Elder statesman, Chief Edwin Clark, has again spoken of the need for the restructuring of Nigeria which according to him is fundamental to addressing the myraids of problems threatening the continued peaceful and harmonious existence of the country.
The Ijaw national leader spoke on Friday at the South-South Zonal Conference organised by the Agape Birthrights in partnership with the Savanna Centre in Port Harcourt, Rivers State.
The conference had the theme, “Restructuring: Imperatives for Sustainable Development, Unity and Security.”
Clark in his written speech said, “Unity in this country today is, unfortunately, a scarce commodity despite the fact that UNITY is one of the four cardinal points contained in our country’s Motto, which is Unity and Faith, Peace and Progress. Our nation has never been so disunited as we are today. There is so much distrust.
“We suspect one another’s next move. No nation can survive with such a level of distrust. And the major cause of disunity in the country today is inequality. You do not expect me to live in unity with someone who is oppressing me, and treating me as though I am a second-class citizen in my own country. This is unacceptable. And this issue dates back to the early days after the nation attained Independence. We grappled with the coup of 1966, which snowballed into other crisis, and eventually led to the Civil War which lasted from 1967 to 1970. God saved the country; the nation survived the war as one country. General Yakubu Gowon, the then Head of State, in his bid to enforce the parlance of the time which was “To keep Nigeria one, is a task that must be done”, instituted the 3R Policy, which was Reconciliation, Reconstruction and Rehabilitation. And he was very serious about that.
“I recall that immediately after the war, as a serving cabinet member of the defunct Midwest State, I accompanied my Governor, Col. S. O. Ogbemudia, as he then was, to congratulate the Head of State, Gen. Gowon, at the Dodan Barracks in Lagos. But the Head of State told us that the best way he would want to be congratulated was for us to kindly go to the South East, and help them rebuild. Even though he was aware that we were aggrieved people, because of the invasion of the Midwest State by the rebel forces. He said “You will be assisting me in achieving my policy of 3Rs if you reconcile with the Igbos. The war is a family one with no victor, no vanquished. Therefore, we must return to a united Nigeria, as it was in 1963, before the crisis”.
“This to us was a clarion call, that must be obeyed. Col. Ogbemudia, sent a delegation to the South-East led my humble self, to see what assistance we could render to them. I led the delegation there, and we genuinely did all within our limits to assist them. In fact, as an individual, I withdrew my daughter, my first child, Rebecca Clark, who is now Mrs Rebecca Okorodudu, and who is about 63 years old, from the school she was attending, St. Theresa’s in Ughelli, and sent her to Queens School, Enugu. Just to prove that we are serious with the reconciliatory moves. Today, a dormitory at Queens School, Enugu, is named after me. That is what true reconciliation should be.
“But what happened? General Yakubu Gown was overthrown, and this laudable policy that would have healed the wounds was jettisoned. The laudable slogan of keeping Nigeria one was even reechoed not too long ago in 2015, when a former President of the United States of America, Barrack Obama, was advising our dear country on the then forthcoming elections. He said “I am told that there is a saying in your country; to keep Nigeria one is a task that must be done. Today I urge all Nigerians, from all religions, all ethnic groups in all regions to come together and keep Nigeria one ….” We are disintegrating as a nation due to deliberate attempts to enslave people from other zones of the country by those who think the country belongs to them alone. Let us take for an example Kano State, just one State in the North-West geopolitical zone has 44 Local Government Councils, almost half of the total number of the Local Governments in the five states of the South-East geo-political zone, which have a total number of 95 Local Government Councils. This means that Kano State alone will have half the total number of all appointments and representations of all the South-East geo-political zone put together.
“Bayelsa State contributes largely to the revenue of the country, through the oil exploration that goes on in the State, knowing that oil revenue is the mainstay of the nation’s economy, has just 8 Local Government Councils.
“The Federal Character policy or system of the country through which, representations and appointments, are done based on State basis or quota. The framers of this policy did so with the intention of all zones having equal representations and appointments. But what do we have today, the South-East geopolitical zone has five 5 States, while other zones, the South-South, the South-West, the North-Central, the North-East, have six States each. In fact, the North West has seven States, what injustice against a people.
“Look at the northernization policy going on in the country. Appointments are skewed in favour of the north, in total disregard to the feelings of other areas. Key positions in the Ministries, the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation, Customs, Police, you name it, are all given to northerners. There are 17 security arms, 14 of them are headed by northerners.
“Yet one expects that there shall be national unity. Of course, it will not be possible. There must be dissatisfaction and agitations.
“For instance, look at what is happening in the South-East today. Our critical national assets are being attacked almost every day. People are killed, maimed. While one is gravely against such method of expressing grievance, but the people are pushed to the wall. The South-East geopolitical zone can rightly be described as the most disadvantaged. One could not understand why the Independent People of Biafra (IPOB) will be declared as a terrorist organization, while similar organisations in the North have not been so declared. Herdsmen with AK47 guns and riffles are ravaging the country, raping, maiming and killing. Yet not a single one of them has been arrested.
“So, what are the resultant effect of all these? Insecurity everywhere.
“The national security in the country is in very bad shape. There is no day one does not hear, read, of killings in one part of the country or the other. People are kidnapped from their homes, from worship centres, schools, markets, on the roads, hospitals, etc. Nowhere is safe. We are still grieving the fact that children, infants, were abducted almost a month ago from their school in Niger State. Reports we are getting is that these children are kept in the most inhumane conditions by their abductors.
“There is so much agitation in the country. Fortunately, there is a solution to these issues. An action that can be taken and the nation will to a large extent be at peace, that is RESTRUCTURE NIGERIA NOW.”
