Former Vice President, Atiku Abubakar has called for the
restructuring of Nigeria.
Atiku said Nigeria would have peace, unity and prosperity if
and when restructured.
In a statement on Monday, the former Vice President pointed
out that the lack of restructuring was responsible for the recurrent ethnic and
religious crisis in the country.
He statement titled: “Nigeria Needs The Peace Serum of
Restructuring,” reads partly: “Nigeria needs to be restructured. Just look at
Nigeria today. This truth is staring us in our collective faces.
He called for the restructuring of the country, pointing out
that the unitary foundation which Nigeria has been running on has not yielded
much change.
He said, “Nigeria needs to be restructured. Just look at Nigeria today. This truth is staring us in our collective faces.
“The current ethnic and religious clashes bedevilling
Nigeria are symptoms of the disease. They themselves are not the illness. We
must address the root causes of the various symptoms of insecurity Nigeria now
faces.
“Nigeria needs peace, unity and prosperity. But all three of these virtues are dependent on Nigeria having social justice. Without justice, there cannot be cohesiveness in a multi-ethnic and multi-religious nation like Nigeria.
“Nigeria has foundational issues, which we have to resolve.
Until we resolve those issues, our nation may not fulfil its potentials of
being the beacon of light for the Black Race, even if we have the most
righteous people at the helm.
“It has been said by many behavioural scientists that ‘the
definition of insanity is doing the same thing over and over again, but
expecting different results.’
“We have been operating from the same unitary foundation,
and have given it several names since January 15, 1966. Other than slight name
changes, the mould has remained the same, and the yield has changed little.
“Yes, there will be improvements and retrogressions here and
there, due to the character and personality differences of the men and women at
the helm. However, until the foundational fault lines are addressed, whatever
progress one man makes, can be undone by his predecessor, often in a matter of
months.
“If half of our people expend their energies pulling Nigeria
in one direction, and the other half counter by pulling her in the other
direction, our motherland will never know peace, unity and prosperity.
“Nigeria needs to restructure to avoid the various failed
state prophecies, first advanced by an American think-tank against Nigeria in
2006. Most recently regurgitated by the Financial Times of London, about a
month ago. To be forewarned is to be forearmed.
“What is a failed state? A failed state is a political
sovereign geographic territory whose government has deteriorated to a level
where it cannot fulfil a sovereign government’s basic responsibilities, such as
the security of life and property, and upholding law and order.
“Nigeria is not a failed state. However, we are at risk of
becoming a failed state, if we do not resolve our foundational challenges that
make it rather difficult for the central government to discharge her
responsibilities effectively.”
On the conflict between herders and farmers, Atiku cited the
strategy used by authorities in Brazil and Argentina to prevent such from
happening.
He said, “In pre-colonial times, and during the First
Republic, Nigeria had well marked out grazing routes. That ensured that grazers
knew where to go and restricted contacts between them and farmers.
“Now, these routes have disappeared. Of course, when this
happens, there will be conflict. Brazil and Argentina are the largest beef
exporters in the world, and they have grazing routes.
“In fact, In Brazil, pasture land outweighs planted cropland
by about five times. This is because all tiers of governments in Brazil have
worked together to restrict these areas, not only to avoid conflict between
grazers and farmers but also to ensure that Brazil’s great forests, including
the Amazon, are not deforested.
“If Brazil and Argentina can do it, we can do it too. We
have to put in the political and intellectual effort.”
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