Ex-Senate President, Anyim Pius Anyim has come out to say that military actions or even foreign help alone cannot bring permanent solutions to ethnic conflicts or nationality agitations in Nigeria.

He recently revealed this via an open letter to President Muhammadu Buhari, and Nigerians have been reacting.

According to him, there is an urgent need to create a platform to hear Nigerians out once and for all, because the challenges are becoming unbearable.

He added that such a platform will offer the citizenry the opportunity and platform to share their concerns and to be heard, and this will help to build confidence, while reducing animosity and mutual suspicion between government and the people.

His words, “I make bold to say that no solution except one birthed by an independently conducted engagement with fact-based recommendations arrived at with the participation of the citizens will provide an enduring solution.”

“To worsen matters, Boko Haram has acquired new impetus that they now overrun the military and have even expanded their base to Niger State. IPOB has become a regional challenge.”

“On the non-violent side, agitations for restructuring are scaling up in momentum, ethnic consciousness and allegiance even among the elite are far eroding national concerns. All these and many more coupled with gross downturn in the national economic, social and political space has become an apparent threat to our nationhood.”

“I am to add, that it must be known that military actions or even foreign help alone cannot bring permanent solutions to ethnic conflicts or nationality agitations. Mr. President, you need to create a platform to hear Nigerians out.”

“It will offer the citizenry the opportunity and platform to share their concerns and to be heard. This helps to build confidence and reduce animosity and mutual suspicion; it identifies the immediate and remote causes of the current challenges and provide a framework for their resolution.”

“Such a commission will aim not only to unravel the remote and immediate causes but also determine the various dimensions and define them accordingly. E.g. democratic agitations will be separated from violent crimes to the understanding of all. It will also capture the reasons for the agitations and the Justice thereto.”

“Such a Commission will propose immediate-, short- and long-term solutions and develop a roadmap towards addressing them. Such roadmap used as a national reference document would guide further interactions and processes for implementation.”