AGF under fire over restructuring

From Chidi Nnadi, Enugu, Moshood Adebayo, Gabriel Dike, Chinelo Obogo, Lagos and Laide Raheem, Abeokuta

Nigerians from different walks of life have thrown their weight behind the agitation for restructuring, saying it is the only way the country could attain greatness.
Groups and persons including the Ohanaeze Ndigbo, Afenifere, Arewa Youths Consultative Forum and dons said the country was at the precipice and the only way to salvage it was by restructuring.
They spoke in reaction to the statement by the Minister of Justice and Attorney General of the Federation (AGF), Alhaji Abubakar Malami that the clamour for restructuring of the country would not work.
Barely 24 hours after his statement, the AGF came under scurrilous attack from those who believe that the remedy for the country’s malady was to restructure the polity into what they called true federalism.
Malami had said during a conference on federalism in Abuja, that no amount of advocacy or agitation would lead to the restructuring of the federal structure.
Prof. Tunde Babawale of the department of Political Science, University of Lagos, said “it will not be right to agree with the position of the AGF.’’
He declared that every association or relationship must be constantly reviewed or renegotiated.
“There is no one in the country that will agree that the current structure is perfect. It has been a harbinger of crisis, of distrust, injustice and equity,’’ he said.
He argued that restructuring would bring about justice for all, equity in the distribution of power and resources and restore confidence to all nationalities.
In his reaction, Senator Femi Okurounmu said he was not surprised by Malami’s position.
“I am not surprised by the statement of the AGF that the north will not support restructuring. The north does not want the status quo to change. They have always seen themselves as the only people fit to rule Nigeria. Anyway, we did not expect them to say otherwise; we must now force them.
“The people supporting restructuring are in the majority, hence, the minority cannot override us. And if they don’t want, we can then break Nigeria into two. They can go their own and we go on our way. That is the solution. We should stop asking them but force it on them, whether they want it or not.”
Chief Nnia Nwodo, President General of the Ohanaeze Ndigbo, cautioned the AGF to guard his utterances in order not to incur the wrath of the people.
He reminded the AGF that restructuring of the federal structure was long overdue.
“You cannot continue to impose a military constitution on Nigerians for this length of time. You cannot prevent Nigerians from saying that this is what they want; it’s their inalienable right to decide what kind of system they want,” he said.
He also reminded Malami that he was not a legislator to take a decision on a very critical issue on behalf of other Nigerians.
Nwodo noted that democracy was founded on the rule of law, which he said the AGF must respect.
Nwodo who said Ndigbo elected him the President General of Ohanaeze to champion their cause and protect their collective interest, warned Malami not to engage in statements that could provoke the people.
Also, the Director of Centre for International Advanced and Professional Studies (CIAPS), Prof Anthony Kila, said if the statement credited to Malami was true, “then we must conclude that Mr. Malami has spoken as a careless public officer.”
Kila noted that “the politician Malami” ought to know that history itself was borne out of a restructuring of the present.
In his contribution, National Publicity Secretary of the pan-Yoruba socio-political group, Afenifere, Yinka Odumakin, said Nigeria was sitting on a keg of powder if it was not immediately restructured.
“Such a statement (that Nigeria would not be restructured) coming from the AGF is quite unfortunate, particularly when the country is at the precipice of disintegration.
“I don‘t want to think that such an opinion was personal. It is also unfortunate that the AGF could not read between the lines and not know that this is the time to arrest the drift of agitation for self-determination by Nigerians.
“The shame, arrogance, the impunity and the ‘I don’t care’ attitude is disgusting and embarrassing. It is clear that if things continue the way they are going, Nigeria will go into blazes that they want it to go, because it is not an accident that the very day the AGF was making the arrogant statement on behalf of his bosses was the day the entire South East was shut down by the Indigenous People of Biafra (IPOB).
“If they could not read what is going on, it means they are not only deaf, but they are dumb and blind. When finally the whole thing crashes on their heads, they will not have anyone or group to blame for it.”
A lawyer, Chief Andrew Oru, described the AGF’s statement as highly inflammable and capable of dis-uniting the country the more.
“Under the United Nations Charter, everyone has the right to self determination and  statement like that from the AGF will not dampen the spirit of agitation, but promote it the more.”
He appealed to the AGF to  be mindful of his statement, “because this country belongs to all of us irrespective of the office one is holding.”
To the National President, Arewa Youths Consultative Forum (AYCF), Yerima Shetima, those opposed to restructuring were living in a fool’s paradise.
“Those, who are against restructuring of the country are enemies of the country and her progress, because as it is currently configured, it can’t progress further without restructuring. Nigeria is long over due for restructuring, because the centre, which is too strong and must be decentralized, can no longer hold.”
However, elder statesman, Tanko Yakasai, insisted that restructuring would not solve the country’s problems. He said those calling for restructuring have not been honest enough.
“I do not know why people are asking for restructuring. Till today, those who are asking for restructuring have not given any blueprint on how restructuring should go. We talk about it all the time, but there is no detail or proposal for us to know how it would work, what type of structures we should have or which powers should be devolved from the centre to the states and local governments, how would it look like, and in what way would it affect you and me? How are you going to dissolve the state legislatures and the state governments? Some say that more power should be given to the states and the federal should be weak, but that can only be done when someone proposes a bill either in the state Assembly or at the National Assembly, advocating for more power to be transferred to the states. If it is in the state Assembly, they can pass it and forward it to the National Assembly, and when that is passed, a constitutional amendment would begin.
“If the proponents of restructuring say we should go back to the regions, then how do you dissolve the states? Will the people be willing to give out their states to be merged with other states?
“In my honest opinion, there was no need for the creation of Jigawa State because there is no difference between the people of Jigawa and Kano. There is no justification for the creation of Kebbi and Zamfara states from Sokoto because they are all the same people and have the same culture. There is no justification for the creation of Osun, Ogun  and Ekiti because they all speak the same language and they have the same culture. But there are grounds for the creation of Cross Rivers, Rivers, Akwa Ibom and Delta because they have different cultures and speak different languages. How do you now convince the Yoruba in Ogun, Ekiti, Osun to merge?
“These are the areas where there are difficulties. So, those who are calling for restructuring should be honest enough to tell the people, ‘this is the way we are going to merge Jigawa and Kano states’. Will the people of Jigawa accept it? How will you merge Ekiti and Ondo states or merge Anambra and Enugu? But you should tell people how it would be done. That is why I say that the proponents of restructuring should have a blueprint and tell us how these things would be achieved.
“States are weak because they are too many and that is why they can’t generate enough revenue to take care of their commitment. If they want to reduce the cost, they would have to retrench up to half of their workforce and that would lead to a nationwide strike. When you are calling for restructuring, you have to think about the consequences, he stated.

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