Ohanaeze, Afenifere insist on restructuring
Ohanaeze Ndigbo Worldwide and pan-Yoruba socio-political organisation, Afenifere, have reaffirmed their dedication towards the restructuring of Nigeria.
This, according to them, is to ensure that the Federal Government supports the decentralisation of power as the country continues to face myriad of problems.
Recently, Nobel Laureate, Wole Soyinka, advocated the urgent need to decentralise the country, stressing that decentralisation would bring power closer to the people.
Speaking on the matter, the National Publicity Secretary of Ohanaeze Ndigbo Worldwide, Dr Alex Ogbonnia, said its association was committed to Nigeria’s restructuring.
He believed that the country would be peaceful when each state had autonomous power.
Ogbonnia stated, “Ohanaeze position is that Nigeria requires structuring. It is only when you restructure Nigeria that each state will have authority over the security operatives in the state. To that extent, some of these issues can be curtailed.
“We have just four or more levels of security architecture in the country: the federal, state, local governments and community or sometimes corporate organisations. That is a real federal system.
“This can be coordinated amongst themselves so that in every community, the traditional ruler can monitor things going on within the community. To centralise everything in the country cannot be helpful.
“The issue of centralising the command structure of the police cannot pay Nigeria. That is why they are helpless because the states have no command over the security operatives.”
Similarly, the National Publicity Secretary of Afenifere, Jare Ajayi, noted that Afenifere was undeterred in the advocacy quest for restructuring.
Ajayi noted that restructuring would serve as a tool to solve the nation’s economic and social woes.
He said, “Afenifere is an unrepentant advocate of restructuring in Nigeria. We have been on it for a while, and we are still on it. For now, it is the surest way to tackle the socio-political and economic conundrum in Nigeria. This will make it easier for each region to take care of economic and social challenges, including security challenges.
“It is also why we are seriously advocating state police and local government police. Afenifere is very much an advocate of restructuring, and we believe it is a panacea for major Nigerian problems.”
