Chief Ayo Adebanjo, one of the Associates of the Late sage, Chief
Obafemi Awolowo has said that Nigeria will not have peace until the
country is restructured for individual region or zone to develop at
it’s own pace.
Chief Adebanjo who is also one of the Afenifere leaders while speaking
to our correspondent said that as far as he was concerned, there is no
future for the country if we don’t do what is right now, which is for
the country to fashion out new system of how the country would be
administered.
He pointed out that, things can no longer be done the way they are
being done before because the situation has changed from what it used
to be, as Nigerian youths are no longer patient to understand the
language of unity that we understand.
According to him, there would continue to be agitations and demands
from different groups across the country, because people now want to
stand alone and control the resources available to them for the
development of their areas. “This is why we have restiveness all over
the country and before things get out of hand the present government
must do something’’
Te Elder statesman argued that from the looks of things, the present
government of President Muhammadu Buhari is not interested in having
collaboration with other interested groups over the restructuring of
the country. “If we restructure the cry over the ongoing agitation
from my brothers in the East over Biafra would stop, the agitation in
the Niger Delta would stop as well and other places who are not
satisfied with the present system would not in future bring up their
own request.’’
He pointed out that the issue about returning to the nonfederal
system of government in the country has been what people like them
have been saying long time ago but the intervention of the military
did not give room for that, saying that now that we are in the
civilian regime where we run a true democracy we must do it for
posterity
On the Fulani herds men disturbing the peace of farmers in many parts
of the country especially in the Southern parts of the country, Chief
Adebanjo said that the federal government has refused to do something
about tem and “I don’t know why. I just feel that Buhari is not
willing to deal with them. “
He supported the measures now taken by the Southern leaders over the
issue and since the people in the southern parts have now united to
deal with the issue, the herds men would no their boundary and not
infiltrate other areas to destroy their farm lands just because of
grazing.
The Afenifere leader lambasts people who have been casting aspersions
on those from the North who have been conversing for the restructuring
of the country, especially those who have been abusing Alhaji
Abubakar, Atiku, Col Abubakar Umar Kangiwa, former Military Governor
of Kaduna State, and Alhaji MD Yusuf, former Inspector General of
Police. He argued that these are nice people who have the genuine
interest of the country at heart.
According to him, Atiku is an honest Democrat who to my understanding
is honest about the way he has been talking regarding restructuring,
even the before the 2014 National conference called by the former
President Ebelle GoodLuck Jonathan.
He said that one of his regrets about the country is that it is no
longer the Nigeria of their dreams. “What is paining people like us
who fought for Independence and Democracy is that the present day
politicians are not doing things the way we envisaged ad have made
life unbearable for the masses.
