Restructuring: Waiting for proper definition

We may not know exactly what restructuring means, but the general feeling is that everybody, individuals, groups and even zones in Nigeria are all dissatisfied with the current structure of the federal government. For Kanu, restructuring means carving Biafra out of Nigeria. But even he does not know or seem to know the territorial boundaries […]

We may not know exactly what restructuring means, but the general feeling is that everybody, individuals, groups and even zones in Nigeria are all dissatisfied with the current structure of the federal government. For Kanu, restructuring means carving Biafra out of Nigeria. But even he does not know or seem to know the territorial boundaries of Biafra. For the coalition of the Arewa youth, restructuring is an impetuous reaction to concede to Biafrans to go or be forced out if they fail to vacate, particularly, from Northern Nigeria by October 1, 2017. To the Middle belters, restructuring means a renewed demand for the recognition of the current North Central zone and its environs as a distinct region from the core north. The South West wants a return to the regional autonomy and with fiscal federalism or perhaps a confederation. The South-South wants greater control of their God-given endowments in a restructured Nigeria. Even to some others, restructuring has been an ongoing process since 1914 and the issue at stake is not structural changes as it is that of the process by which the structural changes are arrived at. Restructuring has therefore become the noise of the market place, but without the friendly bargain of the give and take that the market place offers. Men and women of goodwill have called for calm. Intellectuals and journalists of repute have tried to wade in and compete for space with useful suggestions to displace the bile of the rancorous agitators, in an attempt to douse the heat that is nearing explosion, especially with the new technique of quantifying the foul and derogatory remarks of the unworthiness of the other tribe. Preachers shout themselves hoarse, drawing attention to our common humanity and its divine origin. But the devil seems to be having the upper hand so far.

Why? All of us are in contention and have become interested parties to the conflict of discontent, almost without an arbiter. We do not like the structure of the government we are spending our resources to maintain. But our reasons are varied. Government is the target listener to all the noises and pleas. Only the government can and has the authority to provide the framework that can guide us to a holistic solution in a crisis of this magnitude and dimension.  But Government appears to have a problem. When Boko Haram started and its leader killed, government was accused of ineptitude. The ineptitude and the alleged extra judicial killing of the leader of Boko Haram were given as the reasons for its festering. When the first opportunity came for the arrest of the IPOB leader, government was condemned for making an unknown Kanu a hero. It seems Kanu is rooting for a re-arrest by violating all his bail conditions to boost his position as the King of Biafra. He is already giving out instructions on what to teach in Biafran schools. The Arewa youths have made statements that border on treason. Some have called for their arrest, and the fact that they are not yet arrested makes them sacred cows in the eyes of others; yet arresting them will give them the same ‘heroic’ status of Kanu.

Is the government helpless? Far from it. In the past when these agitations arose, the diversionary tactic was to organize a conference by whatever name. But then the proceedings or recommendations of the conference are routinely abandoned to gather dust. The last of such conferences was the 2014 national conference, organized by the Jonathan administration and its output loathed by the succeeding Buhari administration. But trying to organize another national conference now may be one conference too many. Nigerians may not accept it this time around. Government has reached the end of the road as far as conferences are concerned. It does not matter now how Nigerians express their dissatisfaction with the current arrangement, be they through foul language directed at fellow Nigerians of the other tribe or religion, or unconstitutional expressions, or outright sabotage of the economy, or creating fear and insecurity through kidnapping along with regular bandits, it seems everybody, group, religion and tribe are tired of the structure of government as is; they are not satisfied with the outcome and impact of governance! It is the primary responsibility of the government to prevent a boil over of the current agitations by listening to the voices of reason and by taking appropriate steps to deal with the fundamental problem of poor governance instead of just merely reacting to specific crisis as they occur. 

For Boko Haram, some degree of armed confrontation to degrade the military capability of the insurgents was necessary, but it was negotiation that got the Chibok girls and other victims released. In the Niger Delta, only negotiation has been helpful. For the agitation for the restructuring of the country, however we want to define it, government will have the entire citizen anarchy to contend with once the hoodlums have the chance to set the country ablaze. Nigerians could possibly be fighting themselves in the streets and in the bushes as happened in Rwanda in 1994. Nigeria is too strategic for the development of Africa and the black race to buckle under recklessness, greed and policy ineptitude.

We do not need to wait to get a clear and unambiguous definition of restructuring before we start. I am impressed with the various speeches and interventions of the Vice President so far. They clearly douse the tension and give a breathing space to both the people and the government. All eyes and ears are wide open to hear and see the Vice President make the expected pronouncement, but he keeps stopping short of the announcement even in his recent address at NIPSS Kuru. It is indeed my fervent prayer that President Buhari, who has given full reins of authority to the Acting President, recovers fast to resume duties. But the country is boiling in his absence with hate speeches that inflame passion. The Acting President must now announce the Federal Government’s acceptance in principle of the imperative of restructuring of the Nigerian polity. No individual, group, state, region, tribe, or religion can be hurt by such an announcement. It is going to be the most welcoming and soothing announcement to be made by this administration so far. And the exercise can then begin. And there are enough working documents to guide such an exercise, including the 1999 Constitution (as amended) and proceedings of the 2014 national conference.  We can then douse the heat and regain control of national dialogue from the men of vile.

I leave us with a profound statement from Dr. Martin Luther King Jr, “We must learn to live together as brothers or we will perish together as fools.”

Professor Ode Ojowu is former Chief Economic Adviser to President Olusegun Obasanjo.