On the other hand, there are those who argue that devolving powers to the grassroots would reduce the current wave of separatist agitations and ultimately ensure continued existence of the country as a united entity. Power devolution, they further argue, would not only promote participatory democracy, but also guarantee public accountability and good governance. Another argument in support of enhanced political power for the grassroots is that people would more easily be able to check the profligacy and prodigality of those in public office. The debate is still raging.
While various ethnic nationalities in the South have maintained a united front in their quest for a change of the status quo, their counterparts in the North are sharply divided into pro and anti-restructuring groups. Traditionally, the North is known for speaking in one voice, especially on matters that border on their collective interest and aspiration. However, that common unity of purpose seems to have momentarily eluded the region due to political consideration. Thus, as some prominent figures throw their weight behind the agitation; other concerned stakeholders view those supporting restructuring with suspicion, and accusing them of nursing selfish political ambition. In between the two sides of the divide are the moderate elements who maintain a subtle position, saying that it is better for the constituent units to go their separate ways peacefully than for the country to go into war.
A former vice-chancellor of the Ahmadu Bello University, Zaria and notable member of the Northern Elders Forum (NEF), Prof. Ango Abdullahi, belongs to this latter school of thought. Speaking at a public presentation of two books:
Boko Haram: The Charade vs Reality and The Life and Times of Umaru Turakin Bauchi, written by a former diplomatic editor of the Voice of America and now visiting professor in ABU, Zaria, Dr. Hadiza Isa Wada, he said: “We are hearing about the restructuring of Nigeria. We’re hearing about secession; we are hearing all sorts of things and who are the promoters of this rhetoric?
“These are from the elite of the country. They’re right to say their minds, but they should also leave me to say my mind when the time is right.
“If Lord Lugard made a mistake in 1914, let’s correct it now. Why not? If Nigerians cannot live together and allow peace and development to take place, then let’s go our different ways and to our different places, so we can concentrate and develop our children and grandchildren in peace.
“There’s nothing wrong with that.
So many countries have gone through that before. So, I don’t believe in all this emotion and sentiment that Nigeria is indissoluble. There’s nothing like indissolubility in any country.
So many countries have gone through that before. So, I don’t believe in all this emotion and sentiment that Nigeria is indissoluble. There’s nothing like indissolubility in any country.
“So what is so special about Nigeria? If we find truly that we cannot develop and guarantee the welfare of our people as a nation and the solution is to go our separate ways, why not? This is the thing we have to always discuss at all times honestly.”
In another breadth, a chieftain of the Arewa Consultative Forum (ACF), Mohammed Abdulrahman, expressing
a strong support for restructuring of the country said the nation would be better for it. “I am in total support of the call for restructuring of the country. The North we have today is not what it used to be. Our politicians are not interested in the development of the region. They only care about their pockets. If the country is properly restructured, it is hoped it will benefit the masses and not some politicians who are only interested in buying cars and building houses for their families,” he stated.
a strong support for restructuring of the country said the nation would be better for it. “I am in total support of the call for restructuring of the country. The North we have today is not what it used to be. Our politicians are not interested in the development of the region. They only care about their pockets. If the country is properly restructured, it is hoped it will benefit the masses and not some politicians who are only interested in buying cars and building houses for their families,” he stated.
In his own case, a Kano-born politician, Senator Rufai Hanga, while not totally in support of restructuring as a solution to Nigeria’s problems, said he would want to see a peaceful breakup of the country rather than going into war with separatist agitators. He said in an interview with Sunday Sun: “Right now, when I see some people talking of restructuring. I look at them as non-conformists, I see them as hypocrites who want cheap popularity among the people that are disgruntled. I see some of them as just merely following the train of bandwagon because they hear people saying restructuring. Let whosoever wants the country restructured come out and put it in black and white the way they want the country restructured. Even if they want the country divided, I welcome it. True to God, I welcome it because I will rather prefer we separate peacefully to fighting ourselves. Rather than having internal crisis like religious or ethnic, I will prefer everybody goes his way. It will be better for everybody to go and start afresh. There are lots of countries that have separated and they are doing fine. If that is what they mean by restructuring, then it is welcome. I personally welcome it than fighting ourselves. I don’t want crisis. People who are agitating and instigating people don’t know the implication of what they are doing. We should not let such people drag us into crisis because it is dangerous.”
However, Alhaji Tanko Yakassai, a prominent leader of thought in the North, in a radical departure from this sentiment, lashed out at those calling for restructuring, arguing that it was intended to shut out the region from having its fair share of revenue from the federation account.
His words: “You see the way most of those people agitating for restructuring is unpatriotic. Most of those people who are calling for restructuring in Nigeria today are doing so with some kind of hate in their minds. The thing that is working in their minds is to find a way of denying states from the North of getting the kind of shares they are getting from the federation account. Some of the factors that government is using to distribute the revenue are God-made and not man-made. For instance, when they talk of population, the Nigerian people were not created by the Nigerian government.
His words: “You see the way most of those people agitating for restructuring is unpatriotic. Most of those people who are calling for restructuring in Nigeria today are doing so with some kind of hate in their minds. The thing that is working in their minds is to find a way of denying states from the North of getting the kind of shares they are getting from the federation account. Some of the factors that government is using to distribute the revenue are God-made and not man-made. For instance, when they talk of population, the Nigerian people were not created by the Nigerian government.
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