By Sunday Okobi
The former Chief of Army Staff, Lt. General Oladipo Diya, has lent his voice to the ongoing call for the restructuring of the country, stressing that going by the agitation for restructuring across the country, the time for it is now.
The retired army general stated this recently in Lagos at the occasion to mark the 20 years remembrance anniversary of a foremost politician, Chief Victor Olujimi Fayemi, at the Reverend Agnus Memorial Hall, Igbobi College, Lagos.
Late Fayemi, who was the Balogun of Odogbolu, Ogun State, was a notable politician who played active roles in the political scene of Nigeria during the first and second republics. He died in 1998. In marking the 20 years of his demise, therefore, his children organised a memorial lecture and book launch in his honour.
Speaking at the event as the chairman, Diya commended the children of the late politician for choosing a topic bordering on the need for renegotiating and restructuring of the country at a time when agitation for it is becoming louder.
According to him, “The theme of the 20 years memorial lecture, ‘Renegotiating The Nigerian Contract’, could not have come at a better time than this. There is need for all of us to be engaged in the social re-engineering of our dear country.”
Also speaking, the guest speaker, Professor Joseph Abugu, noted that the crux of Nigeria’s problems is restructuring, arguing that there cannot be peace in the country without first putting in place a political system which will allow fairness, equity and justice among all its components.
The Professor of Law from the University of Lagos, therefore, called for true federalism which he said would allow the devolution of more political and economic powers to states.
