Need To Restructure Nigeria; a panacea Towards A Stronger, United Nigeria By Bonny Felix Ayah

Nigeria is a country that has been in existence before 1960, our drive to work as one and live in unity is very important and that’s why we have sustained our strength and drive to be unbeatable as the best black nation.

Nigeria in its present state is facing challenges which range from the economy being on recess to sustenance of better policies to drive the economy forward not forgetting the security challenges with the threat it poses both on the economy and our oneness as a nation.

Nigeria’s common wealth no doubt has helped in the development of the nation but restructuring will  no doubt bring about inventing new ideas discovering our strength and need to look inward for more income and development of our respective state, region and the nation at large. Today, Lagos state has proved that the nation if well restructured can empower itself to greatness.

The shortfall of economy has seen many state governments in the nation being unable to pay salaries and finance major projects but we can’t continue to depend on our present structure and expect things to change knowing that we have lived many years relying on the first republic’s policy, the world is evolving so there is need for us to do so too.

From the states depending on the federal government, we have to reshuffle to the states bringing in to the centre, to be a developed nation, we have to look inward, this is where our success starts. If states are forced to go back and develop their mineral resources as Dr. Kayode Fayemi, the minister of solid minerals has advocated, we would be left with no option than to be more hardworking.

In the words of an APC chieftain, Atiku Abubakar,  “Agitations by many right-thinking Nigerians call for a restructuring and a renewal of our federation to make it less centralised, less suffocating and less dictatorial in the affairs of our country’s constituent units and localities,” the former vice-president had said at a book presentation, “We are all Biafrans”, in Abuja.

In another separate call, deputy the senate president of Nigeria, Senator Ike Ekeweremadu, said “I still hold the view that this feeding bottle federalism, this act of robbing Peter to pay Paul, which we have gradually enthroned as state policy since the fall of the First Republic, remains the major cause of our economic quandary.”

The former vice president and the deputy senate president’s charge for restructuring has shown that the unity of Nigeria knows no political party but what is important is to move our nation forward. This can only be possible if we restructure and make the nation less centralised.

Mr. Bonny Felix Ayah is the Special Adviser to Bayelsa state Governor on Oil and Gas