Femi Falana, senior advocate of Nigeria (SAN), says those
who say Nigeria’s unity is non-negotiable are wrong.
Speaking on the calls for restructuring, he said it should
be tailored according to the country’s peculiarities, but that alone cannot
address youth unemployment and other challenges encountered by Nigerians.
Stakeholders have been calling for restructuring of the
country in order to save it from disintegration.
In a lecture delivered at the 20th convocation of the Ekiti
State University, on Wednesday, Falana said some “opportunistic politicians”
only join the campaign for restructuring when they are out of power, but resist
the movement when they are in government.
“Restructuring alone will not automatically answer the
menacing question of rising youth joblessness and hopelessness plaguing the
Nigerian society,” Falana said.
“To reframe the question, some myths should be exploded.
First, stripped of all obfuscation, restructuring is basically about making the
Nigerian federation work better for the purpose of governance and development.
That should be the objective of restructuring rather the elusive pursuit of
“true federalism.
“There is nothing like a true federalism. Every federation
is structured for the specific purpose of each country. That is why the Indian
federation is not identical to that of Australia or America. The Swiss
federation is operated differently from that of Canada or Brazil.
“The German federation is working not because it’s ‘true’,
but because it meets the specific historical need of the Germans. So we should
stop mystifying the debate by calling for a ‘true federalism’ instead of asking
for a workable federation of Nigeria. As a matter of fact, making a federation
to work, building a nation or promoting national integration is never a
finished business.
“After all, what’s federalism if not a system of continuous
negotiations and compromises. That’s why it’s a gross misnomer when some people
pronounce arrogantly that ‘Nigeria’s unity not negotiable.’ That’s wrong.
“The idea of restructuring as a fad should be questioned.
Opportunistic politicians join the campaigns for restructuring when they are
out of power. Whereas when they are in power they muster all their strength to
resist the moves to restructure even when they have restructuring in the
manifestoes of their political parties. Politicians treat the topic of
restructuring as a veritable tool for ethnic and regional mobilisation and
nothing more.”
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