By Princewill Ekwujuru

Ahead of his 75th birthday lecture schedule for this month, Vicar-General, Catholic Archdio-cese of Lagos and Parish Priest, St Leo’s Catholic Church, Ikeja, Rt. Rev. Monsignor John Aniagwu, has joined others to call for the restructuring of Niger-ia to give room for competi-tive economic advantage.

Restructuring

Aniagwu, who faulted the current constitution, says it is flawed and not good for today’s Nigeria, insisting that restructuring is the only viable way for Niger-ia’s development and sta-ble polity otherwise the country will continue to go in circles.

He said: “The current constitution was made for the elite and not for the ordinary Nigerians. It is a constitution that made the political class a master class and the citizens as subservient servants. That is where we should start. It is a constitution that vests too much power at the center and render the states beggarly. They call it restructuring, I am all for it.”

He added that in the past when power was vested in the regions, the regions did many things for them-selves because there was healthy competition. That was before the military intruded into the political scene, noting that the way things are now only very few states in Nigeria are viable.

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“Let me tell you, if they do not receive subvention from Abuja, the states are as good gone,” he noted.

Aniagwu who clocks 75 on March 15. There are prog-rammes lined up by a com-mittee of friends to honour him for his selfless service to God and humanity.

Part of the celebration would be a public lecture on March 14 titled: TunkEt Nus (What was and What Is Now in Nigeria), to be delivered by Rev. Father Anthony Akinwale, the Vice Chancellor of St. Dominic University.

Speaking on the public lecture, Barrister Eugene Ossai, Chairman of the Public lecture, said the committee has been obser-ving his good deeds over the years and decided to come together to mark his birth-day with a public lecture.

Extolling virtues of Mons-ignor John, Mr. Sule Ozenua, chairman of the committee of friends said the cleric’s first love is the welfare of the people; to see that there is justice for all in the society, the nece-ssary condition for peace and development.

“He has always camp-aigned for social justice and equity in the society. This is the reason the topic was chosen. The committee is putting up a lecture for his benefit just as various other groups in the church are organizing one thing or the other for his benefits,” he said.