Professor Yusuf Turaki, the Convener of the Nigerian Indigenous Nationalities Alliance, has claimed that the Fulani and Kanuri groups are fiercely against the creation of states in the Middle Belt. He claimed that because the planned seven republics would have emancipated the Middle Belt and Central Nigeria from the rule of the Fulani, Hausa, and Kanuri elites, their rejection was motivated by a desire to hold onto power in these regions.
He clarified that numerous minority groups in Nigeria’s Northern, Western, and Eastern regions pushed for the formation of their own independent territories both before and after the country gained its independence. He pointed out that the Middle Belt region’s desire for self-determination remained unmet in spite of these advancements.
“The Fulani and Kanuri were in staunch opposition to the creation of states in the middle belt,” he stated in an interview with The Sun. They opposed the creation of the seven states that were suggested for the region, which would have freed the inhabitants of the Middle Belt and Central Nigeria from the rule of the Fulani, Hausa, and Kanuri ruling classes.
Prior to and following independence, Nigerian minority groups in the Northern, Western, and Eastern regions agitated for the division of their country into separate regions. Following independence, the Mid-West Region was established in 1963. Shortly before Biafra’s secession began in 1967, General Gowon removed Calabar-Ogoja-Rivers (COR) from the Eastern Region. To the dismay of Middle Belt residents, only the Middle Belt was not established.”….Seē _ Morē