Don’t Foreclose Restructuring, Elder Statesmen Urge Buhari



• Scarp 36 states for LGs, Galadima asks political class



Chineme Okafor in Abuja

Elder statesmen and leaders of thoughts comprising the former Vice President of the Nigerian Academy of Science, Prof. Anya O. Anya, a former minister for information, Prof. Jerry Gana, scholar, journalist and novelist, Prof. Adebayo Williams, as well as environmentalist and human rights activist, Ms. Annkio Briggs, have unanimously urged President Muhammadu Buhari, to pay closer attention to the heightened calls for Nigeria to be restructured along the lines of fiscal federalism.

The leaders who took turns to speak on Nigeria’s current challenges with nationhood at the formal launch of SoapboxNG, a platform founded by the Initiative for Dialogue and Development (IDD), to engage Nigerians on constructive and sustainable engagement, stated at the weekend in Abuja, that hints that Buhari may have foreclosed calls on him to lead in the restructuring of Nigeria were not in the interest of the country.

They explained that while the calls for Nigeria to be restructured have being misrepresented by the government and its sympathisers to mean a call for its disintegration and allegedly led by opposition parties, the reality remained that Nigeria was on the precipice and may not last longer on the current status quo.

Specifically, Williams, in his presentation explained that statements repeatedly credited to the government and political elites that Nigeria’s unity was not negotiable were wrong and misrepresentative of the true principles of democracy.

According to him, while a forced unification will continue to produce Nigeria as a country, it will however not produce Nigerians who would be true to the country. He thus called on Buhari to initiate and submit a bill on restructuring of Nigeria to the National Assembly.

“There is no unity that is not negotiated.

It is a noble lie to say that Nigeria’s unity is not negotiable. Unification cannot produce Nigerians, therefore, President Buhari should initiate a bill for restructuring of Nigeria without endangering divine manifest destiny of the country,” said Williams.

Similarly, in his remarks, Gana, who queried President Buhari’s decision to discard the report of the 2014 national conference, as well as his government’s rigid posture on restructuring, stated that a lot of things were wrong with Nigeria’s current set up, and needed to be changed.

He said on the 2014 confab report:

“Democracy is not about flexing muscles. There is continuity in governance, and good ideas should not be coloured in politics.”

He also talked about the need to decentralise the country’s police system, saying: “170 million Nigerians cannot be protected by a central police because evil is local, and so policing must be local too. We will be deceiving ourselves if we think a federal police will secure us.”

Differing however with the views earlier proffered on restructuring, a former Director General of the Nigerian Maritime Authority (NMA) and close ally of Buhari, Buba Galadima, stated that the challenges of Nigeria were more about the good governance and the 36 state structures, and not necessarily about centralisation of governance.

Galadima, in this regards called for the scrapping of the state structure and replacing them with the local governments which he said were closer to the people than the states.

According to him, “Good governance must be enthroned, there are certain groups in this country that cannot attempt to be governors in their states of origin. Nigerians must learn to stop talking at each other but to each other.”

In his opening remarks, the Chairman of IDD, Dr. Ike Neliaku, stated that the framework was set up by a group of concerned Nigerians from across ethnic nationalities and religious divides to engage Nigerians in a new way of discussing the country’s challenges.

He said: “We at the IDD believe that no matter how serious and urgent the problems may seem, the best approach remains for Nigerians to engage one another in dialogue, rather than violence.”



Obasa: Lagos is Demanding Devolution of Power

Shola Oyeyipo

The Speaker, Lagos State House of Assembly, Hon. Mudashiru Obasa has called on federal government to listen to the sustained yearnings of Nigerians for restructuring and devolution of power as the country marks its 57 year anniversary.


Making the call at the weekend during the 20th memorial anniversary of late Prof. Femi Agbalajobi, the Lagos Speaker also emphasised that Lagos State is particular about devolution of power.


He also admonished the leadership at the federal level to act according to the wish of the citizenry who are emphatic about the call for restructuring.

According to him, “When people are complaining, it means there is a problem. So, why don’t you address what they are complaining about? If we don’t do that hate speech will continue. Though I don’t believe in hate speech but we must continue to talk to the authority.”

He added that “We in Lagos, we are demanding and clamouring for devolution of power.”
Earlier, the guest lecturer, Prof. Kunle Ade Wahab, who spoke on the theme: ‘Governance and Education of Our Youths,’ drew the conclusion that “That the Nigerian educational system desperately needs adequate funds for infrastructure, provision of quality teachers and up-to-date facilities.”

He was particularly concerned that Nigeria is in dire need to an educational system that is capable of making the youths competitive among their peers globally.

“I hope that Nigeria can achieve the same feat as Asian Tigers countries, provided policy makers get their priority right. In any case, I am convinced that the Lagos State Government, on its own, shall continue to do its best to invest appropriately in balanced education,” he said.




Dalung Calls for Reforms in Criminal Justice System
The Minister of Sports and Youth Development, Solomon Dalung has called for reform in the Nigeria criminal justice system.

Dalung, who made the call yesterday in Jos during the celebration of his 54th birthday with inmates of the Prison Command in Jos, said the call became necessary to strengthen criminal justice and ensure justice to all accused.

According to him, “There is need for radical reforms in our criminal justice delivery system.

You cannot keep somebody in prison for years without trial and at the end of the day, do justice to the person.

“There is urgent need for speedy dispensation of cases in our courts, for justice to be done.”

Dalung advised prison inmates to be of good behaviour when they eventually gain their freedom.

The minister said that he would liaise with governors and Minister of Interior to ensure that prisoners that qualified for prerogative of mercy were released. “This will help give freedom to those that merit it and it will help decongest our prisons.

“I will also leave a token with the records department so that those who are to be set free but couldn’t pay their fines are freed.

He also donated a cow and toiletries among others to prisoners with a promise to provide sports facilities like footballs, jerseys, table tennis balls and nets for them.