The Aareonakakanfo of Yorubaland, Iba Gani Adams, says Nigeria is at war with itself because “a section” of the country consistently betrays the all citizens.
He stated this on Saturday at the annual June 12 commemoration anniversary, organised by the Oodua Peoples Congress, at the Excellence Hotel in the Ikeja area of Lagos State.
He also said the late MKO Abiola “will never be happy in his grave that the democracy he lived and died for has turn out to be autocratic in nature and practice”, according to a statement by his media aide, Kehinde Aderemi.
The statement was titled, ‘June 12:Abiola will not be happy in his grave that this democracy turns autocratic- Gani Adams’.
He also criticised the Federal Government for banning micro-blogging site Twitter saying it is an attempt to gag the press and stifle freedom of expression.
Adams said, “This present danger has been threatening the fragile union of our great country. And sadly, Nigeria is sliding towards an anarchical terminal point. Nigeria is at war with itself because a section of the country has always betrayed the trust which is the bond that binds us together as a nation.
“A good example of this is the Federal Government’s ban and suspension of Twitter platform. As far as I am concerned, it is another ploy to tamper with the citizens’ rights to freedom of speech and expression.
“And if the Federal Government succeeded in banning and suspending twitter, it would easily do the same for other social media platforms. Now that the Federal Government has said all social media platforms must be registered to continue operating in the country. We must follow the trend and rise against skewed regulations. We must stop this excessive use of federal might to truncate the ideals of democracy.
“In global democracy, freedom of speech and expression is a major component of an ideal democracy. And Nigeria cannot continue to live in deceit and self-denial.”
“If democracy could not guarantee freedom of speech and expression, so what system of government will guarantee such component of good governance?” he queried.