Nigeria needs to be restructured based on justice and equity –Gov. Fayemi

The Governor of Ekiti State and Chairman, Nigeria Governor’s Forum (NGF), Dr. Kayode Fayemi has joined the league of prominent Nigerians who have called for a restructuring of the country as a panacea to the myriads of crisis that has rocked the nation in recent times.

Fayemi who was the Guest Speaker at the 50th anniversary of the Centre for Historical Documentation and Research, popularly known as Arewa House, harped on the need for restructuring Nigeria as the socio-economic and political greatness of the country hangs on such, and that the move will satisfy the agitations coming from every part of the country.

The former Minister of Solid Minerals Development who spoke on the topic, ‘Unfinished Greatness… Towards a More Perfect Union in Nigeria,’ posited that “in our quest towards a more perfect union, therefore, the main challenge is one of re-creating the union and the basis of its fundamental national association.”

In his keynote address at the anniversary, Fayemi noted that “the challenge at hand is how to address the issue of restructuring the Nigerian federal system and add value to the structure and systemic efficacy of the federal arrangement, without unleashing instability occasioned by the mobilisation of ethnic, regional and religious sentiments and identities.”

While eulogizing the vision of the founders of the Center, Fayemi called on Nigerians to be steadfast in holding on to the dreams of the founding fathers of Nigeria and build a nation every Nigerian should be proud of, as the “task of nation building is never completed, but undertaken by different generations.”

“Over the years, Nigerians have agonised over the lamentably slow pace of our development. Successive governments and policy makers have responded with various approaches and strategies for achieving the much desired national development. Yet, even the most charitable analyst of our political economy would agree that we have not performed to our optimum capabilities.

“These issues have become particularly germane against the backdrop of the significant events of the recent past; the youth-led demonstrations against police brutality, #EndSARS, which metamorphosed into agitations beyond the main subject, to encompass demands for more holistic reforms that would ensure our country becomes more just and fair.

“Those of us in public office may delude ourselves, but the events of the past few weeks have brought the contradictions of the Nigerian state into a sharper focus. Whether you scrutinise the regular apocalyptic predictions of highly placed Nigerians about the fate of the country, or you contemplate what would happen if measures are not taken to arrest the drift, you cannot but come to the conclusion that Nigeria needs to be re-created,” Fayemi said.