Former Aviation minister Femi Fani-Kayode said if Nigeria cannot be restructured, let it disintegrate should this in reaction to the National Assembly’s
rejection of the proposal to devolve more constitutional powers from the
centre to the states which would have kicked-off the process of
restructuring Nigeria in earnest.
He urged Nigerians to understand
that restructuring the country can never be achieved through the 1999
constitution or the current National Assembly.
According to him,
the system was rigged and designed to protect and preserve itself,
adding that and the core north effectively had a power of veto in the
National Assembly which it will always exercise in order to block any
form of restructuring.
Fani-Kayode wrote on his Facebook page:
“For those commentators in this forum who have never participated in or
understand Nigerian politics but who tend to speak and act as if they
are the only ones that are sincere about restructuring I have the
following to say.
“I hope you have learnt a lesson or two from the
fact that during the constitutional review exercise that took place in
the last few days the Senate has refused to devolve power from the
centre and initiate the process for genuine restructuring in our
country.
“These are the hard facts, hidden obstacles and bitter
realities about the struggle that some of us that are in the field have
been facing and complaining about for the last 25 years!
“From
henceforth let it be clearly understood by all, including those that
desire restructuring but who have never participated in Nigerian
politics, that we can never achieve it through the existing
constitutional structure or the National Assembly.
“This is
because the system is rigged and designed to protect and preserve itself
and because the core north effectively has a power of veto in the
National Assembly which it will always exercise in order to block any
form of restructuring. It is this point that people like Nnamdi Kanu and
other ethnic nationalist leaders came to appreciate long ago and it
explains their ‘hardline’ posture on these issues.
“The bottom line is as follows: restructuring will not be given to us freely or on a platter of gold.
“It must be taken and if necessary it must be taken by force.
“Finally mark this: if it does not eventually come then I say let us cease to be one nation.
“I
would rather live as a free man in an independent Oduduwa Republic than
continue to live and die as a slave in the Federal Republic of
Nigeria.”