Almost fifty years after Nigeria went through a devastating civil war prompted by the proclamation of the Republic of Biafra by the late Lt. Colonel Chukwuemeka Odumegwu-Ojukwu, following widespread and violent agitations across the country, the country is again witnessing worrisome unrests, agitations and uprisings in many states and zones, fueling uncertainty and concerns in many quarters, local and international. Dare Odufowokan, Assistant Editor, reports.
WHILE the situation in the Niger Delta gets more volatile by the day as militants unleash more terror via the bombing of oil installations and other targets, the Southeastern flank of the country continue to witness escalating violence emanating from the activities of pro-Biafra groups. This is just as the northeast battles the remnants of gradually receding Boko Haram fighters who had held the zone by its jugular for years.
With the happenings across the country, pundits are daily calling on the government to either approach the many sprouting agitations and the people behind them with more seriousness or risk a major uprising, that could come in the mould of a civil war, sooner than it could imagine. Many international organizations, like the European Union (EU), have warned of the possibility of Nigeria experiencing an implosion in no distant time, unless its aggrieved citizens and groups are kept in check.
So serious is the fear over the renewed agitations across the country that Pope Francis recently urged the government to seek dialogue with the various agitators as a way out of the looming implosion. The head of the Catholic Church said it has become urgently necessary for the parties involved in the face-offs in Nigeria to “sit down and talk.”
“I invite all to pray so that this window of opportunity can give relief to the suffering people and agitators and encourage the necessary humanitarian aid, and open the way to dialogue and much desired peace,” the Pope reportedly said. The development came just as the federal government warned protesters and other agitators across the country against taking up arms.
The Inspector-General of Police (IGP), Solomon Arase, warned agitating groups and individuals against arming themselves in the ongoing tensions with uniformed forces. The Police boss was reacting to alleged threat by pro-Biafra campaigners to resort to the use of guns and other weapons in self defence.
“The attention of the Nigeria Police Force has been drawn to a publication credited to the Indigenous People of Biafra ‘to carry guns in self defence and the Inspector-General of Police (IGP) Solomon Arase has sternly warned members of the IPOB to reconsider their stand or face the wrath of the extant laws on bearing of firearms,” the Police said.
The IGP warned that anybody who dared security agencies in the discharge of their constitutional responsibilities and made life difficult for law abiding citizens would face the law.
“Members of the groups should therefore note that it is an offence punishable under the criminal law of the Federation for a person to have in his possession or under his control any prohibited firearms without licence or permit,” said Kolawole. They are advised to be guided in respect of the above as the Police Force is poised to uphold the existing restriction over the use of firearms, he added.
Around the same time, President Muhammadu Buhari, urged militants in the Niger Delta to drop their confrontational stance and work with his government. The President said nothing would be spared in protecting lives and properties in the areas where the activities of militants have entrenched insecurity.
“We have to be very serious with the situation in the Niger Delta because it threatens the national economy. I assure you that everything possible will be done to protect personnel and oil assets in the region,” Buhari, who vowed to order a military intervention in the region if the militants persist, said.
The president urged aggrieved persons, militants and communities in the Niger Delta to drop their confrontational stance and work with those who have been charged by the Federal Government to review the Amnesty Programme initiated by the Yar’Adua Administration for the benefit of all parties.
No letting go
But in spite of all the warnings and threats from the federal government, it appears the agitations, rather than subsiding, is on the rise. While the Niger Delta Avengers (NDA) continue to bomb targets in the creeks of the South-south, Boko Haram terrorists are fighting back in the northeast.
In the southeast, bloody clashes between the pro-Biafra agitators and security operatives is now commonplace. What is more? More people appear to be choosing the violent path as more dissident groups are daily being formed across the country.
Barely a week ago, a new militant group, the Joint Niger Delta Liberation Force (JNDLF) emerged from the creeks and declared its readiness to divide the country. The group claimed that President Buhari himself is set to divide Nigeria, and as such, it will not hesitate to take the people of the Niger Delta out of the polity called Nigeria as soon as possible.
JNDLF said it is prepared to test six missiles if Nigerian army wouldn’t leave the region by June 7, 2016. The group said that their missiles are capable of bringing down any aircraft no matter how big. The group made no pretense about its preference for violence agitation in place of peaceful campaigns.
“Nigerian military should as a matter of urgency leave peacefully the Ijaw communities they are presently in, the next 48 hours under the guise of searching for the Niger Delta Avengers (NDA) or else we should not be blamed of whatever catastrophe that may befall such officers and the likely affected families of the officers should be blamed not the region.
Few days earlier, members of the pro-Biafra group, Indigenous Peoples of Biafra (IPOB), again announced their resolve to carry arms in self-defence, as part of the struggle for self determination. The group said in a statement in Umuahia by its spokesperson, Emma Nmezu, that failure to carry arms had exposed its members to attacks and killings by security agents.
“We shall defend ourselves with everything and anything necessary to avoid the continual killing of our mothers, fathers, and children. This is the time for all Biafrans to rise and defend themselves. We cannot fold our arms and watch them kill us the second time after killing over two million of us in 1968.”
Thus, the country, its government as well as local and international organizations that have been following the developments with keen interests were forced to come to the gory realization that the recent wave of renewed agitations across the country may not go away in a hurry. If anything, they are indeed serious causes for concerns.
And on many lips, both at home and abroad, one question lingers, begging for a definite answer but finding none. The same question is being asked in various forms. Why the renewed agitations? What are the reasons for the current wave of violence? What is responsible for the descent of hitherto peaceful regions into violent agitations all of a sudden? Are these mere reactions to the unexpected outcome of the last presidential election or the realities of our nation state unfolding right before us?
Mere reactions
As the crises raged from the Ijaw creeks to the hinterland of Igboland and the plains of the northeast, many Nigerians are of very strong opinions that the renewed violence, especially in the southern parts of the country, are obvious but veiled reactions over the loss of the presidency by the erstwhile ruling party, the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) and its candidate, Dr. Ebele Goodluck Jonathan, who incidentally, is a southern from Bayelsa State.
Senator Shehu Sani, representing Kaduna North senatorial zone, pointedly blamed the renewed agitation for sovereign state of Biafra on pro-Jonathan forces who lost the 2015 general elections.
Sani said the Biafra agitation was an attempt to destroy the administration of President Muhammadu Buhari. He described the renewed agitation for Biafra as misguided and ill conceived.
He said: “The Biafra agitation is a new attempt to destroy the Buhari administration and to ignite a national conflict and cause chaos, pandemonium, confusion in the country. I see it as a Plan B action of the pro-Jonathan forces who lost election in the 2015 national elections.
“I will also say that the agitation is not reflective of the generality of the interest of the Igbo people of the south-east. I believe the future of the Igbo is better guaranteed and sustained within a united Nigeria as they had made a huge progress in business, entrepreneurship, academics, politics and very sphere of life.
During the week, the South-South chapter of the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC), accused the opposition PDP of allegedly masterminding the recent attacks on oil installations in the Niger Delta region by militants. It also stated that the perpetrators of the attacks were not acting as patriots of the region but were being sponsored to derail the administration of President Buhari.
The party stated this in a communiqué issued at the end of its South-South zonal rally at the Government House in Benin, according to a statement by the Chief Press Secretary to the Edo State Governor, Mr. Peter Okhiria.
Present at the rally were the National Chairman of the party, Chief John Odigie-Oyegun, who was represented by the Deputy National Chairman, Mr. Segun Oni, and the party’s National Vice-Chairman (South-South), Mr. Hilliard Eta.
“The zone notes the upsurge in the renewed militancy in the area by ‘The Avengers’ and condemns its activities in its entirety. The zone does not believe that their nefarious activities are driven by any patriotic fervour, rather, we have cause to believe that they are instigated by the opposition Peoples Democratic Party to derail President Buhari’s government, in order to avoid the long arm of the law on their criminal activities while in government.”
However, a former militant, ‘General’ Africa Ukparasia, introduced a new dimension to the argument when he accused a fellow former militant leader, Government Ekpemupolo alias Tompolo of trying to make the country ungovernable for the administration of President Buhari, warning him to desist from any further attacks on oil installations.
According to Ukparasia, Tompolo, who is currently on the run from the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC), is the brain behind the recent destruction of oil installations in the Niger Delta, saying he was prepared to assist the government to stop the activities of the Niger Delta Avengers.
“I want to state categorically that the Niger Delta Avenger is not a new group. It is Tompolo that is behind the group and what they are out to do is to carry out their threat to make the government ungovernable for the APC. We will not allow that to happen. Tompolo is the person behind the attacks in the Niger Delta and so, Nigerians and people of the Niger Delta should not think that there is a new militant group.
“During the last government, nobody heard of the name Avengers causing problem and causing damages to our oil installations. But today, before the last election, Tompolo vowed and it was all over the media that if Jonathan does not win the election, he will make the incoming government ungovernable. That is what he is doing now. So, nobody should be surprised about what is happening now because it is Tompolo that is doing it,” he said.
As if that wasn’t enough to paint the agitations in the creek as aggressive fallouts of the loss of power by the region during the last presidential election, the National Coalition of Niger Delta Ex-Agitators (NCNDE-A) shocked the nation when it said the NDA was formed in January last year ahead of the March 2015 presidential election, with the knowledge and tacit support of former President Jonathan.
The National President of NCNDE-A, Israel Akpodoro, said “the Niger Delta Avengers is a creation of the ex-president aimed at thwarting any efforts made by successive administration especially that of the President Buhari-led All Progressives Congress, APC, administration.”
He further revealed that the threat was planed at a well-attended meeting called at the instance of a governor from the South South region.
“Nigerians should hold the Ijaw leader responsible for any possible collateral damage that may be incurred in the process of exterminating that destructive rag tag group with all its sympathizers in the region. Our common enemies in the Niger Delta region are those governors, ministers, Special Advisers, Directors General, Senators and other representatives from the region who participated in government and used their offices to enrich themselves to the detriment of general good.
“We must redirect our anger to those who cornered the dividends of democracy in the region buying fleet of airplanes, building mansions in choice cities of the world…while their people live in abject poverty. President Buhari isn’t our problem but our leaders from the region. President Buhari should not relent in his military actions against those he described as enemies of peace in the region,” he added.
But the Ijaw Youth Council Worldwide (IYCW) debunked his claims that Jonathan is the founder of the new militant group. IYCW spokesman, Eric Omare, issued a statement and urged the federal government to search elsewhere for the return of militancy to the troubled region.
“It is nonsensical to imagine that former President Jonathan who conceded defeat and congratulated his opponent, current President Buhari, even before the final result was announced would make such a plan. In the first place, the January 2015 meeting of ex-agitators and stakeholders in the region was not attended by Jonathan and the meeting never resolved to make Nigeria ungovernable for President Buhari.
And as if summing up the political undertones of the renewed agitation, Chief Ogbonna Fredrick Ogbonna, governorship aspirant of the United Nigeria Peoples Party in Anambra State, said the Buhari presidency created a yearning for groups like NDA, MEND and pro-Biafra campaigners in the south.
“There was no need for these agitations when PDP and Jonathan were in power. This is because the Igbo and the people of the Niger Delta were well treated .They had a deep sense of belonging and were not marginalized. But now the Buhari government is alienating them in all facets of governance. Buhari is making southerners unsafe and inferior in Nigeria.
“A good look at Buhari’s appointments so far will tell you why our people are still pained that Jonathan lost. According to the national character rule, as embedded in Nigeria’s constitution who is supposed to produce the number three man in Nigeria? Is it like that now? The north has taken everything because they won everything. So, the agitations wouldn’t have been necessary under Jonathan,” he said.
Condemning the resort to violent agitation in the south, Comrade Abdullahi Haruna, National Coordinator, Open Dialogue Initiative, said it is needless for the federal government to dialogue with the agitators in Igboland and the Niger Delta.
“The call for dialogue with dissident groups such as the so-called Niger Delta Avengers and the IPOB for me is needless and unnecessary. The government exists for the citizens, because all citizens are in constant demand for attention, it then becomes the responsibility of government to dialogue with citizens by providing needed necessities which are basic infrastructure, conducive environment for lives and businesses. Any form of selective dialogue with disgruntled elements should not be encouraged by the government.
“All citizens are equal before state and are treated equally without any preferential reverence to anyone. If government goes ahead to dialogue with these groups, be rest assured that other agitating groups will spring up.”
Unfolding realities
But another school of thought will not be drawn into agreeing that the renewed violence in the southern region is merely as a result of political loss. To them, the events of past months in the south and eastern parts of the region is more of a return to the national questions left unanswered by successive administrations. A good number of those saying this appear to agree to the fact that it is impossible to wish the real causes of these agitations away.
Former President of the Nigerian Bar Association, (NBA) Dr. Olisa Agbakoba, (SAN) said, “The Biafra thing is not an agitation. People there are very hungry, I am from there. They have been dispossessed and abandoned by different political leaders who deceive them when they come for their votes. APC, PDP and APGA- all kinds of parties deceive them and led them to exactly where they are. The last time I was at the area, I was shocked when I drove around. I was shocked at the level of poverty and unemployment.
“So when somebody who is an elite wants to manipulate them, which is what is going on now, they will fall for it. I think the best case has been explained by Prof. Wole Soyinka. We should not say that this country is indivisible. There is nothing indivisible about Nigeria. If we cannot live together, let us go in pieces. Who is to say that it is indivisible and treason? It is not.”
Many commentators have been speaking on the return to agitation and the reasons for such. A lot have been written about it and several summits and meetings have been held to discuss the sudden chaos enveloping the southern part of the country at a time the federal government is battling to end the insurrection in the northeast.
And one of the issues identified is the alleged treatment of the people of the concerned zones as second fiddles by the new administration. The Igbo and the Ijaw pride themselves as major ethnic groups in the country. To many observers, the new administration has truly not done enough to give the two groups enough reasons to be satisfied with the current arrangement.
“The civil war was about 50 years ago. Since then, the people of the South East and South South are yet to be accorded the same treatment meted out to other groups within the country. It is as if some people are convenient thinking we are minorities in Nigeria. In fact, we are commonly addressed and regarded as such by the leadership of the country. Since then up till now, no Igbo has been considered worthy of being president. Igbo land is the one with five states of all the zones in the country; other zones have six or more.
“And what positions do we get in government usually? Unimportant positions most times. Our allocations are the smallest compared to others. We have less local government than others and less government presence too. We have simply being ignored for too long and that is another reason why things are turning out like this.
Another problem now is that the current administration is biased against our people. While these things have been like that before Buhari came, it is actually his open dislike for our people that forced these young ones to go violent. The Biafra people and the militants are not new. But the previous government showed them understanding and they were willing to sheath their swords.
“Yes, our people supported our son Jonathan but Buhari and the APC must be told that once the election is over, the government becomes the property of everybody irrespective of political affiliations. Of course Buhari did not win with Igbo votes. We voted for Jonathan en masse but there are APC members in Igbo and Ijaw lands who voted Buhari. Shouldn’t they be considered in the scheme of things?”
Speaking further on the need for the government to see the return of agitations as the outcome of long standing inequalities, Agbakoba said “If I were President Buhari, I will first find out what the people are agitating for. When I know the problem, then I will know how to deal with it and move on. The Nigeria configuration, the Nigeria country, needs to be panel-beaten around again so that everybody can feel happy.
“You will need to assign space and a room in a country called Nigeria. But right now, 180 million Nigerians are outside, they have no room and they can see a few Nigerians eating very well inside a room. So they wonder if it is not their own meal too. The more they eat, the more these men get angry.
“The wall separating the two is so huge and the elite keep constructing it and they have reached a position where they just ignore the people and do not care about what the people say. They do what they like and say to hell with you because you will collect their money and vote for them. This is the time to deal with the elite.”
Aside the above, many commentators are of the opinion that the government must see the need to embrace the people of the agitating zones better than it had done. In doing this, the needs of the people and their grievances, they say, must be addressed as best as possible. Like other zones, they have roads and bridges needing to be built. They are also hoping that other resources available in their zones, aside oil, would be harnessed.
According to a frontline traditional ruler in Anambra State, Igwe Felix Onyimadu of Ukpor, in Nnewi South Local Government Area, the spate of agitations in the south, especially among Ndigbo were the effect of many years of marginalization and neglect. He urged that an additional state should be carved out from the South-East in the spirit of justice and fairness. “
“Why won’t President Buhari implement the resolutions of that timely and quality conference which said additional state should be carved out from the South-East? Just move round the entire South-East, you hardly see the presence of the federal government and when people are cheated, it is just natural for them to speak up and agitate. Even the political system is structured in a way to marginalize the Igbo. Most of the time, our lawmakers are randomly sacked from office while those that are lucky to hang on have basketful of litigations”.
As a way forward, the monarch urged the National Assembly to ensure that they bring the issue of marginalization to the front burner and find ways of ensuring that the issue is addressed. “The South-East governors, the Igwes and other eminent Nigerians should stand up and be counted on this matter.”
Even MASSOB, in a statement recently said that if former President Jonathan who was the closest neighbour, in-law and friend of Ndigbo, could not right the wrongs the previous administrations meted to Ndigbo with regard to federal roads, which had become death-traps in Igboland and also having failed to build critical development infrastructure, then Buhari’s administration cannot be expected to be fair to Ndigbo.
National Director of Information, MASSOB, Mr. Uchenna Madu, said it is wrong for anybody to take their agitation for anything other than a self determination struggle. He said those linking the renewed agitation to politics or power sharing are doing more harm that good because “they are leaving the main issues and festering mere beer parlour gossips.”
“It is instructive for all of us to know that the return of agitation in the south is the reality of our nationhood. In Igboland and the Niger Delta, agitations are age long and it will remain so for a long time to come unless the issues are addressed accordingly. We are not interested in the politics of Nigeria, we are talking about the right to self determination,” he said.
Is restructuring the way forward?
And as the debates over the return of agitations in some parts of the country heightens, focus seems to be shifting to the need or otherwise for the country to be restructured. In recent weeks, many commentators have been speaking on the issue of restructuring the polity as a way of addressing the renewed agitations in the southern parts of the country.
Former Vice President Atiku Abubakar led the renewed calls for restructuring when he said Nigeria is not working as it should because the centre has more power than the federating states. Speaking at the launch of book entitled “We are all Biafrans” in Abuja, Atiku said there was the need to restructure the nation to make it stronger and more united.
Speaking about the return to agitation and militancy in the south, as well as the ongoing insurrection in the northeast, where he hails from, Atiku said while Nigeria must remain a united country, the unity which most citizens so desire should never be taken for granted or taken as evidence that Nigerians are content with the current structure of the federation.
“Nigeria is not working as well as it should and part of the reason is the way we have structured our country and governance, especially since the late 1960s. The federal government is too big, and too powerful relative to the federating states. That situation needs to change, and calling for that change is patriotic. We must refrain from the habit of assuming that anyone calling for the restructuring of our federation is working for the breakup of the country.
“An excessively powerful centre does not equate with national unity. If anything, it has made our unity more fragile, our government more unstable and our country more unsafe. We must renegotiate our union in order to make it stronger. Greater autonomy, power and resources for states and local authorities will give the federating units greater freedom and flexibility to address local issues, priorities and peculiarities.
“It will help to unleash our people’s creative energies and spur more development. It will reduce the premium placed on capturing power at the centre. It will help with improving security. It will promote healthy rivalries among the federating units and local authorities. It will help make us richer and stronger as a nation.”
Perhaps preempting the possible rejection of his call by a section of the political class, the former number two man said resolving the age long issue of how best the country should be structured will help to address some of those very economic and security challenges facing the country. He added that it will also develop peaceful mechanisms for conflict resolution.
“Some may say that we are saddled with more urgent challenges, including rebuilding our battered economy, creating jobs, fighting corruption and securing our people from terrorism and other forms of serious crimes. I believe, however, that addressing the flaws in our federation will help us address some of those very economic and security challenges facing this country.
“Let me quickly acknowledge that no federal system is set for all time. There are always tensions arising from matters relating to the sharing of power, resources and responsibilities. But established democracies have developed peaceful mechanisms for resolving such conflicts among the tiers of government. They recognise that negotiations and compromises are eternal,” Atiku said.
But Haruna want Nigerians to view the call with caution as, according to him, it is nothing more than mere political statements emanating from politicians seeking attention. He said the inconsistencies in the past and present activities of those currently advocating restructuring should be a source of concern to Nigerians.
“The call for restructuring of the Nigerian state is unnecessary and more of resort to political bravado by self-serving and attention seeking politicians. Persistent restructuring of a system does no good to the system. At a time other nations are building their system, naysayers kept calling for restructuring. To me, it smacks gross inconsistencies. Make do with what you have instead of unceasing calls for new models of governance.
“Models of governance do not make themselves, the people do. So even if the so-called restructuring model is resorted to and we have a population that isn’t amenable to progress, we will end up with same system that needed change. The advocacy should be on attitudinal build up to patriotism, discipline and productivity.
“Nothing is wrong with us as a people, what we need to change is our deep-seated hatred for crass opportunism, tribal hatred, bigotry and ourselves. Template for equitable distribution of resources, respect for our differences and idiosyncrasies should be what we should talk about and not the call for restructuring. It is retrogressive and distracting,” he said.
But Atiku is not alone in his belief that restructuring the country is what is needed at a time like this as more eminent Nigerians have spoken out to support his call for the restructuring of the country along regional lines. Hardly had he finished making his submission in Abuja same day before Yoruba socio-political organisation, Afenifere, and the pan-Igbo umbrella body, the Ohanaeze Ndigbo, in separate statements, asked the federal government to implement the recommendations of the 2014 National Conference on the restructuring of the country.
Also, a former Secretary-General of the Commonwealth, Chief Emeka Anyaoku, and an ex-Chairman of the Nigerian chapter of Transparency International, Maj. Gen. Ishola Williams (rtd.), are in support of the restructuring of Nigeria, which they opined, would facilitate stability and development as well as douse incessant recourse to agitation across the country.
”I have called for the restructuring of the country since 2005 at the political reform conference. My most recent public statements on the matter were made in Ibadan School of Public Policy and Government last January and at Akure 40th Anniversary Colloquium of Ondo State on January 30. The present governance arrangement we have, with the country comprising 36 non-viable states, most of which cannot pay the salaries of their teachers and civil servants, is not the best. Rather, we should return to an arrangement, where the six regions will form six federating units,” Anyaoku insisted.
“What former Vice-President Atiku Abubakar had clamoured for by many Nigerians in the past. Even President Buhari knows that Nigeria needs to be restructured so that there would be resource control. It is in the light of the need to restructure the country that there are calls for constitution amendment,” Ishola explained.
The Senator representing Kaduna Central, Shehu Sani, is also in support of the call. He said too much parasitism, dependency and laziness, are encouraged by the current arrangement.
“Restructuring Nigeria is a necessity and a reality that we must live up to. It is a fact that Nigeria as a federation today is not functioning as it is supposed to be and the 36 states structure, bicameral parliament is too expensive for a federation. There is a need for us to dissolve the 36 states structure and create six straight structures, while each of the federating units work towards generating revenue to execute their programmes and policies, and the units contribute to the centre.”
Also, a former Governor of Kaduna State and leader of the Conference of Nigerian Political Parties, (CNPP) Alhaji Balarabe Musa, is of the opinion that it is time to take another look at the structure of the country in response to the agitations across Nigeria. He told The Nation that there is urgent need to reduce the glaring inequalities currently witnessed in the system.
“Restructuring the country is an urgent need as it would certainly reduce the glaring injustice in the country. We need to return to regional government where the regional government would be allowed to create states to develop at its own pace. This would encourage the growth of healthy economy in each regional government,” he said.
Not at this time
But there are those who think the call for restructuring is not the way to go now. Citing different reasons, those opposed to Atiku’s view on how best to resolve the security challenges in the country would want the government to focus on what they described as more urgent things in its quest to bring peace and development to the country as a whole.
In his reaction to the call for the nation’s restructuring, elder statesman and former Political Adviser to ex-President Shehu Shagari, Alhaji Tanko Yakassai, said restructuring Nigeria would not solve the nation’s problems if certain issues in the system were not adequately addressed. He, however, advises that the nation must embrace the parliamentary system of government in order to address the perceived imbalance in the country.
“But my opinion is that if you are not careful, restructuring is not the answer to what they are agitating for. My opinion is that what is giving rise to all these agitations is the power that is concentrated in the central government, headed by an executive president. As long as we have the same arrangement, no matter what you do, unless the power at the centre is rearranged in such a way that this concentration of power in the hands of the Federal Government, controlled by the President, is reduced, you are not solving the problem,” he argued
While not rejecting the call, the National Chairman of the APC, Chief John Odigie-Oyegun, said the issue of restructuring is not the party’s priority for now. According to him, the President Buhari-led APC administration is currently focused on rebuilding the economy, creating jobs and ensuring the security of lives and property.
He explained that because the issue was important, the party would at the appropriate time; make its position on the matter public. Speaking in the same vein, the Special Adviser to the President on Media and Publicity, Femi Adesina, said “to bring this additional issue (restructuring), is not the wisest thing for a nation that is struggling to stabilise to go into an unnecessary diversion at this point. Nothing is wrong with the idea but at this time, it is best for us to concentrate on our priorities.”
Speaking on the call for restructuring, the Senate President, Bukola Saraki opined that given the large scale of argument that is likely to be involved, it may turn out more of a distraction at this stage of the country’s political experience. He therefore suggested the country should make do with constitutional amendment, which he feels is less controversial.
“We have been doing constitution amendment for many years, yet we don’t amend it. Let us amend the ones that we all agree that need to be amended. If not that the former president, for whatever reason, did not assent to the last amendment, we have been done with that. My view is that let us do those less controversial ones. After that, the second phase of the amendment we will bring new issues, possibly issue like restructuring,” Saraki said.
Explaining the readiness of the 8th assembly to tackle the problems headlong, the Senate President said a committee is already in place to commence the job of amending the constitution.
“We have set up a committee headed by the Deputy Senate President. They have started meeting. We gave them a clear mandate. As you are aware, in the 7th Assembly a lot of work was done, the National Assembly passed it but it did not get the assent of the former President,” he said.
As the agitations for restructuring grows, the question on many lips is: what next? Where will this lead to? The country is waiting with bated breath.
