Chidi Samuel || Nigeria’s former head of state, General Yakubu Gowon, has described the current move to restructure the Nigeria as impossible, insisting that the current composition of the country makes it completely impossible for any form of restructuring to take place.
The former head of State who made the comment in Minna, Niger State, said Nigeria is made up of over 500 ethnic groups hence the people must have faith in the indivisibility of the country rather than agitating for its restructuring.
Gowon said, “Nigeria is made up of over 500 ethnic groups, languages, and dialects and so many various groups called nationalities and they want restructuring. This restructuring everybody is asking for, we will have about 500 different ideas of restructuring. There is call for restructuring to reduce the number of states to only a few either back to the old region or to the zones.”
The Elder statesman, a known advocate for one Nigeria, noted that most States will be reluctant to be joined to another state for the restructuring into regions to occur, hence the impossibility of Nigeria’s restructuring.
According to him, “Those are some of the ideas that I do not know whether it will be possible for any state today to wish to be merged with another state. Let us see whether our politicians will see guidelines to be able to achieve what they want.
“But I have my problem whether the states will be financially capable to they will be able to run there states properly.”
Recalling his struggle to keep Nigeria as one during the civil war, General Gowon stated that it was not out of hatred for any region or ethnic group but one borne out of the need to promote the course of unity in the country.