Former Vice-President Atiku Abubakar has renewed his call for
\nrestructuring, saying he understands why many of those calling for
\nrestructuring are from the south, while the bulk of the opposition to it
\ncomes from the north.<\/p>\n
Speaking at an annual public lecture at the Obafemi Awolowo University,
\nIle-Ife, on Monday, Abubakar listed fear of losing oil revenues as reasons
\nwhy some are opposed to it, and lost of trust in the current structure as
\nreasons some are clamouring for it.<\/p>\n
He said too much power at the centre has impeded the development of the
\ncountry, explaining that the restructuring he has been clamouring for
\nwould reallocate powers, responsibilities and resources among the zones.<\/p>\n
The former vice-president said necessary assurances and compromises must
\nbe made in order to secure a restructuring deal.<\/p>\n
\u201cOur current constitution does indeed concentrate too much power and
\nresources at the centre, which has, in my view, impeded national
\ndevelopment, security, peace and stability,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n
\u201cAt some point our leaders and representatives will come together, discuss
\nand work out a framework for restructuring our federation in order to
\nrenew it to serve our people better.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe restructuring that I have been calling for involves changes to the
\nallocation of powers, responsibilities and resources among the states or
\nzones and between them and the federal government.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt is clear to me that the resistance against restructuring is based on
\nthree interrelated factors, namely dependency, fear and mistrust.
\nDependency of all segments of the country on oil revenues, fear of loss of
\noil revenues by non-oil producing states or regions and mistrust of the
\nmotives of those angling for restructuring.<\/p>\n
\u201cThis can be seen in the regional patterns of the advocacy for and
\nopposition to restructuring.\u201d<\/p>\n
He said the current structure which concentrates too much power and
\nresources in the centre has made the country \u201ceconomically unproductive\u201d
\nand \u201cpolitically weak.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cThere is no doubt that many of our states are not viable, and were not
\nviable from the start, once you take away the federal allocations from
\nAbuja.\u00a0 We have to find creative ways to make them viable in a changed
\nfederal system. Collaboration among states in a region or zone will help,\u201d
\nhe said.<\/p>\n
\u201cNigeria must devolve more powers and resources from the federal
\ngovernment and deemphasize federal allocations as the source of sustenance
\nof states.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe need to start producing again and collecting taxes to run our
\ngovernments in a more sustainable way with greater transparency and
\naccountability.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe have a unique opportunity now, with all the agitation and clamour for
\nrestructuring, to have a conversation that would lead to changes in the
\nstructure of our federation in order to make it stronger, enhance our
\nunity and promote peace, security and better and more accountable
\ngovernance.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
Former Vice-President Atiku Abubakar has renewed his call for restructuring, saying he understands why many of those calling for restructuring are from the south, while the bulk of the opposition…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":49771,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_lmt_disableupdate":"","_lmt_disable":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[17],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-56575","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-exclusive"],"yoast_head":"\n