By FRANCIS ONYEUKWU

An elder statesman and prominent northern politician, Alhaji Tanko Yakassai, has said that it is no longer possible for Nigeria to return to regional government as practised in the First Republic.

Yakassai stated this in an exclusive interview with the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) in Abuja on Sunday.

?I am almost 100 years old. I was born in December 1925. I know what is possible and what is not possible. I can?t venture into what is not possible.

?I don?t think regional government is possible again in Nigeria,? he said.

According to him, no many Nigerians are favourably disposed to the idea of going back to regional government which gained ground during the First Republic.

?Read the newspapers; how many people are supporting the call for a return to regional government? Where are those people from the North, West or South?? he queried.

The elder ?tatesman said that in a democracy, everyone had the right to express his/her opinion, stating that this might not constitute majority opinion unless otherwise tested.

?That you have few people who are talking about regional government doesn?t translate into the fact that the majority of the country are craving for what is being talked about.

?What the few are talking about could be regarded as their wishful thinking. If government scales their calls and uncovers that it is not what the majority want, they will keep quiet,? he said. (NAN)

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