SAN FRANCISCO, June 17, (THEWILL) – In the last few months, there have been renewed calls for the restructuring of Nigeria. This is coming at a time when heightened insecurity has gripped the nation arising from the activities of Boko Haram terrorists, murderous herdsmen, pro-Biafra agitators and resurgent Niger Delta militants.
These and more, like the insolvency of most states, have given bite to the argument that the country can no longer exist as presently structured. Many proponents of restructuring have hinged their agitation on the marginalization of the minority groups in the disbursement of resources and opportunities, ethnic and religious crises, environmental degradation, brazen disregard for human rights and overbearing influence of the Federal Government on the federating units.
However, Federal Government’s continued control of resources deposited in states has left the units as mere geographical expressions, which merely depend on whatever allocations they get from the centre. It is in the midst of this that stakeholders and most Nigerians have over the years called for a national conference, sovereign or otherwise, to address the challenges.
While these regional agitations have raised the stakes including the resort to arms struggle, various groups and prominent individuals have continued to pile pressure on the government to restructure the country in the interest of all so that the various states can develop at their own pace thereby engendering healthy competition.
Meanwhile, those who looked in the direction of recommendations of the 2014 National Conference as a veritable tool through which the country can be restructured were disappointed when President Muhammadu Buhari declared recently that his government will not implement the recommendations of the confab.
THEWILL believes that the growing demand for true federalism can no longer be swept under the carpet in official quarters. This is more so as the call is becoming louder, especially from unexpected quarters.
At a recent book presentation, former Vice President, Alhaji Atiku Abubakar, a stalwart of the ruling APC, called for a restructuring that would make the federation, “less centralised, less suffocating and less dictatorial in the affairs of our country’s constituent units and localities.”
Critical stakeholders who support restructuring argue that the current structure is a recipe for insecurity and instability. The pan-Yoruba socio-cultural group, ‘Afenifere’ and pan-Igbo umbrella association, ‘Ohanaeze Ndigbo’ have insisted that restructuring would be in the best interest of the country.
At the events to mark the annulled June 12, 1993 Presidential election believed to have been won by the late M.K.O. Abiola, the calls for restructuring again became dominant. Lagos State Governor, Akinwunmi Ambode, former military administrator of Lagos, Rear Admiral Ndubuisi Kanu, and democracy activist, Ayo Opadokun, among others, reiterated that Nigeria needs nothing but true federalism.
Nevertheless, National Coordinator, Open Dialogue Initiative, Abdullahi Haruna Haruspice, argued that the country does not need any restructuring. According to him, what it needs is equitable distribution of resources and attitudinal change on the part of the people, especially on such vices as tribal hatred, religious intolerance, bigotry.
THEWILL supports the call for restructuring of Nigeria. We believe that too much power is concentrated at the centre to the detriment of the federating units. The Nigerian President could be said to be the most powerful in the world, which makes mockery of a true federal structure.
Since the 2014 national conference addressed most of the issues confronting the nation, we urge Buhari and the National Assembly to, as a matter of urgency, work with the confab’s recommendations. Let the country be restructured along the six geo-political zones for equity and fairness.
With the present mood of the country, it remains the best opportunity to solve the contending issues. No matter the political sentiments, the conference was representative enough of all segments of the Nigerian society hence its recommendations must therefore not be entirely dumped.
THEWILL believes that a restructured Nigeria will make the federating units explore the resources in their domain for optimal development. There is no state in the country without some mineral deposits or arable land for agriculture, which could make them self-reliant and transform the lives of the people.
THEWILL recalls that the country developed better during the era of regionalism, where there were healthy competitions among the then Northern, Western, Eastern and Mid- Western regions, each of which harnessed inherent resources for their individual development.
In other climes, federating units are granted powers to make their laws as best suit them. For instance, Canada and other states in America operate this model. There is no gain saying the obvious that a lot of mineral deposits abound in all the states of the Nigerian federation to make them self-reliant and meet their people’s needs.
In line with true federalism practice, the Federal Government should only concern itself with critical sectors like Finance, Defence and Foreign Affairs while surrendering sectors it hitherto controlled to the residual list of the federating units. THEWILL insists that only in a restructured Nigeria where more powers and resources are devolved to the states and local governments can most of the challenges buffeting the country be solved.
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