PMB and the restructuring debate

By Kazeem Olalekan Israel

SIR: That President Muhammadu Buhari could refer to those agitating for restructuring as being naïve and dangerous is not only unfortunate, it shows he is out of touch with reality in the country.

Nigeria, as presently made up, is blessed with massive human and natural resources to the extent that throwing a stone in an open place in the country, you are most likely to hit a world-known doctor, a world-class lawyer or engineer. Unfortunately, the country is being ruled by elements that cannot differentiate between the call for restructuring and secession.

Rather than confront the woes facing the nation headlong, the Buhari administration appears to be more interested in gagging free-speech. The suspension of Twitter in Nigeria all because it has become a tool to call the attention of the world to the devilish activities of his government and also his attempt to amend the Nigerian Press Council Act and the National Broadcasting Act which is akin to the Public Officers Protection Against False Accusation Decree (Decree No. 4, 1984) are enough proof.

The president has apparently only chosen to see the smaller picture when saying that he is committed to making the judiciary and local government functional as against the call for restructuring which his party campaigned with during the 2015 general elections.

It is interesting to note that the president had, during his visit to Lagos to commission the railway terminal some two weeks ago, said that state governors should play their part in tackling insecurity. As usual, in his characteristic manner, he was trying to shift the goalpost because there is no way governors can tackle insecurity when the constitution does not grant them power over the police in their respective states. The president needs to give room for restructuring of the country which will allow each region/state to develop at their own pace. Through restructuring, each state will have control over their resources and it will at the end-point boost local production of food items which will help fight the critical issues of extreme poverty.

The president, his legion of ministers and innumerable aides in their rocky abodes must come to the realisation that state police is an important component of federalism since sovereignty is divided between the central authority and federating state authorities. In fact, the beauty of the establishment of state police is that it is in line with the principle of federalism on which Nigeria fashioned its constitution.

This administration should stop taking refuge in self-deception and quickly come to terms with the words of Victor Hugo that “there is something stronger than all the armies in the world, and that is an idea whose time has come.” As against the earlier submission to ‘fate’ of seeking daily survival without being bothered about how the country is being ruled while their leaders continue to rob them of existence, the Nigerian people have eventually begun to organise, demand what they call true federalism as against the neo-enslavement which is at play.

We must stop deceiving ourselves. The question of restructuring can no longer be evaded, most especially at this period of our national life, because it is a call that has been in public debates for long. It is time for the constitutive parts to reconstitute themselves into an acceptable structure of collaboration if at all there will be harmony and greatness, and the constitutional amendments going on must reflect these. Anything other than this is an effort in futility.

Right now, the country is sitting on a time-bomb and the president must at this point in time listen to the demands of the Nigerian people. And, those who choose to misunderstand and misrepresent the purposes of the call for restructuring are creatures caught in the warp of time. After all, government exists for the state and not the state for the government. 

• Kazeem Olalekan Israel, Ibadan.