Prominent Nigerians and groups, including the pan-Yoruba organisation, Afenifere; and the Southern and Middle Belt Leaders’ Forum, have faulted President Muhammadu Buhari’s stand on restructuring.
The groups stated this in separate interviews with The PUNCH while commenting on the President’s New Year’s broadcast, where he said the problems with Nigeria were more with process than structure.
Buhari had said, “In respect of political developments, I have kept a close watch on the ongoing debate about ‘restructuring.’
“No human law or edifice is perfect. Whatever structure we develop must periodically be perfected according to changing circumstances and the country’s socio-economic developments.
“When all the aggregates of nationwide opinions are considered, my firm view is that our problems are more to do with process than structure.”
Nigeria can’t be productive with 1999 constitution –SMBLF
But the Southern and Middle Belt Leaders Forum has faulted President Muhammadu Buhari’s recent stand on restructuring.
The forum stated this in a statement on Monday by Yinka Odumakin (South-West); Senator Bassey Henshaw (South-South); Prof. Chigozie Ogbu (South-East), and Mr. Isuwa Dogo (Middle Belt).
The group, which was reacting to Buhari’s statement in his New Year broadcast, said Nigeria could not be productive under the 1999 Constitution.
According to the group, the 1999 Constitution keeps 68 items on the exclusive list.
In the statement titled, Nigeria in crisis: Restructuring, not processing is the way out, the Forum, stated, “We cannot become a productive country under a 1999 constitution which keeps 68 items on the exclusive list, including mineral resources, which abound all over the country but which the states, whose governors are constitutionally vested with the authority over land, cannot touch.”
The group insisted that the federating units should be given authority over their resources, noting that more powers must be devolved to them for effective administration.
The forum added, “Nigerians must organise, mobilise and work towards building an inclusive and productive country in 2018 using all democratic and peaceful means.
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“It is a year to battle for the soul of the country by forces of federalism and upholders of a suffocating unitary system.”
It said the imperative of state police was more urgent now than ever, adding that the Nigeria Police Force had shown it lacked the capacity to deal with crimes in a multi-ethnic society like Nigeria.
Restructuring, way out for Nigeria, Afenifere tells Buhari
Afenifere berated Buhari for not showing interest in restructuring the country despite agitations from many quarters.
The General Secretary of Afenifere, Chief Sehinde Arogbofa, while reacting to the President’ speech, said if the country was not restructured, the problem facing it would persist and citizens would continue to suffer.
He said, “I hope Buhari is not telling us he is at war with the National Assembly because, I think the National Assembly has set up a committee on restructuring. The APC too has set up a committee. So he (Buhari) should not give us the feeling that he is at war with these people.
“I think maybe he is playing on words. I believe in the long run, somebody will explain to him what we are talking about. He is talking about process and structure. It is when we have a good structure that a process can work. If there is a bad structure, there would not be good government, institutions won’t work. Structure precedes the process.
“I hope the President is not at war with the National Assembly or the good people of Nigeria who are saying let us restructure Nigeria so that every Nigerian will surely benefit. Even Buhari himself will benefit from it”
But the spokesman for Afenifere, Mr. Yinka Odumakin, said the issue of restructuring would determine who Nigerians would vote for in 2019, noting that Afenifere would mobilise and champion the restructuring cause in the general elections.
He said, “The President firing this kind of salvo was only drawing the line in the sand between the unitary and progressive forces who want Nigeria restructured so that it can make progress.
“It is clear that the party is trying to buy time with its committee on restructuring. The position of the President is very clear. What the party did is just a deception.”
When asked what proponents of restructuring should do, the Afenifere spokesman said they should mobilise Nigerians, stressing that the issue would determine the tone and tenor of the 2019 elections.
“Like Prof. Wole Soyinka said that whoever is against restructuring would not have his vote in 2019. Afenifere will be part of the forces that will ensure that Nigerians have a choice between pro-restructuring and anti-restructuring forces,” he added.
Restructure or resign, Adebanjo, Okurounmu tell Buhari
An Afenifere chieftain, Ayo Adebanjo; and a former lawmaker, Senator Femi Okurounmu, called on the President to restructure the current political system or resign immediately.
The two elder statesmen said this during separate interviews with The PUNCH on Monday.
Okurounmu, who represented Ogun Central Senatorial District between 1999 and 2003, lambasted Buhari for saying Nigeria’s problems are not that of structure but process.
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The former lawmaker said, “I have lost all hope in this government. The President is not only clueless but has also lost all sense of direction. He has probably lost his memory and so he is no longer competent enough to function as a President.
“My wish is that he would be courageous enough to resign and surrender the office to someone who is more capable and has all his cognitive functions intact.”
He said, “For President Muhammadu Buhari saying Nigeria’s problem is not structure but process only reinforces his well established and well known position on restructuring.
“It is well known that President Muhammadu Buhari is opposed to restructuring, because it benefits the Fulani interest which he represents.
“I see this statement as consistent with his view that he does not want restructuring.”
“Restructuring is the only solution to the problems of this country.”
In his own reaction, Adebanjo said it was unfortunate that the APC, which preached true federalism during the run-up to the 2015 elections, was changing its mind.
He said, “The only thing the government can do for this country to ensure peace and stability is to restructure the political system. Anything short of restructuring the country is a waste of time. All economic programmes and other initiatives all fall within the stability of the political set up.
“If President Buhari says the structure is not the problem, then he is the problem of Nigeria. If he doesn’t know that restructuring is the solution to the problems of Nigeria, then he is the problem. He deliberately wants to oppress others and give the North undue advantage.
“Is this current constitution the one that our founding fathers handed to us? Is this not the military constitution? Why must we insist on that?
“He refuses to implement the 2014 Confab report. If he says the constitution is not the problem, then that is deliberate falsehood and he doesn’t like this country.”
Afenifere chieftain, Senator Femi Okurounmu, said the President current statement was consistent with his view that he does not want restructuring.
He said this stance was in consonance with the Fulani interest which he represents.
Buhari lacks understanding of restructuring –Ubani
Reacting to the President’s New Year speech, the Second Vice -President of the Nigerian Bar Association, Mr. Monday Ubani, said Buhari’s broadcast showed the President lacked the understanding of the substance of the genuine agitation for restructuring.
Ubani said, “Maybe there is a misconception somewhere. What we are saying about restructuring is that we cannot continue to run this unitary system of government and expect some positive changes to be made in our polity.
“We are running Abuja-based government without decentralisation of powers to the federating units.
“There are a lot of things we can do by decentralising powers and not concentrating powers in Abuja, which is the Federal Capital Territory.
Ubani cited the example of security whereby all directives and appointments must be made by the Inspector-General of Police and not decentalising the sector even to the local government level.
Nigeria needs restructuring –Balarabe Musa
Also, a former Governor of Kaduna State, Balarabe Musa, in an interview with the News Agency of Nigeria, said to ensure good governance, the country should be restructured.
He stated, “The economy should be restructured. What we are operating now, in which the economy is in private hands, cannot help us.
“We should restructure the economy so that government can play a greater role for sustainable development.”
Buhari did not surprise us –Ohanaeze
Reacting to the President’s New Year address, the Ohanaeze Ndigbo National Publicity Secretary, Mr. Uche Achi-Okpaga, told one of our correspondents in Enugu that Buhari was never going to embrace restructuring.
He however insisted that restructuring was “inevitable,” describing the campaign to restructure the country as a ‘moving train’.
Achi-Okpaga said, “I am not, by any means, surprised at the President’s speech against restructuring. It lends complete credence to the prevailing belief that the he is a down-to-earth Fulani ‘hegemonist’, who has been brainwashed and will never see anything good in restructuring.
“It only smacks of ignorance for anyone to think that restructuring would not favour the North.
“The irony is that Nigeria has been restructuring even from the pre-independence times and at every point in time, it had always favoured the North; from unitary to regional government, from parliamentary to presidential system. Even the present six geopolitical zones structure introduced by the late General Sani Abacha also favours the North.
“In a nutshell, restructuring is like a moving train. It will eventually consume those on its track and only time will vindicate us in Ohanaeze.”
|Punch
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