Former member, Akwa-Ibom State, House of Assembly, Hon. Idongesit Itwen, on Wednesday urged government at all levels to support a national dialogue tilted toward restoring peace, development and sanity in Nigeria.
Itwen, who gave the charge in an interview with the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) in Abuja, said that government should give Nigerians a forum to dialogue.
He said that the situation in the country definitely called for wise measures that could guarantee peace and harmony without having to fragment into non viable structures where life might become more nasty and brutish.
According to him, youth restiveness is a social problem that has grave consequences on the overall national development of Nigeria.
”This problem has occupied a place of pride in political and academic discourses in the last few years and calls for proactive approach to overcome it.
”Youth restiveness is caused by high rate of unemployment, poverty, exclusion of the youth from mainstream political participation, corruption, bad governance, inequitable distribution of goods and services among youths.
”Youth restiveness engenders political instability, creates general insecurity and militates against investment by local and foreign investors.
”I recommend job creation through entrepreneurship education, equity and social justices in the distribution of the gains and pains of development among others.’’
Itwen however urged the Federal Government to increase social programmes to engage more youths
“Restructuring is realisable. It takes a strong political will to do it, like it was possible to have the national conference in 2014.
”Many people were sceptical about it but at least, it was able to pull it through and some of the suggestions were quite innovative.
”There is need for the restructuring of the country along the lines of a model constitutional arrangement that can guarantee faith in the nation and promote unity among the diverse nations in Nigeria.
”Restructuring simply means readjusting the way things are done. We say federalism is not working in Nigeria; restructuring means, what is it that is not making it to work?
“How do we get it to work? If the political will is there, the ideas are there. It just requires implementation.
”Some of them may take constitutional changes. Some may require enactments by the National Assembly,” he said. (NAN)
