By Emmanuel Ugwu-Nwogo
The spiralling security problems across Nigeria has pushed the nation into “a vegetative state” from which it might not survive without receiving an urgent shot in the arm, Senator Mao Ohuabunwa has said.
Speaking with journalists Sunday in Umuahia, Ohuabunwa, who represented Abia North in the eighth Senate, said that the potent cure Nigeria needs now to survive is the restructuring of its structure being canvassed by well-meaning Nigerians.
He said that the earlier the country is restructured the better for everybody because as things stand now, the escalating insecurity in the land, due to over concentration of power at the centre, would eventually collapse the unwieldy superstructure.
The former lawmaker, who served at both the green and red chambers, lamented that the federating states have been rendered potent hence could not secure their borders, adding that reverting to the regional structure as was the case in the First Republic would save the situation.
“Nigeria is no longer working. Restructuring is the only option left for us to survive. The country is off the track and the roadmap by our founding fathers.
“It’s time to go back to regional government structure. Power dissolution is the answer. There’s too much power at the centre which must be removed to make states lively and competitive,” he said.
Ohuabunwa noted that the high level of insecurity in Nigeria of today has further proved that restructuring is long overdue, so that states could be freed from overdependence on the federal government for everything.
The former Speaker of ECOWAS Parliament challenged the National Assembly to jolt President Muhammadu Buhari from his apparent slumber so he could listen to the concerns of Nigerians and pull the country out of the abyss of insecurity.
On the clamour for Nigeria president of Igbo extraction, Ohuabunwa said that power should rotate to the South-east zone in 2023 in the spirit of equity and natural justice.
But he advised Ndigbo to present their best and start speaking with one voice to achieve their goal of getting other zones of the country to support their presidential bid.
“This is the time for Ndigbo to begin to speak with one voice. We must assemble our best 11 and not allow charlatans masquerading today as Igbo leaders to speak for us,” he said.
According to him, “The charlatans that truncated late Dr Alex Ekwueme’s chances in Jos PDP convention in 1999 have now entered the political arena to present themselves as presidential materials,” adding that nobody “will ever trust them”.
Ohuabunwa also spoke on the controversy trailing the emergence of Prof. George Obiozor as the new President General of Ohanaeze Ndigbo, saying that he has all it takes to lead Ohanaeze and should be supported by all.
