Restructuring Nigeria is an urgent imperative

Restructuring of Nigeria is an urgent imperative. To delay it any much longer imperils the people of the country across all of its spaces. It is therefore most important that the people of Nigeria sit calmly around the table now to arrange for a reasonable framework of restructuring their country in the best interest of all.

From the North to the South, East to West, a debate of sorts has been raging on in the country. At certain points, it has spilled over to conflict and crisis points. But mercifully, they have been contained and continue to be contained. However, containment is not resolution.

Whether it is issues with insurgents in the North East, sharia canvassers in the North West, the Independent People of Biafra in the South East or the current face-off between the indigenous Yoruba people of the South West and nomadic herdsmen from the North of Nigeria, they all boil down to one thing: an urgent need to loosen the essentially unitary construct in the land so that a true and proper federation can now be given functional structure and established.

From economics to mutual cohabitation, the current structure of the country does not yield itself to both sustainability and progress. It is time to take that decision: restructure Nigeria now.

Some who are hesitant about this course of action say that their opposition is hinged on the absence of clearly defined parameters. But that is not any relief. If the current structure is faulty, it has to be addressed.

Some others say the problem is with either the leaders or the citizens. There are usually many problems in societies and they all deserve to be addressed. But there is also a major problem with the current structure of the nation. Let us address it.

It is also to be noted that given the population and economic leverage that Nigeria has in the continent, developments within the country affect all of the continent. As Mandela had noted, Africa needs Nigeria to succeed and thrive. It is most important.

Restructuring Nigeria is an urgent imperative. The time to address it is now.

Nigeria’s Vice President, Professor Yemi Osinbajo