By Chief Mike Ozekhome

INTRODUCTION

Last week, we continued our discourse on the Nigeria’s dire need for restructuring (part 4). This week, we continue and conclude our thematic analysis on the urgent need for Nigeria to restructure now before it is too late.

WHAT TO DO (continues)

A People’s Committee should be set up to organize and mobilize the broad mass of the people in carrying out the wishes and aspirations of the generality of Nigerians. The People’s Committee should be established in all parts of the country, thereby laying the political basis and mass foundation for the solution of restructuring our Nigeria. The local People’s Committee are to be autonomous in exercising administrative powers in their respective localities to perform administrative work in political, economic, cultural and all other spheres. The People’s Committee are to be organized by electing members at the meetings of the representatives of residents, with the intention to unite strongly, the workers, peasants, intellectuals, clergy and every other group in the society.

If we must bring a sweeping victory to what the vast majority of Nigerians truly want for Nigeria, we must quickly train young personnel that will represent the new face of Nigeria. They would be drawn from workers, peasants and other toiling people. Steps must be taken to set up training centers across the country to improve their political qualifications to enhance their role and function so as to hasten the rebuilding process of Nigeria.
The trainings should emphasize on the following areas: Empathy, Emotional Awareness, Building Bonds, Communication skills, Self- assessment, Self-regulation, Creativity, Leveraging Diversity, Leadership, Change Catalyst, Conflict Management, Service Orientation, Collaboration and Corporation, Social Etiquettes. These are the linchpins to a successful transformation, the restructuring of Nigeria.

The clamour for the restructuring of Nigeria is not against any group, tribe or section of the country, but against poverty, corruption, insecurity, injustice chaos, nepotism, tribalism, cronysm, oppression, repression, marginalization and unitarism.

Thomas Jefferson (1743 – 1826), The third president of the United States has this to say during the heydays of slavery in America, “I tremble for my country when I reflect that God is just; and that his justice cannot sleep forever…an exchange of situation is among possible events; that it may become probable by supernatural interference.” The fact that some people presently occupy government in Nigeria does not necessarily mean they would remain so forever. Soldiers come and go, but the barracks remain.

Dale Carnegie, the architect of human capital development once said,” If there is only one secret of success, it lies in the ability to get other persons point of view. And see things from that person’s angle as well as from yours. People who can put themselves in the place of other people, who can understand the workings of their mind, need not worry what the future holds in store for them.” For Nigerians to enjoy unity, peace and progress, each section of the country need to think from the perspective of the other sections of the country. We need to put ourselves in the shoes of others. The idea that some life matter less is the root of all that is wrong with Nigeria.
Nelson Mandela (1918 -2015), South African President and Lawyer, in his book, “The Struggle is My Life” said, “To overthrow oppression has been sanctioned by humanity and is the highest aspiration of every free man.”

Nigeria does not need a palliative remedy to its unending woes but a total cure. Nigerians are already wearied out living in a state of uncertainty and despair since time immemorial. Restructuring this country would bring about the much needed lease on life that Nigerians earnestly crave for.

In restructuring Nigeria, the call must be collective, the enumerated ideas all embracing, and the methods accounted for by the majority of Nigerians. Nigeria belongs to all of us- the rich and the poor, Christians and Muslims alike, literates and illiterates, peasants and intellectuals. The wishes and aspirations of different segments of the country must reflect in our new Nigeria.

John Henry Newman (1801 – 1890), English theologian in his essays on “Oxford University Sermons, “Faith and Reason, Contrasted as Habits,” declared, “When men understand what each other means, they see, for the most part, that controversy is either superfluous or hopeless.” Nigerians must come to a collective agreement to live together in a way that gives hope to every section of the family.

Nizar Qabbani (1923 – 1998) Syrian poet, puts it this way “The secret of our tragedy is that our screams are louder than our voices and our swords taller than ourselves”. We do not need this tragedy.

It is time Nigerians grow up intellectually and emotionally, to regard ourselves as a grown-up nation, as the Biblical phrase goes, by putting away childish things…self-idealization and the search for absolutes in national affairs: for absolute security, absolute amity, absolute harmony. If we cannot end our differences for now, at least we can help make the nation safe for diversity.

In order that Nigeria is not torn into shreds, we will need wisdom and our ability to think creatively, outside the box, in the best interest of Nigeria. That’s the only way God can hand us a country that we will all be proud of to be the envy of other nations.

Bonar Law (1858 – 1923), Canadian-born British prime minister in referring to Britain and Germany in his Speech to the British parliament, said, “If, therefore, war should ever come between these two countries, which Heaven forbid! it will not, I think, be due to irresistible natural laws, it will be due to the want of human wisdom.” After this remark Britain and Germany went to war and the world is still smashing from the monumental loss stemming from that terrible war.

Nigerians should learn from history. Let us not behave like the Bourbons of European history who leant nothing and forget nothing.

Let us discuss Nigeria, let us hear from both sides of the coin about Nigeria, for a one sided coin is a bad tender, let us hold hands together and forge a new Nigeria. Nigerians have the capability to create the kind of country that majority of Nigerians would be proud of Nigerians have the ability to silent the enemies of Nigeria. This is the responsibility posterity has placed on the shoulders of our generation. We cannot afford to fail and we will not fail.

Just recently, former Vice President Atiku Abubakar, declared, most aptly, that Nigeria is not working as it should, because, the centre wield too more power more than the federating states. The need for restructuring of the entity called Nigeria is of great necessity, he argued while speaking at the launch, of Onuma’s book, “we are all Biafra’s. Said he:
“Nigeria is not working as well as it should and part of the reason is the way we have structured our country and governance, especially since the late 1960s. The federal government is too big, and too powerful, relative to the federating states. That situation needs to change, and calling for that change is patriotic.

We must refrain from the habit of assuming that anyone calling for the restructuring of our federation is working for the breakup of the country.  An excessively powerful centre does not equate with national unity.  If anything, it has made our unity more fragile, our government more unstable and our country more unsafe.”

It is therefore not surprising that the former Vice President and now APC chieftain, Atiku, is voicing out what our founding fathers lamented over the years. Nigeria as currently constituted is not working. This is not only limited to the political matters, but to all facets of the nation’s challenges.

On the basis of innovative and creative rethinking, nations evolve. Not surprisingly, some members of the House of Representatives, had taken this line of argument that Nigeria is in dire need of restructuring. They argued that doing otherwise was to postpone the inevitable as the present structure could not be sustained for too long.

For instance, the former Chairman, House Committee on Army, Mr. Rima Shawulu, said, it was high time those in authorities answered certain questions like, “Why are some groups eating more than others? Is this our so-called unity all-inclusive? Why are some people not seen to be good unless they are from certain regions?”
The country have experienced years of enduring and still enduring cultural diversification. The eventuality of the 1999 Constitution, was a replica of the American Presidential government. It is to be noted that the United Kingdom colonized the United States of America in the 18 Century. Despite this, the government of America never copied or took part of their laws to make out their own Constitution. It was indeed an indigenous home-baked Constitution, bearing the true reflection of “We the people of …”

The federalism which we practise today is far from true federalism. What we have is a unitary system of government, completely devoid of federalism. Obviously, the country needs a restructuring. This necessity has been on even after we returned to civilian rule.
Successive administrations have been found wanton in the restructuring of the Nation. In most cases, they got round to it at the end of term, so late that they gave succeeding governments the opening to conveniently ignore same. It is inspiring to note that, the Goodluck Jonathan government constituted the National Conference of Nigeria, 2014, of which I was a delegate. The conference which was headed by a retired Chief Justice Idris L. Kutigi had an encompassing report. The report of the conference which had far-reaching recommendations, numbering over 260, was made to ensure a restructuring of the nation.

Some of the major constitutional amendments arising from the 2014 National Conference, include powers and control over public funds, presidential appointments, protection of pension rights, etc.

The issue about local governments was also addressed. Local government funds can no longer be shared among the 774 local governments we presently have. Money will be shared to the states and the states will now use local government funds they get for local government administration. A state can create 1,000 local governments if so desires.

We also noted that who becomes the president of Nigeria is always a sore issue. Anytime we have an election, everybody wants his own person, or tribes man to become the president of Nigeria. So, instead of killing ourselves over who becomes the president of Nigeria, we agreed on an arrangement where every part of Nigeria will have hope that one day it will ascend the presidency of this country. It was agreed at the National Conference that the presidency should rotate between the North and South and across the 6 geo-political zones, and with that type of arrangments, it won’t take time for the presidency to reach areas of people who have not had a shot at the presidency.

The conference report truly reflected the original mandate of the people of Nigeria. The Buhari-led government should embrace the report of the 2014 National Conference. That report may have been produced under a ‘PDP government’ but, it is not a ‘PDP document’. It is a Nigerian people’s document. All the delegates to the 2014 National Conference, East, West, North, and South endorsed the report.

Certainly, the report of the conference remains the key to the survival of this country as a nation. Anyone who wishes it away is postponing the dooms day. This country cannot continue to be run in an atmosphere of tension, where there are deep-seated agitations and grievances from various parts of the country. Good leadership requires that a nation should be put on a pedestal of sustainable development and peace. The way Nigeria is configured and structured, tension will continue to pervade this land. There are too many people who feel they have been cheated, and at all cost will want to fight back.

We want a Nigeria, where there will be equal rights and opportunities for to all people of Nigeria, not just for the few people. A stitch in time, saves nine! The End.

FUN TIMES
There are two sides to every coin. Life itself contains not only the good, but also the bad and the ugly. Let us now explore these.

“Everyone wants to ride with you in the limo, but what you want is someone who will take the bus with you when the limo breaks down” – Oprah Winfrey.