Dr Onyemaechi Ogbunwezeh, the African Director For Genocide Prevention at the Christian Solidarity International (CSI) Switzerland has warned that Nigeria needs to make a U-turn, else the Rwandan Genocide will be child’s play compared to the future of Nigeria.
He said that all parties involved must sit and dialogue as soon as possible so that aggrieved citizens can speak their minds and solutions will be presented.
He told LITV: “I am afraid. The indices that I am seeing doesn’t speak so wonderfully well for Nigeria.
“Nigeria is a genocide waiting to happen,” he added.
Forecasting the nation’s future, he said: “It’s boiling everywhere and if we let this degenerate the way it’s degenerating, Rwanda is going to be better. It’s going to be like the antics of spoilt kids in comparison to what is going to happen to this country.
“It is in our best interest that everybody rise to the occasion…”
On what can be done to prevent further violence, Dr Ogunwezeh insisted a national dialogue cannot be avoided. He added that dialogue will allow Nigerians decide if they want to stay together as a nation or go their separate ways.
He explained: “This is what a national dialogue could solve. This is what a national dialogue could avail Nigerians the opportunity for them to decide. It’s a democracy. People want to decide for themselves, we should let them do that. Self-determination is a fundamental human right.
“It’s pretty urgent that we start this dialogue immediately. We don’t have time. We may have crossed the rubicon. It may have been late in the day for this dialogue. This is what we should have done earlier than now. But I am afraid it may be late.”
He further stated, “The reasonable thing that the reasonable man should do is to say, why should I kill my brother first before dialoguing.”
Asked if negotiating with bandits is a viable option to curb banditry, he highlighted the popular American saying “we don’t negotiate with terrorists”, adding “Once a state makes that move of negotiating with terrorists, it leads to state failure. Which means you’ve surrendered your sovereignty to a bunch of ragtag riffraffs. They are the ones determining how you run your country.
“But, for me, because lives are on the line, I will keep all options on the table. I understand how difficult it is to face insecurity in a country like Nigeria.”
