By SAMUEL OYADONGHA

Yenagoa –  Former governor of Anambra State, Dr. Chukwuemeka Ezeife, has said the predicted break up of Nigeria as a corporate entity by the United States in 2015 can only be avoided if the country was urgently restructured.

At a lecture, entitled, “Challenges of Democracy in Nigeria” as part of activities marking the nation’s 13th year of civil rule in Yenagoa, Monday night at the Bayelsa State Banquet Hall, Dr. Ezeife explained that thorough deliberation on geo-political constituents, economy and socio-religious issues by representatives of diverse ethnic groupings were crucial to save the country from disintegration.

He said: “Peace, security and stability of the nation are being eroded because our leaders have shied away from restructuring the country. “Nigeria is long overdue for restructuring. If we don’t restructure now we may break up.

“Restructuring the nation is more urgent and President Goodluck Jonathan’s emergence as the leader of the country was through God. It appears to me that the manifest destiny of Jonathan’s government is the restructuring of Nigeria.”

Ezeife, a former Social Democratic Party, SDP, and Alliance for Democracy, AD, chieftain, who hinged the survival of nation as a corporate entity on restructuring, added,“if we want Nigeria to remain an indivisible entity, our political leaders must kick-start the restructuring of the nation so that the prediction on break up of our country would not come to pass. We need unity and stability and that is why we must restructure.”

Identifying political, economic, religious and security considerations as important factors making restructure of the country imperative, the former governor described corruption as the greatest challenge confronting the country’s democratic institution.

He said: “Corruption has consumed the conscience of the Nigerian and restructuring would give room for people to ask more questions about accountability in governance.”

Dr. Ezeife who also spoke on the campaign of violence by the Boko Haram sect in the Northern part of the country noted that the fundamental objective of the Islamic sect was the islamisation of Nigeria.

The western world, he said, believe Nigeria cannot resist or contain the the terror campaign of the sect and stressed the need for the creation of zonal police to enhance effective security of the country.

He noted with concern that language barrier and non-acquaintance with terrain where policemen were serving remained the bane of effective policing in the country.