Restructuring: Bakare advocates 10 years transition programme

Serving Overseer of Latter Rain Assembly Pastor Tunde Bakare has advocated the setting up of a Presidential Commission with a 10-year mandate towards actualising Nigeria’s restructuring.

The cleric said the commission should be allowed to begin by 2018 and end by 2028.

Bakare said his suggestion followed the manner in which the Nigeria’s seat of power, Abuja, was finally put in place over a period of 15 years, saying the idea called for sustainability.


“We expect that the project will be flagged off under the administration of President Muhammadu Buhari in the period leading to the next governmental fiscal year,” he said.

The cleric spoke in his State of the Nation address in the church in reaction to various agitations by various groups for restructuring.

Speaking on the theme: “Pragmatic Steps towards Restructuring Nigeria,” he declared that the buck stops on the desk of President Muhammadu Buhari whose legacy was at stake.

He prayed that the President would find the courage and political will to do what was right at this momentous period in Nigeria’s history.

According to Bakare, who is also the convener of Save Nigeria Group (SNG), the body to be named “Presidential Commission for National Reconciliation, Reintegration and Restructuring” should be established by the President through an Executive Order, in full consultation with the Council of State and the National Assembly.

The cleric, who noted that many proponents of restructuring were of the belief that Buhari was against restructuring going by his recent utterances, said his interaction with him in the last seven years did not suggest such line of thought.

He hoped the National Assembly would do Nigerians proud on the onerous task of properly restructuring the country based on their antecedents particularly in frustrating the 3rd Third Agenda saga of former President Olusegun Obasanjo and in instituting “Doctrine of Necessity,” that brought in former President Goodluck jonathan – developments, he said, later stablished the polity.

“Not only does the president want agitations managed through appropriate constitutional channels, he also wants a clarification of demands in concise terms, as well as propositions on practical pathways towards achieving those demands,” he said.

On the job to be undertaken by the commission, Bakare suggested that the panel should be given the mandate and the powers to facilitate, within 10 years, the evolution of a functional and acceptable geopolitical structure subject to constitutional provisions while the 1999 Constitution was progressively amended.

The commission, he said, “shall undertake a geo-economic and geosocial path to geopolitical restructuring by creating geo-economic frameworks, mending geosocial fault lines and attaining a geopolitical climax”.

He said by this, the Federal Government would progressively devolve powers to the existing 36 states, which would themselves progressively evolve into a zonal arrangement.

CALLS FOR RESTRUCTURING ARE IN ORDER - PRES. BUHARI

President Muhammadu Buhari this morning acknowledged calls for restructuring, saying the clamour is in order.

But he noted that the debate has been hijacked by those he branded “highly irresponsible groups.” These groups, he said, had turned it into a campaign for the country’s dismemberment.

This, Buhari said in his Independence Day broadcast, would not be tolerated.

“We cannot and we will not allow such advocacy,” the President said.

He recalled the “horrendous consequences” of the civil war and wondered why “responsible leaders of these communities do not warn their hot-headed youths what the country went through.”

He said: “those who are agitating for a re-run were not born by 1967 and have no idea of the horrendous consequences of the civil conflict which we went through.

“Those who were there should tell those who were not there, the consequences of such folly.”

He spoke of government’s intention to “address genuine grievances of the communities,” and cited its dialogue with stakeholders in the Niger Delta to keep the peace as an example of its goodwill.

“At all events, proper dialogue and any desired constitutional changes should take place in a rational manner, at the National and State Assemblies. These are the proper and legal fora for National debate, not some lop-sided, un-democratic body with pre-determined set of objectives,” he said.

He hailed Niger Delta representatives for their “responsible leadership.”


On the security challenge in the Northeast,he said the military has established mobile strike teams in the axis to “ensure the final push to wipe out the remnants of Boko Haram,” while efforts are on to ensure release of the remaining Chibok girls, and others persons in Boko Haram captivity,as well as check kidnapping, armed robberies and herdsmen/farmers violence.

He was full of praise for the armed forces for their achievements in the fight against Boko Haram,saying: “through targeted air strikes most of the leadership and identified logistics bases and routes of the insurgents have been neutralized. The Armed Forces have established a Naval presence in the Lake Chad Basin as part of the coordinated military efforts to curtail the movements or re-emergence of the sect in the area.

He announced a new presidential initiative for the creation of a minimum of 10,000 jobs for unemployed youths in each state, with the aid of CBN’s development finance initiatives.

Buhari described the economy diversification of his administration as an outstanding success through which N43.92 billion was released for agricultural programmes under the Anchor Borrowers Programme launched in November 2015.

Two hundred thousand small holder farmers from 29 states of the federation are benefitting from the scheme while 233,000 hectares of farmland have been dedicated to the cultivation of rice, wheat, maize, cotton, soya-beans, cassava and groundnuts, in addition to fish farming and poultry.

He confirmed that electricity generation reached an all time high of 7,001 Megawatts on September 12,while plan is on to reach 10,000 Megawatts by 2020.

He gave an update on the economy too.

His words: “the country has recorded 7 consecutive months of lower inflation, Naira rate is beginning to stabilize, appreciating from N525 per $1 in February this year to N360 today. Broad-based economic growth is leading us out of recession.

“The special window created for manufacturers, investors and exporters, foreign exchange requirements has proved very effective. Since April, about $7 billion has come through this window alone. The main effect of these policies is improved confidence in the economy and better investment sentiments.”

He said the federal government has given a total of N1.642 trillion to the state and local governments by way of financial assistance made up of State Excess Crude Account loans, Budget Support Facility,and Stabilization Fund Release.

He vowed to continue with the war on corruption although he said he expected “corrupt elements to use any weapon to fight back, mainly judicial obstruction and political diversion.”

He asked for the cooperation of the National Assembly in this regard by ensuring “swift passage of enabling corruption laws” and of the generality of Nigerian by “not asking for and refusing to accept a bribe, by reporting unethical practices or by blowing a whistle.”

“The government for its part will work for accountability at all levels – Federal, State and Local Governments. CHANGE will then be real,” he said.

NIGERIA WILL NOT BREAK UP UNDER ME - PRES. BUHARI

President Muhammadu Buhari has said the clamour for restructuring gave some groups which he described as “highly irresponsible” the leeway to call for the nation’s breakup.

He vowed never to allow such happen under him.

Buhari made his position known in a national speech to mark the nation’s 57th independence anniversary on Saturday. He is expected to address the nation at 7am on Sunday (today).

The President said under his watch, Nigeria had witnessed what he called political freedom that saw opposition parties winning elections at the state and National Assembly levels.

He said the growing political development, like all freedoms, was open to abuse, hence the recent development.

He noted that those agitating for a repeat of the nation’s civil war that claimed two million lives were not born by 1967 and had no idea of the consequences of the conflict.

Buhari said he was also disappointed in some community leaders who witnessed the war and still failed to warn their “hot-headed” youths of what the nation passed through.

He reiterated his position that any desired constitutional change should take place in a rational manner only at the national and state Houses of Assembly.

He said the assignment could not be left in the hands of “some lopsided, un-democratic body with a pre-determined set of objectives.”

The President said, “In the past two years, Nigeria has recorded appreciable gains in political freedom. A political party at the centre losing governorship elections, National Assembly seats and even state assemblies to opposition parties is new to Nigeria.

“Added to these is a complete freedom to associate, to hold and disseminate opinions. Such developments clearly attest to the country’s growing political development.

“Recent calls for re-structuring, quite proper in a legitimate debate, has let in highly irresponsible groups to call for dismemberment of the country. We cannot and we will not allow such advocacy.

“As a young army officer, I took part from the beginning to the end of our tragic civil war costing about two million lives, resulting in fearful destruction and untold suffering. Those who are agitating for a rerun were not born by 1967 and have no idea of the horrendous consequences of the civil conflict which we went through.

“Government is keeping up the momentum of dialogue with stakeholders in the Niger Delta to keep the peace. We intend to address genuine grievances of the communities.

“Government is grateful to the responsible leadership of those communities and will pursue lasting peace in the Niger Delta.”

Buhari again said in spite of oil prices being an average of $100 per barrel and about 2.1 million barrels a day in the past years, the nation’s wealth was squandered and the country’s social and physical infrastructure neglected.

He added that Nigerians were left with no savings and huge infrastructure deficit.

“The APC government’s rallying cry to restore security, rebalance the economy and fight corruption was not all rhetoric.

“The country must first be secured. The economy must be rebalanced so that we do not depend on oil alone.

“We must fight corruption, which is Nigeria’s number one enemy. Our administration is tackling these tasks in earnest,” he said.

The President highlighted some of the achievements of his administration in the last two years in the areas of security, economy, and the fight against corruption.

He said as the nation entered the second half of his four-year term of office, he intended to accelerate progress and intensify his resolve to fix the country’s challenges and problems.

On security, he said Nigerians must be grateful to the nation’s Armed Forces for rolling back the frontiers of Boko Haram’s terrorism, defeating them and reducing them to “cowardly attacks on soft and vulnerable targets.”

He thanked the country’s neighbours and the international community for the collective efforts to defeat terrorism.

“Government is working round the clock to ensure the release of the remaining Chibok girls, as well as other persons in Boko Haram captivity. Government will continue to support the Armed Forces and other security agencies to fight not only terrorism, but kidnapping, armed robbery, herdsmen/farmers violence and to ensure peace, stability and security in our country,” he added.

On the economy, the President said his government has remained proactive in its diversification policy.

He said the Federal Government’s Anchor Borrowers Programme, launched in November 2015, has been an outstanding success with N43.92bn released through the CBN and 13 participating institutions.

He also said 200,000 smallholder farmers from 29 states of the federation were benefitting; with 233,000 hectares of farmland being used to cultivate eight commodities, namely, rice, wheat, maize, cotton, soya bean, poultry, cassava, groundnuts and fish farming.

These initiatives, he said, were undertaken in close collaboration with the states.

He commended the efforts of the governors of Kebbi, Lagos, Ebonyi and Jigawa states for their support to the rice and fertiliser revolutions.

He also commended the governors of Ondo, Edo, Delta, Imo, Cross River, Benue, Ogun, Kaduna and Plateau states for their support of the Presidential initiative for palm oil, rubber, cashew, cassava, potatoes and others crops.

Buhari added, “With the abundance of rainfall last year and this year, agriculture has enjoyed divine intervention.

“Since December last year, this administration has produced over seven million 50kg bags of fertiliser. Eleven blending plants with a capacity of 2.1 million metric tons have been reactivated. We have saved $150m in foreign exchange and N60bn in subsidy. Fertiliser prices have dropped from N13,000 to N5,500 per 50kg bag.

“Furthermore, a new presidential initiative is starting with each state of the federation creating a minimum of 10,000 jobs for unemployed youths, again with the aid of CBN’s development finance initiatives.

“Power remains a huge problem. As of September 12, production of power reached an all-time high of 7,001 megawatts. Government is increasing its investment, clearing up the operational and financial logjam bedevilling the industry. We hope to reach 10,000 megawatts by 2020.

“Key priorities include better energy mix through solar and hydro technologies. I am glad to say that after many years in limbo, the Mambilla Power Project has taken off.

“Elsewhere in the economy, the special window created for manufacturers, investors and exporters and foreign exchange requirements has proved very effective. Since April, about $7bn has come through this window alone. The main effect of these policies is improved confidence in the economy and better investment sentiments.

“The country has recorded seven consecutive months of lower inflation, naira rate is beginning to stabilise, appreciating from N525 per $1 in February this year to N360 today. Broad-based economic growth is leading us out of recession.

“Furthermore, in order to stabilise the polity, the Federal Government gave additional support to states in the form of State Excess Crude Account loans, Budget Support Facility, and Stabilisation Fund Release to state and local government as follows: N200bn in 2015; N441bn in 2016; and N1tn in 2017, totalling N1.642tn.

The President added that government’s current N500bn Special Intervention Programme was targeting groups through the Home-grown School Feeding Programme; N-Power job creation to provide loans to small-scale traders and artisans; Conditional Cash Transfer; Family Homes Fund and Social Housing Scheme.

On corruption, Buhari said he was aware that fighting corruption was never going to be a straightforward task.

He said his administration expected corrupt elements to use any weapon to fight back, mainly judicial obstruction and political diversion.

Notwithstanding, he reaffirmed his administration’s determination to eradicate corruption from the nation.

He said the government had empowered teams of prosecutors, assembled detailed databases, and accelerated the recovery of stolen funds.

Buhari listed new institutional reforms to include enforcement of Treasury Single Account, the Whistle-blower Policy, and the Integrated Payroll Personnel and Information System.

Saying there were signs of increasing cooperation from the judiciary in the fight against corruption, he called on the National Assembly to ensure swift passage of anti-corruption laws.

He added, “We have signed multilateral agreements on criminal matters with friendly countries. There are signs of increasing cooperation from the judiciary.

“Recently, the Chief Justice of the Federation directed heads of all our courts of first instance and Appeal to accelerate hearings of corruption cases and dismiss any judicial officers found to have been compromised.

“Justice Salami has just been appointed to chair the Judiciary’s anti-graft committee. Government expects a lot from this committee.

“I commend the National Assembly for refocusing on its oversight committees. “They should, in addition, ensure swift passage of enabling corruption laws. But fighting corruption is a bottom to top operation.”

GOD WILL BE ANGRY IF WE RESTRUCTURE NIGERIA - PASTOR EMMANUEL

Apparently irked by the spate of divided opinions over calls by some Nigerians to restructure Nigeria, Vice President of The Apostolic Church Nigeria (TACN), Pastor Emmanuel Awojide has warned that God will be angry with the people and may send calamity upon them if they go ahead to restructure the country.

Pastor Awojide said God who put the people and country in present circumstance knows why He did so, and as such, “No one should divide what God has joined together for peace and love”.

The Apostolic Cleric also took a swipe at killings going on in the country as a result of agitations, bombings, kidnappings, among others, and described Nigeria as a country full of religious, but ungodly people.

Speaking with Journalists at the 82nd annual convention, Kaduna area of the church, shortly after a sermon on the theme, “Come Thou and All Thy House Into The Ark”, Pastor Awojide noted that the spate of corruption in the country was already surpassing that of the days of biblical Noah where corrupt people were washed away by the great flood.


He cautioned that if God should visit anger on Nigeria, many will not escape the wrath because of corruption and killings taking place in the country.

The Apostolic Cleric however expressed the hope that the country could be better if the people and the nation could be Godly rather than being religious by putting a stop to evils in the society.

He said, “On restructuring, I want to disagree with those calling for the restructuring of the country because it is not the wish of God for the country to go in different directions.

“We must stay together because God will be angry with Nigerian leaders if they allow the country to be divided.

“It is against the wish of God for the country to be divided.

He also assured Nigerians that there will be no bloodshed in 2019 as against some insinuations that the general election will be bloody.


“But as men of God we will continue to pray against evil, and we believe that God mercy will come upon the country and the people. Therefore we must respond to God’s hand of mercy to avoid evils.

“Nigeria and Nigerians are religious, but are yet to be Godly because there is so much killings and destructions in the land.

“Corrupt Nigerians must repent or else the wrath of God and the law of the land will catch up with them.

“But ungodly people will perish eventually in hell fire, and Godly people will make heaven”.

RESTRUCTURING IS THE ONLY WAY FORWARD FOR NIGERIA

THE Igbo have voted for the restructuring of Nigeria, saying it is the way out of its problems.

Besides, Ohanaeze, Ndigbo’s apex cultural and political organisation, yesterday rejected the declaration of the Indigenous Peoples of Biafra (IPOB) as a terrorist organisation. It described the action as “unfair, discriminatory and overhanded.”

Ohanaeze’s President-General John Nnia Nwodo said the Southeast had been over policed to intimidate and hold down the Igbo.

According to him, the endurance of the Igbo is being stretched beyond elastic limit.

He said despite the October 1 quit notice given to the Igbo in the North, the Arewa Youths Council, which issued the deadline, was treated with kid gloves.

Nwodo insisted that restructuring the country was the way out of its problems.

He said the agitation for restructuring was not anti-North.

It was all at a lecture at the Royal Institute of International Affairs, Chatham House, London.

In the text, which was released to repoprters in Abuja by Nwodo’s Media Adviser Ike Abonyi, the Ohanaeze President said “never in the history of Nigeria has there been unanimity for the reshaping of the country as it is now”.

Nwodo said: “The declaration of IPOB as a terrorist organization is in my view hurried, unfair, and not in conformity with the intendment of the law.

“Whereas I am not completely in agreement with some of the methods of IPOB, like its inappropriate and divisive broadcast, the uncontested evidence given by the Attorney-General of the Federation in an interlocutory action claiming that IPOB attempted and/or actually snatched guns from law enforcement agents are, if proven, merely criminal offences.

“They do not constitute enough evidence to meet international law definitions of a terrorist organisation. Happily, the United States Embassy in Nigeria only three days ago shared this conclusion and asserted that the United States Government does not recognise IPOB as a terrorist organisation.

“This same unarmed IPOB that is being stigmatised by the Nigerian government had its members murdered in Asaba, Nkpor, Aba and Port Harcourt simply for having public demonstrations without the Federal Government ordering a judicial inquiry.

“Instead, after I called for one and Amnesty International provided evidence that 150 of them were killed, the Chief of Army Staff set up an inquiry composed of serving and retired army officers, thus abandoning the rules of natural justice which prescribes that you cannot be a judge in your own court.”

Nwodo spoke on the mindset of the Igbo on the proscription of IPOB. He said: “The Igbo in Nigeria feel the treatment of IPOB as unfair, discriminatory and overhanded. They see the move as an attempt to encourage a profiling of Igbos in the international security arena.

“We know of other self-determination groups in Nigeria that are armed and have destroyed government and private sector installations and wells that government prefers to negotiate with rather than label them as terrorist organisations.

“Fulani herdsmen, otherwise called the Fulani militants, have ravaged farms in Middle Belt, South West, and South Eastern Nigeria, killing several farmers in the process. In January 2016, they killed 500 farmers and their families in Agatu in Benue state. In Enugu State,

they murdered more than 100 farmers in Ukpabi Nimbo in April 2016.

“Photographs depicting them with automatic rifles trend in the entire world media, yet not one of them is facing criminal charges, nor is Operation Python Dance being conducted in the areas where they ravage and kill and the Federal Government describes them as criminals and not a terrorist organization, notwithstanding their classification by the Global Terrorist Index as the fourth deadliest terrorist group in the world (see British Independent Newspaper, 18th November 2015). The London Guardian Newspaper of 12th July 2016 indicated that Fulani herdsmen killed 1000 people in 2014.”

The Ohanaeze President declared that the endurance of the Igbo was being overstretched.

He said: “In Nigeria, Ndigbo, whose social-cultural organisation I lead are, notwithstanding their historical experiences in Nigeria, the most loyal ethnic group to the concept of one Nigeria.

“We are the largest ethnic group other than the indigenous group in any part of Nigeria. We invest and contribute to the economic and social life of the communities wherever we live. We are proudly Christians but very accommodating of our brothers of other religious persuasions.

“We are grossly marginalised and still treated by the Federal Government as second-class citizens. No Igbo man, for instance, heads any security arm of the Nigerian Armed Forces. Our area is the most heavily policed as if there was a deliberate policy to intimidate us and hold us down.

“Our endurance has been stretched beyond Hooke’s gauge for elastic limit. The deployment of the Nigerian Army under the guise of Operation Python Dance to the South East was unconstitutional under Section 271 of the 1999 Constitution.

“Deployment of the army is only allowed in circumstances of insurrection, terrorism and external aggression, not in killing of priests, or fighting kidnapping. And in those circumstances where they can be deployed, leave of the Senate must be sought. This brazen impunity in dealing with matters which concern the South East is provocative.”

Nwodo went on: “The Arewa Youths Council, by issuing a quit notice for Igbos to leave Northern Nigeria and declaring a Federal Republic of Nigeria without Igboland, had committed serious infractions of the law. First by declaring a new Republic of Nigeria which excises the South East unilaterally, they were committing treason.”

He said the agitation for restructuring was not anti-North as being speculated by some Nigerians.

His words: “The only hope for change in Nigeria today is the rising call for restructuring pioneered by the Southern leadership forum, supported lately by ex-Vice-President Atiku Abubakar, former President Ibrahim Babangida and leaders of the Middle Belt including Dan Suleiman and Prof. Jerry Gana.

“Our expectation is that now that our President is fully recovered and back to work, he will address the situation by constituting a nationwide conversation of all ethnic nationalities to look into the 2014 National Conference report and the trending views on this subject

matter so as to come up with a consensus proposal that the national and state assemblies will be persuaded to adopt.

“A model based on sharing of Government revenue must give way to a new structure that will challenge and drive productivity in different regions across the country.

“Restructuring will devote attention to the new wealth areas, promote competition and productivity as the new federating units struggle to survive. It will drastically reduce corruption as the large federal parastatals which gulp Government revenue for little or no impact dissolve and give way to small and viable organs in the new federating units.”

The Ohanaeze chief gave a picture of what Nigeria would assume after its proposed model of restructuring.

“Two basic models have been canvassed for restructuring in Nigeria. A conservative model aimed at maintaining the status quo has been proposed to mean simply a shedding of some of the exclusive powers of the Federal Government.

“The second model calls for a fundamental devolution of powers to the States as federating units and a lean Federal Government with exclusive powers for defence, customs, immigration, foreign relations and a federal legislature and judiciary to make and interpret laws in these exclusive areas.

“The regions will have the powers to merge existing states or create new ones. There will be regional and state legislatures and judiciary dealing with making and interpreting laws made in the respective political entities. This approach proposes a revenue sharing formula of 15% to the Federal Government, 35% to the State Government and 50% to the Local Governments.”

Nwodo blamed the All Progressives Congress(APC) and other parties for not paying attention to restructuring. “To make matters worse, none of the other political parties has come up with any clear-cut route for achieving a consensus on this matter.

“The National Assembly itself is a reflection of the deep ethnic divisions in the country and the Northern majority conferred on it by the military makes it highly unacceptable to Southern Nigeria.”

IGBO REBUILT AFTER THE WAR BUT WE STILL HAVE MUD HOUSES IN THE NORTH - ATIKU

Former Vice-President Atiku Abubakar says despite fighting a civil war the Igbo have been able to rebuild their region, but that the north still has mud houses.

He spoke on the background of the need for Nigeria to be restructured.

Addressing a coalition of youth groups under the aegis of Play Forum in Abuja, Abubakar said those afraid of restructuring were lazy.

He said every region in the country should be allowed to control its resources.

“Left for me, I will ask every part of this country to take charge of its resources while the federal government should handle defence, foreign affairs and immigration among others in the exclusive list,” he said.

“It should not be complicated to start with all the recurrent items in the constitution. The president can dialogue with the governors or the national assembly for states to take charge of the roads, hospitals, schools and such other items in the concurrent List while the federal government will continue with items on the exclusive list.

“I would not have gone to school if I were born today. My parents were so poor they couldn’t afford to send me to school. I was born during the era education was free, food was free for me, I was sponsored from primary school to the university. There was even a job waiting for me before I graduated. Yet, there was no oil boom then. I am certainly not a product of oil boom Nigeria.

“So, I don’t know what those who are against restructuring are afraid of. Those afraid must be lazy. We fought the civil war with the Igbo. Today, the Igbo have been completely rebuilt, but we still find mud houses in the north. Is it the fault of the easterners that the north is like that?

“I think that what is most important is the devolution of powers and resources with the various governments whether states or regions. How do the people hold those in power accountable for the resources handed over to them?”

RESTRUCTURING: THE NORTH WON'T GIVE ITS ADVANTAGES; NEF

Two northern groups, the Arewa Consultative Forum and the Northern Elders’ Forum, appeared to have softened their hard-line positions against the calls for the restructuring of the country.

The two bodies had consistently called for caution on such calls, arguing that such attempt might lead to the break-up of the country.

On Sunday, the NEF said the North was ready for dialogue with other regions of the country, but would not give up what it called its advantages.

On its part, the ACF gave conditions for supporting any call for the restructuring of the country.

The National Publicity Secretary of the ACF, Alhaji Muhammad Biu, who stated this in an interview with one of our correspondents in Kaduna, said the forum respected any view that would strengthen the unity of the country with equal rights and opportunities for all citizens.

The ACF and NEF said these while reacting to a statement by a former Lagos State Governor and National Leader of the All Progressives Congress, Asiwaju Bola Tinubu.

The former governor, at a lecture organised by the King’s College Old Boys’ Association in Lagos, had stated that Nigeria needed restructuring for correct balance.

He had stated, “It would be better to restructure things to attain the correct balance between our collective purpose on the one hand and our separate grass-roots realities on the other. We must listen to what is being said so that we can determine what it really meant.

“We are like the bewildered couple who has got their marriage licence after a lavish wedding; yet, neither of them really understands the meaning of marriage or their roles as husband and wife in it.

“Legally, they are married but functionally, their union is a crippled one. This couple will be at loggerheads until somehow they forge an agreement on what type of home they want and what are their respective duties in making that home come into existence.”

The NEF said the North was opened to dialogue, noting that the region, because of its political and geographical advantages, would not be stampeded into taking decisions that would be inimical to its development.

The Chairman of the NEF, Mr. Paul Unongo, stated this during an interview.

Unongo argued that the acerbic rhetoric and threat of secession in the South-East were only making matters worse as dissenting views in the North (on restructuring) were becoming more united.

He stated, “The North is very open to dialogue. I am the chairman of the northern elders and nobody can say we will not encourage dialogue. We love Nigeria but we will not be stampeded into carrying out someone’s agenda.

“The uneducated North of pre-independence times was not the same North of today. Today, we have Ph.D holders in every discipline.”

Unongo disclosed that he and other members of the United Middle Belt Congress had a meeting with the late sage, Chief Obafemi Awolowo, in 1957 where they demanded that Nigeria must be divided into several sub-regions before independence.

He said Awolowo argued that they should channel their energy into ensuring independence after which the nation would be restructured.

The NEF chairman said after independence, the Premier of the Northern Region, Sir Ahmadu Bello, rejected the idea of creating more regions in the North as doing so would reduce the influence of the North.

Unongo added, “We told Awolowo to reject independence until Nigeria was divided into more equal parts. Awo said we shouldn’t worry and that once we gained independence, this would be done. I said I knew this would not be done. Today, Awo is dead and we are independent.

“We spoke in 1957 and today is 2017, that is about 60 years ago. Because I was a small boy carrying Tarka’s bag, they didn’t listen to me. Today, we understand the advantage of being a big region. So, if today, you don’t offer them anything and you say give us your advantage so that we can have a restructured Nigeria; and with the way the Igbos are doing their own agitation, I don’t think you will get many responses from the North.

“I think we need a dialogue. I will be prepared to do that and I will remind them of what I said in 1957 and how my prediction came true.

“It will not be easy for the North to say take away our advantages and give us nothing. They (southern elements) were the ones that allowed the British to do this.

“I told Awolowo that no one would allow you to create more regions after independence.”

On its part, the ACF said it would respect Nigerians’ views on a structure of government that would strengthen the unity and peacefully coexistence of Nigerians for equitable development.

The forum stated, “ACF respects the views of Nigerians on any structure of government that will strengthen our unity and peaceful coexistence for equitable development.

“ACF reaffirms its commitment to one united, indivisible and indissoluble Nigeria with equal rights and opportunities for all.

“We also support due process within our democratic institutions in effecting any structural change for the common good of all.”