Restructuring: ‘A task that must be done’

By Hilllary Okoronkwo
A FEW weeks ago, I started exploring the possibility of returning to this column. My yearning was dictated by one personally nagging issue and within a matter of days, it quickly escalated to two or more.

Based on my political journal since President Muhammadu Buhari was sworn in, I concluded that the former Governor of Lagos, Asiwaju Bola Tinubu should have been routinely apologising for all the copious inadequacies of this administration. After all, it was Bola Tinubu who packaged and “sold” this gobbledygook to the people of South West. If things had progressed exceedingly well, his moment of “I told you so” would have arrived.

Not one of Bola Tinubu’s APC promises have been kept. In other words, it appears all promises were cancelled or suspended. Tinubu’s silence does not sit well with me. My position on this issue is known as being an adult and taking full responsibilities. Another option available to Bola Tinubu could be to publicly repudiate and disown this administration but he has chosen silence. Apologising to his supporters will not make their lives any better but it will go a long way to show that he cares. Bola Tinubu’s? silence in the wake and aftermath of the ethnic clash in Ile-Ife simply had me confused.

Court of Public opinion

The other individual that needs to be dragged to the court of public opinion is President  Buhari’s Senior Special Assistant on Media affairs, Mallam Shehu Garba. In a private electronic chat, Shehu Garba declared as “arrant nonsense” the fact that his boss continues to show unprecedented bias towards his tribe and against others in making important political appointments. In my limited interaction with Shehu Garba, it is clear that he needs to be properly enlightened. The mere fact that the constitution clearly empowers the President to appoint whosoever he pleases from any tribe other than the constitutionally mandated cabinet positions, is not an excuse for what we have today. Insha Allah, I shall return to this enlightening and clarification exercise in not too distant future.

We do not need a political scientist, a psychic or even an expert to help conclude that Nigeria of today, more than ever is navigating in ominous channel. Things have completely fallen apart and the centre, though appears bolder and being used as an instrument of intimidation cannot hold. Every aspect of  our lives as a people is all but broken and this is just being modest.

The disclosure from penultimate  week’s enlightening treatise by Yinka Odumakin brought the hopelessness of the times as evidenced in the conclusion of one Alhaji  Tanko Yakassi to focus. Yankassi was quoted as follows:

“I have always suspected the motive behind such clamour (restructuring). The whole idea is to deny the North its God’s given advantage of population and empty landmass which it has effectively used to earn appreciable allocation from the Federal Government. Those behind it are not interested in Nigeria’s unity and progress.”

It is very discouraging to see that any Nigerian no matter how disoriented can utter such insensitive and mindless words. The bold declaration that a nation’s resources are shared and wasted based on unverified population and landmass that contributes nothing to the treasury is heartbreaking. Despite the all around thoughtlessness of Yankassi’s tunneled vision, one can only be reassured if there are positive evidences from the use of the allocations that his “North” continues to receive.

I will like it to be on record that I am in favour of restructuring Nigeria. I subscribe to the notion that restructuring should also include but not limited to strengthening existing helpful laws. The restructuring that I crave should not result into net disadvantage to any Nigerian or tribe. It should be aimed at lifting all Nigerians. The Restructuring I subscribe to should aim to empower ordinary Nigerians and limit religious interference and government’s over reach. It should strengthen and deepen democracy in our country.

No Nigerian or tribe should be made to feel inferior to others. The current socio-political arrangement is not sustainable. We cannot pretend that all is well with our country because it is not. Paying lip service to this impasse or simply ignoring it is not a sensible option. The concept of rotating the presidency is already an admission of a problem but it should not be a solution. Even as a temporary solution, the presidency simply does not rotate fast enough.

We need not look too far. Iraq and Libya much like Nigeria were created as one entity for the convenience of the British and Italian colonial masters. We have to learn from their painful experiences which are now in advanced stages. It is not clear to me why our leaders and particularly the current administration is not taking full advantage of opportunities as they present themselves even if they are disguised as challenges to move our country forward.

After the civil war, the Gowon administration coined the phrase, “To keep Nigeria one is a task that must be done.”  We have ignored the next phase which should be to reconstruct the rules of engagement in order to create the environment that facilitates enduring peace and harmony. You cannot have enduring peace when it is obvious that one tribe and religion appears hell bent on dominating others. The Yankassis, El- Rufais and even  some of the leaders from the South agitating may be completely driven by their own myopic visions and selfishness.

For all practical purposes, any tribe or group in Nigeria that is uncomfortable without power for any short or extended period of time, should rightly apply and pursue independent statehood.

Hillary Okonkwo contributed this piece from Michigan,USA.

 

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