Ohanaeze, Afenifere chieftains list dangers of not restructuring

Newly elected officials of Ohanaeze Ndigbo World-wide taking oath of office after their election in Enugu. PHOTO: NAN

Chieftains of two socio-cultural groups have expressed fear on what might befall the country if it is not restructured by 2018.A Second Republic politician and Ohanaeze chieftain, Chief Guy Ikokwu, who spoke with The Guardian in a telephone interview, stressed that there might not be 2019 election if restructuring is not considered.

He lamented that the country is long over-due for restructuring, saying that it is the reason the country is not competing favorably with other African countries.

Ikokwu said: “The Nigerian political scene is amorphous at the moment hence 2019 election is still not clear.“I know there are lots of people agitating the presidential race but it is not clear how they will do it. Anything can happen in the next three to four months. There are lots of people who are ambitious in APC just as we have them in PDP.

“Ohanaeze is not jittery about presidency, whether it is from the South, North, East or West, what we really want now is restructuring of the country.” In the same vein, Afenifere’s National Treasurer, Chief Supo Shonibare, stated that those who are against restructuring are agents of disintegration.

He stated that the group is in support of a devolved federal entity with the federating units having functions and powers similar to what was operated in the country’s Independence and Republican constitution.He posited that this would address both economic and security challenges the country is currently facing.

“The issue for consideration, in my view, is who is likely to be able to ensure we remain a federal entity. I fear the centre may not hold if we do not restructure. Restructuring simply means devolution of powers to the various echelons of service delivery points providing for the needs of our people in a manner that would allow them to take their future in their own hands and not use ethnicity as the reason for failure of governance,” he said.

Also, another Afenifere chieftain, Chief Ayo Adebanjo, said: “Nobody is opposing President Muhammadu Buhari’s fight against corruption but he should also support restructuring of the country in a way that everything will be peaceful.”