Nigeria’s problems are greater than restructuring - Olisa Agbakoba
- Olisa Agbakoba noted that the word ‘restructuring’ was first used by civil societies in 1979, and throughout the decades since it was uttered, Nigeris has been going downhill
- The Senior Advocate of Nigeria likened Nigeria to a troubled marriage as he stressed that its deep-seated problems cannot be solved by restructuring
- Agbakoba stressed that a serious discussion must be held about the way forward for the nation; restructuring or not
Olisa Agbakoba, SAN, has stated that Nigeria does not need a restructuring of the country to end all of its numerous challenges.
In an interview with Punch, the former NBA boss described the various calls for restructuring as being ‘politically motivated’.
According to Agbakoba, the politicians who are calling for a restructuring of the country are harboring political ambitions towards the 2019 elections.
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He stated: “Politicians cannot sit down in one place and discuss solely in their interest to promote something that is fashionable.
“They have started to bandy around the word ‘restructure.’
“Civil societies first used the word ‘restructure’ in 1979. But all through the decades, we have been going downhill.
“Suddenly, it has become fashionable now to talk about restructuring to gain power because, like it or not, Nigeria is completely fractured.
“You have the possibility of the All Progressives Congress not remaining in power in 2019; you have the People’s Democratic Party that is almost dead.”
He added: “Nigeria’s problem is not about restructuring. Nigeria’s problem can be likened to a marriage that is not working and the husband says to the wife, ‘Let us restructure by living in different rooms or stay together in one room.’
That doesn’t resolve the underlying tension, if the man, for instance, always goes out to act in an unbecoming manner.
“The only way they can ‘restructure’ their marriage is for the couple to sit down and identify the cause of the problem in the marriage.
“There is only one way we can begin to talk about restructuring or zoning, if that is what we want: How do you know if we want restructuring? How do you know we don’t want to go our separate ways?
“Because, in 1914, we were forced to live together by the colonialists; in 1960, the colonialists imposed a constitution on us. And then, the military took over, and in 1998, the military imposed on us another constitution.”
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Meanwhile, Legit.ng previously reported that the governor of Kaduna state Nasir El-Rufai said that those calling for the restructuring of Nigeria are political opportunists and irresponsible.
While speaking on Sunrise Daily, a Channels Television programme, El-Rufai said that president Muhammadu Buhari's administration in two years, has done better than the past administration.
He said the Buhari-led administration has taken some practical steps towards restructuring the country through various means.
Watch this Legit.ng TV video about Nigeria's unity
Source: Legit.ng
