perspectives. 

“It gives future generations something to interrogate, critique and learn from,” he said.

He recalled his personal encounters with the late President Muhammadu Buhari, including their joint participation as candidates of the All Nigeria Peoples Party (ANPP) in the 2007 elections.

The governor also noted how political trajectories often changed over time.

He reflected on Nigeria’s federal structure, saying the challenges facing the country today were different from those that followed the civil war, when national unity was the overriding concern.

“Of course, federalism and multi-party democracy were settled for in those negotiations. I’ve had the opportunity to discuss with some of our leaders that were players in that period, and they said, “Well, the only problem they were faced with as of that time was that they went through a civil war, and they needed to unite Nigeria.”

“Their major task was to unite Nigeria, and that was why they agreed on federalism. But is it the same problem that we’re faced with today? The answer is no.

“So we must identify the problems that we are faced with today and design something that will allow us to tackle that problem,” Mr Makinde said.

Earlier, the former head of the Civil Service of the Federation, Oladapo Afolabi, called for credible elections and constitutional reforms, warning that failure to strengthen democratic processes could lead to anarchy.

Mr Afolabi advocated an end to the winner-takes-all system, decentralisation of governance, stronger institutions, adherence to the rule of law and consideration of a single-term tenure for executive offices.

The book presentation attracted political leaders, academics, media practitioners and members of the public from across the country.

 (NAN)