Why Nigeria needs to be re-structured – Atiku

Former Vice President, Atiku Abubakar

Former Vice President and 2019 Presidential aspirant on the platform of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), Atiku Abubakar has re-echoed the call for restructuring of the country, noting that the country has operated a faulty system of federalism, especially under military governments.

Atiku, who was reacting to a recent interaction of Vice President, Prof. Yemi Osinbajo in the United States, where he was quoted as saying that the “problem with our country is not a matter of restructuring”, said both the economic and political structures of the country are defective, resulting in weak economic management systems, which in turn, prevent all levels of government.

He said: “It is a surprise that the Vice President would take such a position and, in particular, fail to appreciate the connection between Nigeria’s defective structure and its underperformance. It is unhelpful to reduce the construct of “Restructuring” to a geographical concept as VP Osinbajo does, which in itself demonstrates a lack of appreciation of the core tenets of the concept.

“For the avoidance of doubt, re-structuring is not about the re-drawing of state or regional boundaries. The restructured Nigeria that a large number of Nigerians talk about is a Nigeria that not only provides opportunities for everyone to work, but even more specifically challenges every layer of governance to demonstrate capacity to create wealth and jobs for the citizens”.

Atiku stressed that restructuring is not just about devolution of powers to the states, but about transforming the respective roles of the federal, state and local governments to perform more efficiently in matters of territorial, as well as economic governance.

He added: “Above all, when we talk about restructuring, we are not talking about just constitutional tweaks. We are talking about a cultural revolution. It is not about re-shuffling a few responsibilities or resources, but about disrupting the authoritarian politics our democracy has inherited from its military and colonial rulers of past.He expressed optimism that restructuring will foster the spirit of co-operation and consensus in a nation of diverse ethnic groups, cultures and religions. “It is desirable, in fact, you may even say it is required to establish, nurture and sustain a strong and effective democratic government.”