Calls for restructuring suspicious –Presidency
— 14th October 2017- Ikpeazu, Odumakin disagree
From ODINAKA BENEDICT EZEOKA writing for ODOGWU MEDIA.
The Presidency has described the
call for restructuring Nigeria, particularly from those who were in
power for 16 years as suspicious. Special Adviser to the President on
Media and Publicity, Femi Adesina, stated this yesterday even as he said
that the Muhammadu Buhari’s administration was not opposed to
restructuring but is opposed to anything that will splinter the
country.
Adesina spoke at the Change We Need
Nigeria Initiative 8th Annual Lecture Series with the theme:
Disintegration or Restructuring: Which Way Nigeria?
The presidential spokesman who described
the theme of the lecture as timely, said restructuring doesn’t
necessarily need to be accompanied with disintegration, noted that
Nigeria has always restructured but has never led to the country falling
apart.
Adesina said, “In the history of Nigeria
there was a time where the various people and communities lived in this
space that is today called Nigeria. And then the colonial masters came,
formed what is called the northern protectorate, southern protectorate,
that was restructuring of what has subsisted. And then in 1914
precisely, the northern and southern protectorates, were amalgamated
into one country, that was another restructuring. Did it come with any
saber-rattling or did it send the country into tailspin, no? And then we
we got to a point that we had regionalism in the country, the regions
were formed and we begin to grow, that was another restructuring, it
happened almost naturally and each region began to work on its own pace.
“We will get to where we are going on
restructuring and Nigeria remains one united indivisible entity. That is
my thought. And from the first paper I have heard I know this issue
will be dissected properly today and at the end we will come up with
something that is pragmatic, something that is not emotive, something
that is not knee jack, something that can take this issue and clamour
for restructuring forward.”
But in his response, Abia State Governor,
Okezie Ikpeazu who was represented by his Chief Press Secretary, Godwin
Adindu, disagreed that restructuring was an opposition thing. He said,
“restructuring is not an opposition thing, it is what we all need so
that we can move the nation forward. Restructuring is not the demand of
the opposition.”
The Afenifere spokesman, Yinka Odumakin,
also disagreed with Adesina that restructuring was an opposition thing.
He insisted that Nigeria’s unity is negotiable warning that those
kicking against it risk disintegration.
He said, “The unity of Nigeria can be
negotiated. It is fallacy to say it can’t be negotiated. By
restructuring we are saying Nigeria should move from money sharing
economy to a productive economy. If we refuse to take this national
course, I’m sorry to say time is running out of Nigeria.Let us restructure Nigeria now, return to the Nigeria our founding fathers initiated. Our best is in the past. Let us join hands to build a Nigeria that we will all be proud of.”
The guest lecturer, Dr. Cosmas Ilechukwu,
said restructuring will be good for Nigeria. He said, “By restructuring
I mean a reorganization of the governance structures of Nigeria to make
it a more viable and more prosperous nation where the different
nationalities will proudly call a home. Any construct that will occasion
greater efficiency and economic viability will be okay. The six
regional structures that seem to have gained reasonable mileage among a
large segment of our population should be constitutionalized. I will
support the call for a six-regional arrangement with some minor
readjustments.
CALLS FOR RESTRUCTURING SUSPICIOUS --- PRESIDENCY.
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Saturday, October 14, 2017
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