By Daniel Kanu
Assistant Politics Editor
Senator Mao Ohuabunwa (PDP, Abia North) has said the time for restructuring Nigeria is now as any delay will amount to postponing the doomsday.
The former ECOWAS speaker told TheNiche that it is wrong for some groups to think that restructuring is synonymous with disintegration, insisting that unless there is justice, equity, and fairness agitations will continue to mount.
He said over 70 per cent of Nigerians support restructuring, adding that some lawmakers who voted for devolution did not have enough time to brief and bring along some colleagues who were against it.
Ohuabunwa warned that when the condition is ripe for any crusade nothing can stop it, saying the country should go back to basics on which the founding fathers established Nigeria.
He added: “The issue of restructuring and devolution must be looked into critically and for Nigeria to move forward we have to restructure. Restructuring is not disintegration.
“I am a senator elected on the platform of our constitution, I swore to uphold this constitution, so Nigeria as an indissoluble entity is sacrosanct so to speak.
“But within Nigeria there must be restructuring and our unity must be based on equity, fairness and justice, so any body telling you that we cannot discuss devolution, that we can’t discuss restructuring is only waiting for the evils day because it is a time bomb that must blow but what day.
“You know that during the military era power was concentrated at the centre and some people benefited and are still benefitting so when you talk about restructuring or devotion of power most of them think you want to take away that power so we should allay their fears.
“As long as democracy endures, if we don’t devolve, if we don’t restructure the agitation will grow, it won’t subside, you cannot cow them because democracy gives us the room for people to agitate.
“For me restructuring is going back to the roots from where we started with devolution of power. We took power from the federating units to the centre.
“Even in our name alone, we are federal republic of Nigeria, so we should act our name which means power should revolve within the federating units.
“But now you find out that every power resides at the centre which is not good for democracy in Nigeria as we speak.
“I brought the amendment that we should bring the resolution of the National Conference of 2014 to the Senate for the National Assembly to discuss it because we are elected representatives of the people.
“The resolutions of that conference showed that to a large extent most of the issues we are canvassing today were thoroughly discussed and resolved and resolutions taken on them”
