Browsing: Restructuring

It is important that we all understand what we are talking about and the high stakes involved. There are too many mushroom organizations and seeming self determination groups that are all shouting on top of their voices talking about RESTRUCTURING.

Yet, I cannot proceed with my short commentary without due and specific commendation of the Guild of Corporate Online Publishers (GOCOP) who had considered me worthy of being accorded a space, as Guest Speaker, on the occasion of its first Annual Conference which also coincide with the occasion for the election of new executives’ to speak on critical national issues, especially as they relate to online publishing and the social media.

And, since the days the military twisted the country’s federal structure by making the state governments weaker and creating a stronger and domineering central government, agitations have been persistent over the decades about the lopsided nature of the federal arrangement in Nigeria. While some label their agitations on the recourse to true federalism, others call it restructuring and the only difference between the two is merely in nomenclature as true federalism and restructuring essentially talk of the need to restore more strength to the state governments. Indeed, the divergence of opinion between the pro and anti-restructuring elements have remained the distinguishing parameter in the ideological leaning of politicians in Nigeria. The pro-restructuring element are called the progressives and the elements who believe that the current order of lopsidedness should be sustained are known as the conservatives.

I am talking of the privileged few, the men and women who have stood between us and the actualization of our Confederation. These are men and women who have stood stoutly in the way of RESTRUCTURE. And it is not because they wanted a total return to Pre-Amalgamation which was/is the demand of the G9, the national Umbrella body of all Self Determination groups in the Lugardian Contraption called Nigeria. To them a return to 1914 was a tall order