The handshake across the Niger

Last week, as part of the ongoing efforts to forge a  consensus on pertinent issues of national interest, leaders from four of the country’s six geopolitical zones, namely South-East, South-West, South-South and the Middle Belt part of the North Central, converged on Enugu, Enugu State. In a communique released at the end of the meeting, the leaders asked the Federal Government to declare Fulani herdsmen, ranked number four on the Global Terrorism Index, as a terror group. Insisting that the North-West and North-East could not hold the rest of the country with over 99 million population to ransom by refusing to agree on the need to restructure Nigeria, they upbraided President Muhammadu Buhari for spearheading the anti-restructuring posture and warned that if the country was not restructured before the 2019 general election, it would be heading towards disintegration.

According to the leader of the South-West delegation, Chief Ayo Adebanjo,  the meeting was a catalyst for the unity of Nigeria. He noted that cheating, injustice and corruption could only be wiped out through restructuring. On his part, Uwakwe Azikiwe, who represented Governor Ifeanyi Ugwuanyi of Enugu State on the occasion, described the gathering as a celebration of friendship among the people of South-South, South-West, Middle Belt and the South-East, adding that restructuring would enable the regions to unleash their potential for the growth and development of the country.

With tensions continuing to mount across the country following the excruciating conditions in which the majority of Nigerians are currently trapped, and given the Federal Government’s avowed opposition to the clamour for restructuring, the Enugu summit could not have come at a better time. To all intents and purposes, the meeting is reflective of the overwhelming preference of the majority of Nigerians for a system that would guarantee a safe and secure future for all. The point has never been validly disputed that nations which are a complex mix of tongues and cultures can only cohere peacefully in a system that allows each component unit to take charge of its own affairs, develop at its own pace, and foster a climate for the overall national advancement.

Nigeria, which the current tenants on the corridors of federal power continue to treat as their personal fiefdom, was formed and built on this basis, the nation’s founding fathers being of the firm conviction that the centralisation of political power can only lead to anarchy. In this regard, we salute the conveners of the Enugu summit for their doggedness and steadfastness in the search for a better and more prosperous nation capable of meeting global expectations as Africa’s most populous nation. The task that they have set for themselves is a noble one and must be accomplished if the nation is to remain an indissoluble entity.

With four geopolitical zones on the restructuring train, the pendulum of national thought is sufficiently clear. Yet, as the participants at the Enugu summit must recognise, there is no harm in seeking to increase the restructuring base. Working with notable restructuring advocates in the North-East, they should be at the vanguard of getting all Nigerians to recognise the fact that the current iniquitous system cannot guarantee the kind of development for which they continue to dream. They should also ensure that they meet regularly, compare notes and review strategies. Part of the task ahead of them is to ensure that restructuring remains the major issue in the country as the next general election draws closer.