A group of private sector players has said that Nigeria urgently needs restructuring to prevent a looming anarchy, adding that no middle-of-the-road plan can serve as an alternative.
The group made this submission Monday at a virtual meeting, observing that the 2023 general election could only worsen the nation’s fault lines if the obvious cases of injustice and marginalisation are not addressed.
They highlighted the issue of zoning of the presidency which is rocking some political parties ahead of their primaries, saying such agitations were borne out of decades of real or imaginary marginalisation.
The private sector operators, made up of big players in all sectors of the nation’s economy, noted with regret Nigeria’s descent into a society where love for one another and unity have become costly commodities.
“Inherent injustice in Nigeria is hampering the country’s development. What the country needs is urgent restructuring. We are not just talking about restructuring in terms of fiscal federalism; we are talking about a situation where every part of the country is recognised as part and parcel of Nigeria, in words and in deeds. One Nigeria must be seen to be one Nigeria,” they said.
They also lamented that successive governments and administrations had side-stepped the issue of restructuring, and that attempts towards that had been feeble.
They said: “We recall that some attempts had been made by some past governments, but they were at best feeble. They, of course, did not produce anything worthwhile. It was this issue of real and perceived alienation of some parts of the country that resulted in the first coup in 1966, the Emeka Odumegwu-Ojukwu revolt that led to the civil war, the Gideon Orkar coup in 1990, and the agitations for secession that have refused to abate.
“It is our considered opinion that the foundation has to be rebuilt to make everybody feel belonged. That national identity is important. You can’t build a nation on injustice.”
On what should be the demand of the electorate from those coming to seek their votes ahead of the elections, the group said that it had become necessary for presidential aspirants to tell the people how they hope to restructure the country.
“The issue of restructuring should be one of the demands of the electorate from anybody seeking to contest the presidency. They must tell us how they plan to restructure the country. The country cannot make progress the way it is. It is not about the election,” they said.
“Who among them can give us the much-needed restructuring? As it is now, people are pulling back; people are not interested in the Nigeria project, and that is justifiably so. We need a president that can pull Nigerians together; we need strength from across the country before Nigeria can be strong.”
The call for restructuring is nothing new but has continued to grow amid economic stress, political uncertainty and recurrent violent conflicts across the country.
Several groups and individuals have continued to call for restructuring before the 2023 general election, arguing that the election would be meaningless without retooling the nation.
In a related development, Oluwarotimi Akeredolu, chairman of the Southern Governors Forum and governor of Ondo State, has urged the leadership of the All Progressives Congress (APC) not to keep party members waiting on where the next president of Nigeria will come from.
Akeredolu, in a statement he personally issued on Tuesday, said it is the turn of the Southern part of the country to produce the next President.
According to him, the party leadership should have no difficulty in making pronouncements on this very important issue, just as it has fixed various fees for the purchase of forms.
He urged the party leaders to do this without delay, stressing that the principle of Federal Character is enshrined in the 1999 Constitution, as amended.
“We must not keep our party men and women guessing on the position of the leadership of the party. This is the time to weigh in and take control of the process. No statement must suggest, even remotely, that the party harbours certain sentiments, which may predispose it to consider throwing the contest open,” he said.
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According to Akeredolu, the party cannot afford any internal bickering which holds the potential promise of causing distrust and militating against cohesion, harmony and the zeal to achieve set objectives.
He said: “The current democratic dispensation is anchored on the unwritten convention driven by a principle of equity. Political expediency dictates, more appealingly, that while adhering to the spirit and letters of the laws guiding conduct of elections and succession to political offices, we must do nothing which is capable of tilting the delicate balance against the established arrangement which guarantees peace and promotes trust.
“Our party just elected officers on the established principle of giving every part of the country an important stake in the political calculus. The focus has now shifted to the process which will culminate in the participation of our party in the general elections scheduled for next year.”
He said the leadership of the party ensured that the principle of rotational representation guided its decision at its convention, noting that the party chairmanship position had gone to the North.
Akeredolu said: “The party’s Executive Committee has fixed a fee for the purchase of the nomination form for the office. It is expected, fervently, that it will proceed to complete the process by limiting the propensities for disagreement to a region for possible micro-management.
“It is very expedient that we avoid self-inflicted crises before the general elections.
“It is the turn of the Southern part of the country to produce the next President. The party leadership should have no difficulty in making pronouncements on this very important issue, just as it has fixed various fees for the purchase of forms.”
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