The apex Igbo socio-cultural organisation, Ohaneze Ndigbo and other leaders of thought in the geopolitical zone have described restructuring as the only way to unifying the country.
They declared that restructuring would quell the agitations of the Indigenous People of Biafra (IPOB), Movement for the Actualisation of Sovereign State of Biafra (MASSOB) and other agitators.
Those who spoke to The Nation in Anambra state include, President General of Ohanaeze Ndigbo, Chief Nnia Nwodo, former President General of the Igbo Group World-Wide, Dr Dozie Ikedife.
Others are a professor of law and former Vice Chancellor of Nnamdi Azikiwe University, Ilochi Okafor (SAN), first Minister of Aviation in Nigeria, Chief Mbazulike Amechi.
Also, the founder of All Progressives Grand Alliance (APGA) and currently, National Chairman of United Progressive Party (UPP), Chief Chekwas Okorie spoke in the same direction.
For Nwodo, those campaigning against restructuring had painted an unfortunate and untrue picture that those in support of restructuring were doing so in order to deny the northern states who had not yet any proven oil reserves of the ability to survive.
He said, “This is fortunate. The new model we propose for Nigeria recognizes that revenue in the world today is promoted by two main sources, namely, human capital development, leveraging on technology to drive the critical sectors of the economy and agriculture
“Ten years ago the top 10 companies in the world were Mobil, Shell and Total. Today the top eight companies in the world are represented by technology related companies.
“They include Apple, Microsoft, Google, Facebook and Amazon. The example of Netherlands in agriculture is also relevant here. This brings me to the question of what form Nigeria will assume under a restructured arrangement and how this restructuring can be brought about
“Two basic models have been canvassed for restructuring, a conservative model aimed at maintaining the status quo has been proposed to mean simply a shedding of some of the executive powers of the federal government like issuing of mining licenses, permission for reconstructing of federal roads, and shedding of regulatory powers over investments in critical sectors of the economy.
“This model merely scratches the surface of the problem. It avoids fundamental devolution of powers. The second model calls for a fundamental devolution of powers to the States as federating units and lean federal government with exclusive powers for external defence, customs, immigration, foreign relations and a federal legislature and judiciary to make and interpret laws in these exclusive areas.
“This second model purposes state at the federating units with different approaches. The first approach simply wants the states as the federating units and federal governments with limited powers.
“It wants the states to control a percentage of revenue accruing from their areas and contribute an agreed percentage of such revenue to the federal government.
“The second approach proposes the states as the federating units with a region at each of the six geopolitical units whose constitution will be agreed to and adopted by the states in the geopolitical region.
“The regions will have the powers to merge existing States or create new ones. There will be regional and state legislatures and judiciary dealing with making and interpreting laws made in the respective political entities.
“This approach proposes a revenue sharing formula of 15% to the federal government, 35% to the state government and 50% to the state governments. To achieve a national consensus on this subject requires a national discussion.
“Regrettably the ruling party APC which promised restructuring in its manifesto after two years and four months in office is still appointing a committee to define what sort of restructuring it wants for Nigeria.
“The only hope for change in Nigeria today is the rising call for restructuring pioneered by the Southern Leadership Forum supported lately by former Vice President Atiku Abubakar, former President Ibrahim Babangida and leaders of the middle belt including Dan Suleiman and Prof Jerry Gana.”
“Our expectation is that now that our president is fully recovered and back to work, he will re-address the situation by constituting a nationwide conversation of all ethnic nationalities to look into the 2014 national conference report and trending views on this subject matter so as to come up with a consensus proposal that the national and the State Assemblies will be persuaded to adopt,” Nwodo said.
Prof Okafor, said that as a student of constitutional law, no people with the diversities and conflicts that exist within us, had ever survived as a nation, unless in a very loose federation or confederation.
“Suppressing violently the self determination groups is unlikely to kill the agitation for re-structuring. It is clear to me that Nigeria is doomed as a nation sooner or later, unless we re-structure and return to loose federation of regions.
“We must listen to our youths. Their dissatisfaction is real, profound and deep. The political class that sit in the comforts of their mansions in Abuja, Lagos, Europe and USA, that have dual, sometimes triple citizenships, that visit us only on week-ends, and come elections, return home and buy their elections – you all must listen to the youths. NOW or NEVER.
“Never before has any group in Nigeria brought to the fore, the imperativeness and urgency of re-structuring Nigeria. It is an achievement of historic proportions. But as the Ohas of Ohanaeze, you must find accommodation with the Ezes of Ohanaeze and other groups in Nigeria clamouring for Nigeria existing on the principles of justice, equity, fairness and integrity and free of corruption, hatred and zealotry” the law professor said.
Speaking further, former President General of Ohanaeze Ndigbo worldwide, Dr Dozie Ikedife, said that if restructuring is done, it would quell all the agitations by the ethnic nationalities in the land, especially in the South East.
He said the current structure is against some of the geopolitical zones in the land, adding that the country must restructure to correct some of the imbalances in the land.
According to Ikedife, “any sensitive government must listen to the heart beat of its people; the essence of democracy is government of the people, for the people and of the people and not a group holding others at the jugular.
“If we do the restructuring in the country as being proposed, it must be the panacea of all these agitations which must include resource control and it must touch the relationship between the states and the federal governments.
“We do not want a primordial restructure that will be meaningless and without content,” the former presidential adviser to President Shehu Shagari on liaison in 1979 declared.
Okorie declared that the benefits of restructuring would be immense on the lives of Ndigbo.
He said they were clamouring for restructuring to correct what was damaged in Igbo land during and after the war including the roads in the region.
Okorie said if the country was restructured, most of the things concentrated at the centre would now come to the federating units, adding that there were some certain things that would not be in the constitution.
He said that the structures the country had currently was holding the system down, which according to him, had impeded development.
The outspoken Igbo leader said that the APC government had divided Nigeria more than any other government that had ruled the country, adding that such arrangement would equally; stop the agitations by groups like IPOB, MASSOB and others.
He maintained that the current structure being operated in Nigeria today encouraged laziness among the people and governments, adding that before the 1966 war, Igbo region was regarded as the fastest growing economy, noting that today, the region was nowhere in the country.
In his own view, the former first aviation minister, Chief Mbazulike Amechi (aka The boy is good), said that Nigeria was being run as illegality.
The octogenarian declared that the amendment of the constitution by the military after constitutional conferences in the land had helped in dividing the country the more.
The elder statesman said the country today was being ruled without a people’s constitution, adding that restructuring would bring peace and progress.
“We need to have a federation with each federating unit depending on its allocation and not running to Abuja each time and that will equally stop some of these problems we are witnessing today in the land and have our dilapidated roads in the region fixed,” Amechi said.
