A traditional ruler and economist from Plateau State, Da Jonathan Sunday Akuns, has dismissed the League of Northern Democrats (LND) as “dead on arrival.”
Akuns, who is advocating for a return to the 1963 Republican Constitution, described the LND as a source of great distraction and a cryptic grab of diverse ethnic nationalities’ territories.
He declared that coming at a time when patriots and lovers of national stability are canvassing for a true people-centered constitution for Nigeria, the idea behind LND is weather-beaten.
Akuns argued that the concept of a monolithic North is outdated and defunct, adding that Nigeria’s diversity should be promoted and celebrated rather than trying to impose a single identity.
He reiterated his belief that the country’s stability can only be preserved through a people-centered constitution, not through regional or ethnic politics.
The monarch also frowned upon the use of terms like “North” and “northerners,” saying they are “put-offs” that hark back to a colonial era that extinguished the sovereign status of ethnic cohorts.
He stated: “Ordinarily, it should have been a welcome development, but the use of the terms North, northern, northerners, and northern elders’ forum or the Arewa Consultative Forum and Arewa Republic as well as any such derivatives like League of Northern Democrats is a put-off.
“The concept of North and its derivatives is defunct, archaic, and also a geographic description of spatial direction. Nigeria emerged from a unilateral decision of Britain to unify the territories of ethnic nationalities by war, law, and the practice of Settler Colonisation.”
He urged the promoters of LND to join the call for better statecraft and not distract President Bola Tinubu from issues of national cohesion.
Akuns reiterated that the 1963 Constitution holds the key to Nigeria’s stability and that waking it up will align with the country’s democratic principles.
In conclusion, the Plateau monarch indicated that the concept of “North” is “grotesque” and seeks to impose a single identity on diverse ethnic lands, whereas the 1963 Constitution is “of the people” and not just “for the people.”
