Tunde Bakare, the 2011 vice-presidential candidate of the defunct Congress for Progressive Change (CPC) and General Overseer of the Citadel of Global Community Centre, has asked the Nigerian Government to dialogue with secessionist groups in the country in order to address national insecurity and fix the country’s dwindling economy.

Speaking in an exclusive interview with Channels Television aired on Tuesday, bakare also urged President Muhammadu Buhari to go about the business of reuniting the country like he is “the chief servant of the people, not their lord”.

“The first thing we need to do is to heal the cracks; the fault lines are too many. This nation is terribly divided,” he said. “That is why we have people talking about the Oduduwa Republic, Indigenous People of Biafra (IPOB), and all kinds of things. 

“Religious difference has become an issue. We need to reach these agitators and give them hope before it becomes a case of us against us. It should be about us coming together to build this nation.”

Under President Muhammadu Buhari, the threats of secession from Nnamdi Kanu-led IPOB and Sunday Igboho-backed Oduduwa Republic have gathered momentum.

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Recent arrests of Kanu and Igboho, leaders of the two major separatist groups in the country, by the Federal Government have also failed to quell agitations by their followers. Bakare stressed the need to ensure fairness in governance for the peaceful co-existence of the different ethnic groups in the country.

“We need to fix the cracks, the hurts, and the pains of this nation, but you can’t force people to be together unless you do things that appear fair to all,” he noted.

“You need to engage people and talk to them from time to time. You are the servant of the people, not their lord. The President is the chief servant of the nation.”