Benin – Mr Joseph Daudu (SAN), the President of the Nigerian Bar Association (NBA), has called for urgent resolution of the raging crises in some parts of the country to save its fledgling democracy.

Daudu made the call in Benin on Friday in a paper entitled “Danger Signals to Nigeria’s Democracy”, which he delivered at the ongoing 7th All Nigeria Editors Conference.

He said the intermittent crises in the Plateau, the 2011 post-presidential election mayhem, the Niger Delta militancy, Boko Haram fundamentalism, as well as corruption, economic crimes and road carnage should be urgently addressed to save democracy in the country.

The NBA president said these issues were “very grave” and had led to unfortunate and violent events.

“It is agreed by all and sundry that if the root causes of these events and calamities are not resolved, then Nigeria may not remain a corporate entity for long.”

Daudu suggested the Nigerianisation of everybody in solving the Jos crisis, saying “the panacea lays in Nigerianising everybody; that is, there should be indigene and non-indigene.

“If you have elected to live among any ethnic group in Nigeria for an agreed number of years and demonstrated a desire to live there, then such a person should be qualified to append as his local government and state such place of his domicile.”

The president said the NBA had recommended to the National Assembly an amendment to Chapter 3 of the Constitution on Citizenship to introduce a new clause on internal citizenship.

He said the post-presidential election clashes called to question the unity of the country, political maturity and response of government to disturbances that could lead to loss of lives and property.

The NBA, he said, recommended that the perpetrators of the acts should be brought to book, while the National Assembly should enact stiffer laws to protect lives, liberty and property of Nigerians regardless of where they resided.

“The failure of justice has grave economic and political repercussions for such a society.

“Firstly, investors — local and foreign — will not put their funds in any tinderbox economy that is prone to conflagration at any point in time.”

Dauda said the Niger Delta crisis, Boko Haram insurgency, road carnage as well as economic and financial crimes threatened the unity and existence of the nation.

“That there are such incidents is not the issue, it is their frequency and regularity.

“Taken together, they portend great danger to the ship of state. It shows that the structure or machinery of government is weak and unable to guarantee the constitutional minimum of peace, order and good government.” said. (NAN)