Former military president, General Ibrahim Babangida came
out of political limbo on Sunday to weigh-in heavily on national issues
generating tension in the nation.
In an uncharacteristic lengthy missive to his fellow
countrymen, the former military ruler voted in support of the ongoing national
campaign for a comprehensive restructuring of the Nigerian state and polity.
The call for restructuring of the current governance system
has reached a decibel across the land.
Voices like a former vice president, Atiku Abubakar; Bola
Tinubu, social cultural organisations in the six geopolitical zones, among
others, have spoken in its favour.
Babangida, who until now was not a fan of restructuring the
system, said his model was principally in favour of a shrunk Federal Government
and state police.
He unsuccessfully tried to return as a civilian president
during the 2011 presidential poll.
According to him, “if we have repeatedly done certain things
and not getting the desired results, we need to change tactics, approach and
renew our commitment. It is our collective responsibility to engender a reform
that would be realistic and in sync with modern best practices.
“I will strongly advocate for devolution of powers to the
extent that more responsibilities be given to the states, while the Federal
Government be vested with the responsibility of
overseeing our foreign policy, defense and the economy. Even the idea of
having federal roads in towns and cities has become outdated and urgently needs
revisiting. That means we need to tinker with our constitution to accommodate
new thoughts that will strengthen our nationality.
“Restructuring and devolution of powers will certainly not
provide all answers to our developmental challenges; it will help to reposition
our mindset as we generate new ideas and initiatives that would make our union
worthwhile. The talk to have the country restructured means that Nigerians are
agreed on our unity in diversity, but that we should strengthen our structures
to make the union more functional based on our comparative advantages. Added to
this desire is the need to commence the process of having state policing across
the states of the federation.
“This idea was contained in my manifesto in 2010, when I
attempted to contest the presidential elections. The initial fears that
governors will misuse the officers and men of the state police have become
eliminated with renewed vigour in citizens’ participation in and confidence to
interrogate power. We cannot be detained by those fears and allow civilisation
leave us behind.”
He also got very emotional with the drumbeat of war and
hate-mongering in the land, appealing to
Nigerians to shun such ill-wind drumming.
He praised Nigerians for being sensible enough not to allow
another civil war, while using his war-front experience to make a case for
common-sense to prevail.
The 76-year-old ailing former leader said “Nigeria, my dear
country, is not a stranger to crisis and is not immune to it. In a profound
sense, it can be said to have been created out of crisis, a nation state that
will continue to strive to subdue and transcend crises. In over a century of
its formalised colonial architecture, Nigeria had grown and made remarkable
progress in the midst of crises.
“The most tragic and horrendous episode in Nigeria’s history
has been the 30-month Civil War of July 1967, in which many of our compatriots
lost their lives. Indeed, many others also suffered injuries of human and
material dimensions. So, who really wants to go through the depth and
dimensions of another civil war in Nigeria again?
“Who does not know that that civil war was preceded and
started by intolerance and a series of hate pronouncements, hate speeches, hate
conducts and actions that were inflicted upon one another by the citizens?
Today, with a deep sense of nostalgia, I still carry within my body the pains
of injury from the Civil War; there is nothing romantic about war; in any form,
war is bad, condemnable and must be avoided.
“I need say I am very worried by the ongoing altercations
and vituperations of hate across the country by individuals, well-known
leaders, religious leaders, group of persons and organisations. We need to
remind ourselves that conflicts are not evidently the stuff of politics and
governance, particularly of democracy, hence, we must apply caution in our
utterances, body language and news reportage. The management of conflicts is
the acid test of maturity, of mutual livelihood and of democratic governance.
“We cannot and we must not allow the current hate atmosphere
to continue to freely pollute our political landscape unchecked. Personally, I
reject the proceedings of hate and their dissemination and urge my fellow
citizens to strongly condemn the scourge and orgy of the current crisis which,
in my view, is an outcome of vengeful appetites within the multiple contexts of
our democratic governance and the profound inequalities that have distorted our
social relations. Nonetheless, it is not the place of leaderships to fuel and
hype conflicts or should we allow losers and gainers of our governance regimes
to make pronouncements and threats that exploit our ethnic, religious and
geopolitical construct. Democracy, anywhere in the world, is a
work-in-progress, one that is subject to constant evolution and debate.
“The drums of war are easy to beat, but their rhythms are
difficult to dance. Starting wars or political upheavals comes with the
slightest provocation, but ending them becomes inelastic, almost unending with
painful footages of the wrecks of war. I have been involved and its ripples are
tellingly unpalatable, with gory details of destruction and carnage. I am a
Nigerian, a citizen, patriot and concerned stakeholder. It is my strong belief
that Nigeria can attain greater greatness if we all nurture our minds in the
direction of building a nation, and accepting responsibility for its successes
and failures. We cannot deny or repudiate our progress at nation-building, in
spite of the limitations and challenges that we have continued to experience.
“As a people, we need a proper study and understanding of
our history in order to correct the warped perceptions of our past so as to
minimise the dangers of badly skewed stories of our democratic experience in
governance and to regenerate mutual confidence and uphold the tenets of living
together as one country. No one government or administration can provide all
the answers to the myriad of problems and challenges confronting us as a
country; no matter how determined, resolute, committed and motivated such a
government is. The citizens have their roles to play and their obligations to
fulfill in order to motivate government in achieving its stated goals and
objectives. Governance is a function of the leadership and the followership.
“It is a two-way traffic that demands certain
responsibilities from those involved. Of late, Nigeria has become so sharply
divided with emotions running high on the least provocations. Once tempers are
that high, the fault-lines become easily visible and with the slightest
prompting, the unexpected can happen. But I want to believe that Nigerians are
still their reasonable selves, highly endowed in various skills and
intellectually-empowered to compete anywhere in the global arena.
“As a Nigerian, I have had the rare privilege to benefit
from robust relationships from different people across the sociopolitical
divide- East, West, North and South. I have also immensely interacted with
persons from all the numerous tribes, cultures and ethnic configurations dotted
across the entire gamut of Nigeria’s expansive land mass.
“I have made friends, built alliances, nurtured
relationships and sustained linkages amongst Nigerians of all shades and
opinions. In fairness, Nigerians are great people. In those hours, moments and
duration of friendship and camaraderie, no one talks about origin, geopolitical
zones or states. “The issue of religion does not dictate the flow of discourse.
We deal with ourselves based on our character and content, not the sentiments
of what part of the country we hail from.
“The inalienable fact that Nigerians can live in any part of
the country to pursue their legitimate aspirations is a strong indication that
we have accepted to invest in the Nigerian project and are no longer driven by
mutual suspicion, but mutual respect. That we have not fully realised our
potential as a great nation is not enough reason for us to want to demolish the
foundation of our nationhood or rubbish the labours of our heroes past; both of
which are borne out of our collective efforts to build a truly great nation,
and great people.”
He also had cautionary pieces of advice for all the
stakeholders, including jouralists, saying: “We must as a people with one
destiny and common agenda take decisions for the sake of posterity in our
shared commitment to launch our country on the path of development and growth.
Policing has become so sophisticated that we cannot continue to operate our old
methods and expect different results.
“I also want to appeal to the Nigeria media to be more
circumspect in their news reportage. They should always weigh the security
implications of the contents of their news and the screaming headlines that
stare us in the face everyday, especially at this fragile period of our
political emanations. The media play an important and remarkable role in
shaping the flow of discourse. Their level of influence is also not in doubt,
but as the fourth estate of the realm, it has a greater responsibility to
moderate public discourse in a manner that will cement inter and intracultural
relationships.
“If Nigeria works, it benefits all her citizens; if it
fails, it hurts all her citizens too. The media should be patriotic in its
present engagements to berth a new Nigeria of our dreams. On a final note, I
really wish we see strength, determination, commitment and confidence in our
diversities rather than adversities. As a heterogeneous country with
flourishing skills and numerous endowments, we should dictate the pace in
Africa and lead by example of what is possible amongst a people that are focused
and determined to pursue common national goal. As a former military president
who had the rare privilege to travel around Africa to sustain the African
cooperation through peace-keeping operations, I have come to the conclusion
that nations are driven by a common ideal and not by the homogeneity of their
race.
“I saw Somalia, such a homogeneous conclave, yet one of the
most troubled countries in Africa today. I saw South Sudan, which broke away
from the old Sudan, but peace and stability have eluded them. Rwanda genocidal
experience is not romantic either. But a president from the minority ethnic
group has repositioned the country to assume its pride of place in the comity
of nations. That a people share common identity, language, history, doctrine, culture,
mores and values is not synonymous with development, growth, stability and
peace.
“When we went into peace-keeping operations in Sierra Leone,
Somalia, Liberia and Congo, we had in mind to sustain oneness in Africa even
though we are a continent of different countries all bearing different logos
and identities. Our motivation was simply that we are Africans. I am,
therefore, appealing to the sensibilities of all of us, young and old, leaders
and followers, groups and organisations, that in the interest of peace and
stability of our country, we need to sheathe the sword.
“At 76, I have seen it all. I have seen war. I have fought
war and I have survived war, even though I still suffer the pains and injuries
of war, it is part of the selfless sacrifice to keep the union afloat. We must
build a country that is forward looking for our children and future generations
of Nigerians. We cannot afford to toil with the destinies of the 170 million
Nigerians by the shape of our discourse and the content of our interaction. We
must carry out conscious attitudinal orientation that will change the mindset
of our youths and the held beliefs of the elderly. We must explore the
therapies of dialogue and constructive engagements in our desire to make life
more meaningful for our people.
“My friends cut across all regions, zones and states. I am
proud to be a Nigerian because I see hope in the youthful population of
Nigerians. I see remarkable skills and raw talents that can stimulate
enterprise and innovations. This is the end of the holy month of Ramadan, a
month in which Muslim faithful have dedicated their lives to seek closeness to
God and forgiveness of their inequities. It is a month of penance; a month of
prayer for physical, moral and spiritual rejuvenation, regeneration and
rebirth. I urge my countrymen and women to use the occasion to look ahead with
hope and renewed dedication to the service of our country.”
Several top personalities and association had earlier called
for restructuring. Among them were the former vice president, Alhaji Atiku
Abubakar, the National Leader of the All Progressives Congress (APC), Senator
Bola Tinubu and pan Yoruba movement, Afenifere.
Alhaji Atiku said there was too much political, economic
concentration at the centre.
According to him, ”The country is truly at a crossroads, and
things are made worse by the cocktail of economic, social, political and
problems which we have had to contend with, and which add to the abysmally low
estimation of our country even by its own citizens.
“There is no doubt in my mind that that the structure of our
federation and governance constitute an impediment to our economic development,
political stability and social harmony. Changing them would help to place our
country on a path to phenomenal and unhindered development. To persist in what
we are doing now is to do injustice to ourselves and jeopardize our future. We
should endeavour to effect the needed changes by talking among ourselves and
across our various divides – engaging in meaningful dialogue. We should take
full advantage of the democratic spaces and institutions to instigate positive
conversations in that regard. Given the right environment, there is hardly a
limit to what a people can do for themselves by themselves.”
In his contribution, Senator Tinubu said there was no
alternative to restructuring.
He said “I believe and support restructuring. I also remain
a true advocate of restructuring, true federalism and I will not be found
wanting when and where the issue of restructuring is being discussed.”
Afenifere, in a statement issued by its national publicity
secretary, Mr Yinka Odumakin, entitled: “24 years after June 12: Whither
Nigeria?” said the only way for Nigeria to fulfill its destiny as one country
is to ensure “a restructured polity that practices federalism in its truest
form.”
No comments:
Post a Comment