Present Nigerian structure unworkable, says Horsfall

A former director of the State Security Service, Chief Albert Horsfall, has emphasised the urgent need to restructure Nigeria for rapid economic growth and progress.
Speaking at the book presentation/colloquium activities marking the 10th year anniversary of the National Point Newspaper, in Lagos, he noted that the system of government the country operates presently was unworkable in a multicultural state like Nigeria.
He called for the need to return the founding fathers’ dream of true federalism, where every region works autonomously and allowed to develop at its own pace. He also called on every Nigerian to forget who is at fault, “and put ourselves together to utilise what we have.”
Horsfall spoke at the public presentation of books written by Ibiba Don Pedro, journalist, publisher, entrepreneur and the Executive Director of National Point newspaper. The books explore the perceived injustice perpetuated on a region that produces the wealth of the nation while the people live in abject poverty.
The books include- The Oil in Water: Crude power and militancy in the Niger Delta, Scavengers and real Avengers of Niger Delta, and Out of a bleak landscape: Oil, repression and agony in Niger Delta.
In her remarks, the author, while throwing her weight behind restructuring, noted that it should not be politicised. According to her, “Restructuring of Nigeria must not be in the blight tone of politicians who will soon move on to another pet issue or slogan.
She said that Nigeria must return to true federalism, the only system that recognises the country’s diversity and the reality that no part of the country is a conquered territory or play ground for lazy persons living a lie.
On the newspaper, she said: “National Point Newspaper, with a larger dominance in the Niger Delta region, is about the agony, injustice, and exploitation of the region.”
Also speaking at the event, Prof. Dauphin Moro, in his paper, ‘Niger Delta’s next decade: Confronting the challenges through restructuring,’ he lamented the degrading environmental condition of the Niger Delta region caused by oil spillage and gas flaring due to oil exploration and production in the region. He said that the Niger Delta constituted the most battered, destabilized and degraded habitats in the whole of Africa. He insisted that restructuring of Nigeria will help to put an end to the Niger Delta’s crisis, as more revenue would be accrued to the region, the goose that lays the golden egg, which would be used to clean up the almost completely degraded environment.
The event was attended by Chief Ayo Adebanjo, Mr. Steve Ayorinde, Commissioner for Information and Strategy, Lagos State who was represented, Mr. Ken Etete, CEO, Century Group and others.
|The Nation