Lawal A. Dogara, Kaduna
Governor of Sokoto State, Aminu Waziri Tambuwal has said that the North is not against restructuring but stressed that restructuring must first and foremost be understood in very clear terms before a concrete decision could be made either for or against it.
He expressed this at a two-day conference holding in Kaduna with the theme “The North and the future of the Nigerian Federation” organized by the Arewa Research and Development Project (ARDP).
Tambuwal who was the Chairman of the occasion said, the idea that the North is against restructuring because it benefits most from the current state of things is patently false.
He stressed that the fact that some people continue to parrot such a lie only help to give credence to the flawed argument.
“Let us be clear: the North wants restructuring as much as anyone else. However, as a people we do not easily jump unto the bandwagon because we are always there for the long haul. We believe that any decision we take must be inclusive, and respect procedures and processes so that the outcome is sustainable.
“I think we should first, as a country, agree on a mutual definition of the term restructuring. In my view, if restructuring means taking stock of our arrangement to ensure that no state takes a disproportionate amount of the resources, or most of the available space in the education or job sector, or subjugate the others’ culture or religion, or lords it over the other so that the number of the poor and uneducated whose future is circumscribed by their circumstance is shared proportionately, then we are game.
“We all want a country where there is peace and progress, where justice is a given, where all lives are safe and people can pursue their legitimate livelihoods wherever they choose. I believe each state in this country has areas of comparative advantage and life is a cycle so that what was once the largest revenue earner can in time become less so while something else takes ascendancy”.
Towards this end, he said as a country, we must look to the future and agree on what in the long run will benefit us all. “I must give kudos to the organisers for choosing such an appropriate theme for this conference, The North and the future of the Nigerian federation” he stressed.
