•Academy inducts fellows
THE Nigerian Academy of Letters (NAL) has lent its voice to the ongoing call for restructuring of the polity, saying the nation inherited unworkable and imbalanced structure from its colonial masters.
At its 19th Convocation, Scientific Session and Investiture held at the University of Lagos (UNILAG), the academy suggested that Nigeria needed to urgently re-assess its power structure to enable sub-national interests to have a voice in running of the nation’s affairs.
The academy urged the National Assembly to revisit devolution of power in the ongoing constitutional review. It said restructuring became symbolic, given the conflicts among ethnic nationalities about identity, resources distribution and sovereignty.
At the event with the theme: “The Patriot and the Nationalist in an Emergent Democracy, presided over by its president, Prof. Olu Obafemi, speakers observed that the agitation for secession by a section of the country was in response to fundamental flaws inherent in the present structure of government.
The lead speaker, Prof. Dele Layiwola, who is a former Director of Institute of African Studies at the University of Ibadan (UI), said there had been a growing interest and strong resolve to dismantle the existing state structure and construct a new one that would be based on equity and justice.
He said Nigeria’s problem was not a lack of ideas, but the lack of political will on the part of its leaders to take decisive actions.
“Our political leaders and representatives in government often betray our collective interest for personal gains. They show open obsession for federalism but in the practice, they bask in unitarism.
“There is a weak sense of national patriotism among the citizens. This is because our wellbeing as a people is observably inadequately protected. Citizens are unable to find security and a sense of belonging. Patriotism suffers in this regard, and there is the resurgence of various degrees of nationalism. We appear to owe more allegiance to our ethnic and linguistic groupings than to the Nigerian nation,” he said.
In his paper delivered during the scientific session, Vice-Chancellor of Kwararafa University in Wukari, Taraba State, Prof. Yakubu Aboki Ochefu, hailed the Minister of Education, Mallam Adamu Adamu, for restoring history as a subject in the curricula of primary and secondary schools after 30 years of its removal.
The speakers urged the government to encourage the teaching of literature in schools, noting that the subject, as a source of illumination and enlightenment, could serve as catalyst for change in the society when put to good use.
The speakers agreed that patriotism and nationalism could not function without genuine education.
In its eight-point recommendations at the end of the event, the academy said the envisioned restructuring of Nigeria should be a blend of federalism that encompasses greater fiscal autonomy, geopolitical zone structures and internal boundaries based on ethnic and sub-ethnic divisions and identities.
The academy urged the Federal Government to revisit the report of the 2014 National Conference and implement relevant recommendations that would resolve fiscal imbalance.
Because of the state of the nation’s economy, the academy called for downward review of salary and allowances paid to legislators.
Sixty one new members, four new regular fellows and one overseas fellow were inducted into the academy.
The regular fellows are: Prof. Unionmwan Edebiri, Prof. Mabel Osakwe, Prof. Siyan Oyeweso, and Prof. Abubakar Adamu Rasheed. The overseas fellow is Prof. Joseph Inikori.
