Warns against ignoring restructuring calls
The All Progressives Congress (APC), National Leader, Asiwaju Ahmed Bola Tinubu, has warned against any attempt to spilt Nigeria, stating that such extreme position will not resolve the gargantuan challenges facing the country but rather complicate them.

He also warned that discarding the call for secession, stating: “It would be wrong to mistake this for a tempest in a teapot. If not careful, we may be tossed about like a teapot in a tempest. We must listen to what is being said so that we can determine what is really meant.”

Tinubu, who was breaking his silence after several months despite the raging issuing swirling around, said being more of a pragmatic, separating the nation into small pieces resolves nothing but will create additional problems, and therefore called for restructuring of Nigeria to correct the imbalance therein.

Speaking on the theme: “A New Nigeria or a Better One: The Fitting Tools of a Great Repair” at the Kings College Old Boys Association in Lagos on Saturday, the former governor of Lagos State drew a parallel between a masterful building whose challenges is never the result of flawed design and the nation.

Tinubu said while he would not dabble so much in the search for a new Nigeria, he was equally not “enthused about the flaws of old Nigeria. What I seek is a better Nigeria.”

“I care not whether something is old or new but whether it shall make us better. Not all change is good. Not every new thing shall be kind to us. Yes, Nigeria must change but some of the changes we need cannot be bought at the store of the new. Many things we need are shelved in the warehouse of the old. Just as we must learn new things on one hand, we must remember vital old wisdom on the other.

“We all have felt the sting of man’s capacity to wrong his fellow man. But we are also endowed with the God-given spirit to overcome adversity and to make of old enemies, new allies and even brothers. I stand before you as a faithful believer in sentiments such as these,” he told his audience.

Tinubu said the decisions “we make are determined by how we would like the world to be – our very actions are determined by what we value so as to keep and what we are willing to discard when the ship of state is tossed either by storm or errant navigation.

“Since there is no one objective optimal standard by which to construct a political economy, it would seem prudent for a nation to dedicate a healthy amount of time discussing this fundamental matter. For such is the surest path to reaching consensus on what economic development and good governance mean in our particular context.”

He regretted though that “sadly, the obverse is true. We talk little about this core issue. Instead, we spend inordinate time bickering over the symptoms of our failure to discuss the core issue.”

He compared the nationalities as “the bewildered couple who has gotten their marriage license after a lavish wedding; yet neither of them really understands the meaning of marriage or their roles as husband and wife in it.

“Legally, they are married but functionally, their union is a crippled one. This couple will be at loggerheads until somehow, someway they forge an agreement on what type of home they want and what are their respective duties in making that home come into existence,”

Tinubu, who was represented by Mr. Wale Edun, said: “We must clearly articulate our objectives. That which we cannot think clearly, will not be attained despite the magnitude of our exertions and expenditure to achieve it. One cannot be assured that an architect’s fine design will result in a fine building. Much can go awry during the process of transforming idea into brick and mortar.”

Though he failed to make any direct allusion to the secessionist agitation of the proscribed Igbo group, Indigenous People of Biafra (IPOB), he said: “We have people clamouring for secession in one part of the country and the murmur of such a course grows stronger in other sections. These other areas resent that some have advocated secession. Blame and recrimination become the political currency. Statesmanship falls in short supply. The dominant urge is to confront instead of reconcile.

It would be wrong to mistake this for a tempest in a teapot. If not careful, we may be tossed about like a teapot in a tempest. We must listen to what is being said so that we can determine what is really meant.”

He, however, has some strong words for secessionist: “Many who cry separation do so because their personal ambitions will be better served by such a thing. They believe they will have a greater chance at political power under a different arrangement. Yet the cry for separation has gained traction among average people; this is due to the chronic failure of government to meet basic aspirations.

“If over the years, government had delivered on the promise of growth, prosperity and justice, those calling for such extreme remedies would be but a small fringe of little consequence.

“I want to plainly state my position. I am a firm believer in Nigeria. I believe this land will become a great nation and a leader among other African nations. We can resolve our dysfunctions in a manner that will make this nation rise as a standard of decency, justice and prosperity for all Nigerians.”

Tinubu added: “When we unite and not untie, we build on an existing maxim of One Nigeria by describing that Oneness as the fabric of a larger society S.E.W.N (South East West North) together.

“We must adhere to the values and policies that suggest tomorrow can be made a better place than today. I refuse to believe we have become such an untoward lot that the longer we live together, the more estranged we become.”

Throwing his weight behind restructuring Tinubu said: “To achieve better levels of governance, we need to re-balance the duties of the federal and state government. The legacy of undemocratic rule has arrogated too much power and resources to the Federal at the expense of state governments. The quest to correct the imbalance is the essence of federalism I have advocated for so many years.”

Speaking on the need for the nation’s economic turn-around, Tinubu said the country must press forward with a national industrial policy fostering development of strategic industries that create jobs as well as spur further economic growth.