Governor of Kano State, Abdullahi Ganduje, has attributed the challenges of nation building in Nigeria to the faulty foundation laid by the colonial masters.
The governor made the assertions at the launching of the N250 million Dr Abdullahi Ganduje Lecture Theatre on Saturday at the University of Ibadan.
The News Agency of Nigeria reports that Ganduje, who was the Guest Speaker, bagged the Most Distinguished Alumni Award.
The governor said that the faulty foundation laid by the colonial masters was purely done to actualise their interests and not for any genuine development of the country.
He said, “The challenges of nation building in Nigeria are attributable to the very faulty foundation laid by the European colonial masters.
“These were purely done to actualise their interests and not for any genuine development of the country.”
Ganduje said that the colonial rule divided Nigeria into North and South without much concern for the peculiarities of the two regions.
He said that the division was without concern for the difference in land tenure systems, local government administration, education and judicial systems.
Ganduje said the challenges of nation building should be a matter of concern to all, adding that there was need to reflect on the journey so far to build and leave a better legacy for the future.
“From this historical legacy, therefore, regionalism has been a major challenge to nation-building in Nigeria. Under these conditions, it was easy for prejudice and fear to thrive.
“Nation-building is about building a common sense of purpose, sense of shared destiny and collective imagination of belonging.
“Nation-building is about building the tangible and intangible threads that hold a political entity together and gives it a sense of purpose,” he said.
