Prominent Nigerians , including the immediate past President -General of Ohanaeze Ndigbo , Chief John Nwodo; a chieftain of Afenifere , Chief Ayo Adebanjo and the Chairman of the Arewa Consultative Forum , Chief Audu Ogbeh , on Thursday said there was an urgent need to restructure Nigeria for it to attain its full potential.
They made the call at the 18th Daily Trust Dialogue with the theme: ‘ Restructuring in Nigeria : Why ? How ? When?’
The prominent Nigerians suggested that the country should be restructured to make Nigeria work for all citizens .
But in an interview with The PUNCH , the President ’ s Special Assistant on Media and Publicity , Garba Shehu , said it was only the National Assembly that was empowered to restructure the country .
He , therefore , advised proponents of restructuring to approach the legislature.
On his part, the Spokesman for the Senate , Ajibola Basiru , described restructuring as a slogan .
He called on advocates of restructuring, who had submitted memoranda to the Senate Committee on Constitution Review to meet their senators with a view to educating them better on the type of restructuring they were advocating.
In his remarks at the summit , Nwodo said , “ We must restructure to revamp our agriculture. When I speak of restructuring, some of my northern Nigerian friends have suggested to me that I do not want the North to partake in the oil revenue of Nigeria.
“ Well, I have just outlined the indisputable fact that oil is a fast- drying resource for earning foreign exchange . The truth is that the reliable source of revenue now is agriculture.
“ The Netherlands is today the largest exporter of food in the world . Its cross -sectional area is about half the size of Niger State . It is the world ’ s largest exporter of potatoes. Its revenue from vegetables and dairy contributes more than $100bn annually to its economy. The secret is education , better mechanised farming, growth of green farm technology, drone monitoring systems and land reclamation by building of dams.
“ Northern Nigeria is Nigeria ’ s greatest treasure in agriculture . Northern Nigeria is blessed with diverse livestock production with its capacity for dairy production. It has various tubers of potatoes, yam , cassava and cocoyam.
“ Under a restructured Nigeria , Northern Nigeria will earn more from food production than the Netherlands . We must restructure because our current electoral system is dysfunctional and does not elicit confidence . ”
Nwodo also said restructuring would address insecurity in the country.
He stated , “ We must restructure to reduce insecurity in our country . While I was working on this speech on Monday , 18 January 2021, I paused to read the news for the day. I saw the following headlines : Bandits kill octogenarian, 14 others in Zamfara , Kaduna attacks
“ Cops arrest Police Sergeant for robbery in Port Harcourt ; Robbers kill 22- year -old IT prodigy in Lagos ; Gunmen hack Catholic priest to death , kidnap brother in Niger State , Bandits abduct 17 persons in Niger State . All these in one day . ”
While making a case for state police, the elder statesman said modern philosophy for security is local policing.
On when Nigeria should be restructured, Nwodo said , “ We must do all we can to restructure before the next election in 2023 because the level of dissatisfaction in the country as evidenced by the last #EndSARS protest gives one the impression that any delay may lead to a mass boycott or disruption of the next elections to the point that we may have a more serious constitutional crisis of a nation without a government .
“ To restructure, Nigeria we need a constitutional conference of the ethnic groups in Nigeria . To use the current National Assembly as the forum for constitutional amendments grants a recognition of the overthrow of our democratic norms by the enthronement of a military constitution by which they are composed. ”
