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| Alhaji Muhammadu Barkindo Mustapha (Lamido Adamawa) |
There
was a mild drama Wednesday 26, 2013 at the venue of the on- going National
Conference, when the Lamido Adamawa, Alhaji Muhammadu Barkindo Mustapha told
his fellow delegates that he was prepared to secede from the present Nigeria if
the country disintegrates.
Noting
that whereas many people in the country would have nowhere to run to in the
event of disintegration, he said that himself and his people in Adamawa Kingdom
would have no such problem as they would simply cross the border to join their
kith and kin in the Republic of Cameroun
The
Lamido Adamawa who is one of the thirteen persons representing the National Council
of Traditional Rulers of Nigeria also said he was ready to lead his people on a
walk-out from the conference.
The
monarch spoke after he was recognised by the Conference Chairman, Justice Idris
Kutigi to speak on a debate on the proposal to call for memoranda from members
of the public to help the conference succeed.
He
stressed that conduct of delegates on Tuesday was not impressive as they were
not addressing the issues as highlighted by President Goodluck Jonathan during
his inaugural speech as had been expected.
The
Lamido Adamawa who neither spoke for nor against the issue he was asked to
comment on, simply said, “Mr. Chairman, I want to sound a note of warning”.
“I
have been sitting here for three days now watching and listening. We should not
take cue from the so-called civilized people of western countries because they
are always after their own interest and they can use anything including
coercion to protect that interest.
“Listening
to the debates and behavior of some of the delegates here, it beats my
imagination why a gathering of people like us will behave the way we are
behaving”.
When
other delegates could no longer take what the royal father was saying as he was
said to be far away from the issue, some delegates started calling on Justice
Kutigi to intervene and stop the emir, with shouts of “Point of Order, No, No’
but Kutigi’s attempt to call him to order failed as the royal father
insisted on concluding his address.
Shunning
the entreaties from fellow delegates, Mustapha continued:“The President
delivered an address and laid down what we are supposed to discuss and what not
to discuss.
“But
many people here, some of them elder statesmen, who claim to be strong
loyalists of the president unfortunately, these people are in the forefront to
contradict what the president has said.
“In
the long run, if we are not careful, this conference will flop. God forbid. If
it flops, the resultant effect will not be imaginable. If anything happens and
the country disintegrates, God forbid, many of us who are shouting their heads
off may not have anywhere to go.
“My
people and the people of Adamawa have got somewhere to go. I am the Lamido
Adamawa and my kingdom extends to Cameroun. The larger part of my kingdom is in
Cameroun. Part of that kingdom is today called Adamawa State in Cameroun. You
see, if I run to that place, I will easily assimilate.”
When
the shout of ‘’point of Order” and ‘’No, No” continued and rented the air from
the delegates, the royal father who urged Kutigi to take charge of the
conference and not allow himself to be pushed too hard by the delegates warned
that he could walk out of the conference if the need arose.
“I
want to call on the chairman to please tread the path laid down by the
president which includes the pattern of voting.
“If
we are pushed to the wall, we will easily walk out of this conference. Jingoism
is not the exclusive preserve of anyone. Everyone here is a potential jingo.”
Answering
questions from journalists later, the Lamido Adamawa said:
“The
people who are here shouting that they are the president’s loyalists are the
same people who are contracting the president by introducing something which
the president didn’t say in his address, that is the two-third majority. So,
this is why I said I should make this statement to make people understand.”
When
asked to comment on his statement on the floor of the house, describing some
elders as Jonathan’s loyalists and what informed that, he said, “Yes, they
called themselves Jonathan’s loyalists, many of them have been shouting their
heads off in the media.”
On
the assertion that his kingdom extended to The Cameroons, he said:
“My Kingdom has been in existence hundreds of
years before the so-called entity called Nigeria and the so-called civilized
people from the West who are the people who came and divided us. The larger
part of my kingdom is now in Cameroon and a part of it is named a state that is
Adamawa State in Cameroon. If you go to Cameroon, you verify that.”
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