Contrary to some views that Nigeria’s problem was not about geographical restructuring but fiscal federalism, a non-governmental organisation, the Centre for Social and Inter-Ethnic Cohesion (CSIC) has said the country actually needed both fiscal and geographical restructuring.
Vice President Yemi Osinbajo had recently asserted that “we do not need geographical restructuring but good governance, honest management of public resources and a clear vision for development.”
But CSIC Director of Media, Mr. Wellington Olaiya, said the country did not only need fiscal and geographical restructuring, but also a national security ideology that placed national interest far above religious, ethnic or personal interests.
Urging the federal government to kick-start the process of restructuring in the country, Olaiya described the 1999 Constitution as a gross betrayal of governance trust of the founding fathers.
The director, who disclosed this in Lagos while unveiling the vision of the centre, said the current political structure is not a positive one, it places personal, religious and ethnic interests above national interests and cohesion.”
CSIC, however, noted that the clamour for state creation and a review of revenue sharing allocation formula could be traceable to cash crops and natural resources like cocoa, groundnuts and oil, thus without geographical restructuring, such clamour would be a recurring challenge in the country.
According to him, the centre would promote real unity in the country by using research-based media engagements, legal advocacy as well as partnership with other Nigerians to ensure equal access to opportunities and mass re-orientation on true federalism, cohesion and a new political system.”
With its headquarters in Abuja, the centre was conceived in 2017 by some concerned minds to draw the attention of government and the citizens to policies and practices that promote sectional, religious or ethnic division with a view to resolving them.
