By  CLIFFORD NDUJIHE, DEPUTY POLITICAL EDITOR
TO halt what they perceive as an imminent slide into a failed state given the prevailing wind of insecurity in the country, Igbo leaders have called for restructuring of the polity into a true federal state before the next round of elections in 2015.

In separate interviews with Vanguard, the leaders, most of whom spoke against the backdrop of Senator Uche Chukwumerije’s comments that the Boko Haram insurgence was part of the North’s agenda to capture the presidency in 2015 as Niger Delta militancy paved the way for the South-South to produce the president now, said the country was sitting on a keg of gun powder without restructuring.

Senator Chukwumerije representing Abia North Senatorial district, Abia State, said last Wednesday in Abakaliki that the Igbo aspiration to clinch the Presidential seat in 2015 was being threatened by activities of the Boko Haram sect, which he said was targeting same objective.

Chukwumerije: Boko Haram endangers Igbo bid for presidency in 2015

“The issue of militancy in the Niger Delta has yielded them the Presidency. If you watch what is going on now, the activities of a politicized illegal activities of a group called Boko Haram, a proper determination to win the second round of Presidential election in 2015, is again playing out itself. Igbo nation must produce the Presidency in 2015 and all hands must be on deck to achieve this noble task,” he had said.

Speaking on the issue, some Igbo leaders attributed the do-or-die rat-race among the various ethnic groups to produce the president and recurring resort to violence to achieve same to badly structured polity, inequality, marginalisation, unitary system of government and over concentration of power at the centre, contrary to the dictates of true federalism.

Notable Igbo leaders who spoke were Second Republic politician, Chief Guy Ikokwu; former Presidential Candidate, Professor Pat Utomi; former Nigeria Bar Association (NBA) President, Mr. Olisa Agbakoba (SAN); Chairman of the Citizens Popular Party (CPP), Chief Maxi Okwu; Chieftain of the Peoples Democratic Party and Management Consultant, Chief Cliff Mbagwu and President of Igbo Youth Movement (IYM), Rev Elliot Ukoh.

Although, they were not unanimous on whether or not Chukwumerije was right, the leaders agreed that the country needed to be rejigged to ensure justice and equity.

Chukwumerije was right – Agbakoba

Agbakoba agreed with Chukwumerije and urged the authorities to appreciate an innuendo that the senator was referring to.

His words: “Unless we tackle the challenging difficulties of federal structure and make the country a place where everyone will be happy, there will continue to be problem. As it is now, if you want to become Nigeria President the answer is to make noise and cause problem. We need to grapple with our ethnic and religious divisions urgently. Chukwumerije is saying our present federal system is not working. Abuja cannot continue to be the centre for sharing everything including issuing of drivers’ licence. Until Nigeria is made conducive for everyone there will always be problems.

“I entirely agree with Chukwumerije. It is good his innuendo is understood. There are over 250 ethnic groups with many people agitating for one thing or the other. We need to have power devolution where the states are strong and development can occur with delivery of democracy dividends.”

The erudite lawyer said in a restructured Nigeria he would not care where the president came from but would insist that the South-East should produce the president in 2015 if the country remained the way it were.

“We have reduced our politics to Prebendal politics. As we approach 60 years as an independent nation, we have to amend our ways. The prediction of the United States that Nigeria would be a failed state will happen if we don’t change. We must halt the slide into Somalia. Chukwumerije’s analogy is very apt. If we don’t address the problem, the way to get to the presidency is through violence.”

It would be recalled that after the annulment of the June 12, 1993 presidential polls presumably won by late Chief MKO Abiola, the South-West through various civil society groups held the nation at the jugular until the zone was compensated with the presidency in 1999 through General Olusegun Obasanjo.

For the first time in the history of the country the then three political parties picked Yoruba persons (Obasanjo and Olu Falae) as their presidential flagbearers. Obasanjo stood on the plank of the PDP while Falae was a joint candidate of the AD/APP. Dr Ogbonnaya Onu, who won the APP presidential primaries was sacrificed when APP, which commanded more electoral posts elected to be the junior partner in the accord with AD.

* Olisa Agbakoba

And given the restiveness in Niger Delta orchestrated by militants, who fought against four decades of despoilation of their land via oil exploration, the nation was at peace with PDP’s zoning of the vice presidential slot to the area in 2007 when power returned to the North.

Upon late Presdent Umaru Musa Yar’Adua’s death, Vice President Goodluck Jonathan succeeded him. He was to be elected as president in 2011 inspite of the PDP zoning formula ceding the topmost seat to the North.

Igbo must be appeased in 2015 – Maxi Okwu

Speaking on this ground, Okwu, who said he did not completely agree with Chukwumerije because there was also an act of God in the emergence of President Goodluck Jonathan in spite of the insurgency in the Niger Delta.

“Now,” he said, “ it appears the North is playing Boko Haram to blackmail us. It may not have been initiated by the northern elite but they are enjoying it. No northern elite has criticised Boko Haram. Nigeria is a place of politics of appeasement, which I insist must go round and get to Ndigbo. Yorubas have got it before it went to the North. The East lost it to an act of God and Obasanjo. Ndigbo must be appeased. We demand our turn now.”

Restructure before 2015 – Guy Ikokwu

To Ikokwu, the most important thing to Ndigbo now was restructuring. “For the South-East, before 2015, our position is that there should be National Conference. The issues to be addressed include marginalisation, revenue allocation and distribution, state creation, devolution of powers from the centre to the states, enthronement of true fiscal federalism. These issues are far more important to Ndigbo than 2015 presidency in a marginalised setting.

“If there is restructuring and fiscal federalism, the states and zones won’t cry if they don’t have the presidency and there won’t be insurgency. And if any zone or state does not want to become part of the restructured federal system, it should be free to leave and have its own country.

“If the National Assembly refuses to amend the constitution to reflect restructuring, there will still be problem. It is not only Boko Haram that can cause unrest. No nation develops in a state of unrest. Major General Aguiyi Ironsi, an Igbo was killed because of the unitary system he introduced. The country should be restructured with power devolved to the states or zones. The power so devolved should be equivalent to what the regions of the past had. The sooner we get that done the better for the future,” he said.

Restructuring ‘ll help – Pat Utomi

Utomi also backed restructuring of the polity, warning that power should not be fought for through deployment of terror as according to him, a balance of terror would only lead to mutually assured destruction (MAD) strategy, which in turn would result in anarchy.

Prof. Pat Utomi

He continued: “Having said that, appeasement is not an option. Igbos have to organise, show they are Nigeria’s single largest ethnic group that is not willing to be pushed around anymore. But Ndigbo will need to present a most credible candidate now that Nigerians know ethnic grouping is not enough.”

Utomi submitted also that “restructuring into true federalism will help Nigeria. If I have my way, I will go for a six-regional structure for Nigeria. I am in support of devolution of power. I am particularly in support of zones of development. After you have created the regions, I will suggest that the South-South and South-East should constitute a zone development; western Nigerian can be another zone of development; then north-east, north-west and north-central,” he said

In like manner, Mbagwu said Boko Haram was driven by ignorance, poverty, injustice and deprivation amid plenty.

Noting that a fifth columnist might be using Boko Haram to destabilise the current government, he said the South-East should succeed President Jonathan if he quit in 2015.

Mbagwu also canvassed restructuring of the polity through a new constitution that would be fashioned by a constituent assembly.

The new constitution, he suggested should empower the states to have state police and have more funds to meet the needs of their citizenry. He faulted a situation where states run to Abuja cap in hand begging for funds.

Also, Ukoh said that Nigeria would be doomed if the country was not restructured according to the wishes of the founding fathers.

To get the presidency in 2015, he said that igbo public officers must interact with their people at the grassroots instead of being holed up in Abuja and in government houses.

 Nigeria is doomed without restructuring— Ukoh

THE National President of Igbo Youths Movement, Evagenlist Elliot Ukoh has said that Nigeria would be doomed if the country was not restructured according to the wishes of the founding fathers.

Ukoh said that the country came into existence based on regional lines lamenting that it was however attered in 1966 when the then Head of State, General Yakubu Gowon asked for emergency powers to deal with the Igbo who were protesting over the killing of their people all over the North.

He said that the only way for the country to remain united was for it to be restructured so that each region would grow at its own pace.

‘’Nigeria came into existence through its regional structure. It was during 1966 crises in the North when Igbo were killed everywhere that Gowon asked for emergency powers through the obnoxious Decree 34.

‘’After Gowon, other military leaders who ruled the country, maintained the same unitary structure and this has been the problem. Without restructuring, Nigeria is doomed.

‘’We must go back to the basics so that each region or zone will plan its economy and grow at its own pace, instead of the current situation where some regions are kept down; frustrated and made to tag along with others.

‘’Our people (Igbo) are united in this demand that the country must be restructured and this is our stand’, he added.