THE Afenifere Renewal Group (ARG) has described as non-visionary President Muhammadu Buhari’s statement that the campaign for restructuring was for selfish pursuit.
The president was quoted in the media as saying that “every group asking for restructuring has got its own agenda and I hope it can be accommodated by the constitution.”
ARG Publicity Secretary Kunle Famoriyo, in a statement yesterday, said that the group believes that even a crude assessment of Nigeria’s socio-economic affairs gives credence to the demand by Nigerians to review governance structure to accommodate nascent issues.
The statement reads: “It is no brainer that constitutions are neither static nor constant. Every successful political climes stay true to the maxim that man is not made for the law, rather law is made for man.
“As observed recently at one of our events by foremost legal luminary, Chief Niyi Akintola (SAN), Nigeria may not survive for long under the current governance structure and every objective political analysis supports this assertion.
“This calls for visionary political leaders who must ensure that governance is dynamic enough to accommodate emerging issues that affect the welfare and security of their people.
“Nigeria’s leaders, however, appear to have deified the 1999 Constitution almost to the point that even generations unborn must grow to worship it, despite its glaring inadequacies and debilitating impact.”
The group warned that the boundaries set by the 1999 Constitution will be broken anytime soon, to the shame of recalcitrant leaders opposing it. “This much the recent events about June 12 and global affairs should teach discerning observers.
“ARG calls on the APC, which recently carried out a survey and consultation across Nigeria to continue to push the frontiers of restructuring, irrespective of the shortsightedness of the executive arm of government. This is so, if APC would remain a party of choice for Yoruba people,” the statement said.