Adeyinka Grandson lecture on restructuring

Restructuring:

Since the suspension of the regional system government by the Igbo and the formation of a unitary presidential system by the Hausa and Fulani in 1966, the Yoruba Obas, political leaders, religion and business leaders and the youth have clamoured for a return to the regional system of government.

However, the Igbo had always operated with the Hausa and Fulani at every step of the way to frustrate a return to regional system of government.

So, when Mr Babangida says on the 16 January 2012, that, “If my opinion will not be misconstrued again by government spin-doctors and nay-sayers, I would rather call on President Goodluck Jonathan to seize the moment by legitimately embarking on complete restructuring of the country in order to put into practice the real principles of a Federation".

We knew that his clear intention was against restructuring.

Today, Mr. Atiku Abubaka, a Fulani is now bidding for the restructuring of Nigeria essentially to get the Yoruba votes in 2019. Like Babangida, he is against restructuring too.

Mr. Yakubu Gowon has added his voice to the hue and cry for the restructuring of Nigeria. However, he is a part of the Obasanjo’s group and they are all against restructuring. But using it as a gimmick to deceive the young Yoruba that they mean well for them.

Apart from the fact that they are all against a return to the regional system of government, these individuals are not talking specific about restructuring.

A lot has gone wrong in Nigeria because a tiny minority have far too much power.

Nigerians always look to America. Yet, for all we can learn from the failures and successes of their democracy, Africa is a better teacher on democracy in a multi-ethnic, multi-religious and multi-cultural country.

In South Africa for instance, real power rests with the local people because of the democratic structure that recognizes regions that make up the country.

Real power in Nigeria, however, rests with a handful of ministers and special advisers in Aso-Rock.

This creates two problems: it is neither fair, nor effective.

Power is too concentrated at Abuja. It is too distant from the people unlike between 1952 and 1966 where each region is different, each needs different solutions, and only regional government knows what those solutions are.

According to Alberto Alesina, William Easterly and Janina Matuszeski, they stated that “no other continent is affected more by artificial, or fake states than Africa. Most African borders were created during colonization with few changes made after de-colonization. The consequences from these divisions are substantial”.

Their recent study, titled ‘Artificial States’, documents these consequences stating that, “eighty percent of African borders follow latitudinal and longitudinal lines, and many scholars believe that such artificial (unnatural) borders, which create ethnically fragmented countries are at the root of Africa’s economic tragedy.”

The authors illustrate that higher ethnic group separation and more artificially drawn boundaries significantly lowers the level of a county’s income.

Countries like Ghana, South Africa, Kenya, Burkina Faso, Ethiopia just to name a few Africa countries that have the same ethnic diversity as Nigeria, have all given political power and autonomy to each ethnic group that make up their countries.

Please, permit me to take you through the political system in Ghana, South Africa, Kenya and Ethiopia.

Ghana Political Structure:

Ghana is ethnically diverse as Nigeria. It was created as a parliamentary democracy at independence in 1957 followed by alternating military and civilian governments.

In 1992, Ghana had a new constitution, which divides powers between a Federal Government and Regional Governments.

The constitution further divides the country along ethnic groups into 10 regions.

The regions are namely:

1. Ashanti Region.
2. Brong-Ahafo Region.
3. Central Region.
4. Eastern Region.
5. Western Region
6. Northern Region.
7. Upper East Region.
8. Upper West Region.
9. Volta Region.
10. Greater Accra Region.

A Regional Coordinating Council (RCC) and District Assembly run each region.

The RCC is made up of the Regional Minister who is the political head and his deputy as well as representatives of the Regional House of Chiefs, the District Chief Executives of the region, the Presiding Members of the District Assemblies and representatives of the various decentralized Ministries, Departments and Agencies in the region. In short, a District Assembly runs each district.

The Central Government consists of the President, Parliament, Cabinet, Council of State and an independent judiciary with a limited responsibility distinct from the responsibilities of the regions.

From the foregoing, Ghana operates a proper federation along the regional system of governance based on ethnic nationalities being a multi-ethnic state.

South Africa Political Structure:

South Africa is ethnically diverse as Nigeria. Its political division is divided along ethnic regions as the federating units of the country.

Ever wonders why in the shortest span of time they have achieved political and economic stability since independence in 1994 and has the largest economy of all the members of the Africa Union?

They have even infiltrated huge chunks of strategic areas of Nigeria economy, including your telecommunication, satellite television and supermarket business. Big Brother Nigeria is directed and produced from South Africa. What a shame!

But how do they do it?

In 1993, the constitution of South Africa, because of the country ethnic diversities, divides the country into 9 regions, each with its own Premier, Regional Members of Executive Council and Legislature.

South Africa has over 150 ethnic groups as Nigeria but their constitution recognized eleven of these groups and divided them into 9 ethnic regions.

The eleven ethnic languages in South Africa with official status:

1. SePedi
2. SeSotho
3. SetsWana
4. SiSwati
5. Tshivenda
6. XiSonga
7. Afrikaans
8. English
9. IsiNdebele
10. IsiXhosa
11. IsiZulu.

Because of these diversities, the Constitution of South Africa divided the country into nine regions, namely:

1. Limpopo Region.
2. Mpumalanga Region.
3. Gauteng Region.
4. Kwazulu Natal Region.
5. Free State Region.
6. North-West Region.
7. Northern Cape Region.
8. Western Cape Region.
9. Eastern Cape Region.

Each of the region with its own Premier, Regional Members of Executive Council and Legislature. This political system comprising of a central government and nine regional governments is the logic behind South Africa success story.

Kenya Political Structure:

In 2010, a new constitution was approved by the people of Kenya through a referendum, that gave way to 8 ethnic regional governments, reduced the power of the central government, saved the country from disintegration and brought about relative peace, political stability and economic prosperity.

The leaders of the political parties in Kenya agreed that there's no reason why every ethnic group in Kenya has to be the same. Each area is different, each will need different solutions, and only regional government knows what those solutions are.

Kenya is therefore divided into eight regions:

1. Central Region
2. Coastal Region
3. East Region
4. Nairobi
5. North-East Region
6. Nyanza Region
7. Rift Valley Region
8. West Region

The regions are subdivided into 46 districts like states (excluding Nairobi) which are further subdivided into 262 divisions like local councils. The divisions are subdivided into 2,427 locations like wards and then 6,612 sublocations like native authorities.

Each region is administered by a Provincial Commissioner (PC).

Ethiopia Political Structure:

In the year 1995, a new constitution that established a federal system, creating 9 ethnic-based territorial units and regional autonomy came into force in Ethiopia.

The constitution recognizes the rights of ethnic groups to their own languages and cultures, and reinforces these rights through a highly decentralized system, which empowers each ethnic region to pursue its own distinctive course in the furtherance of these rights through ethno-linguistic and regional autonomy, while maintaining the state as a political unit.

The Ethiopia Constitution says inter alia that:

1. Every nation, nationality or people in Ethiopia shall have the unrestricted right to self-determination up to secession.

2. Every nation, nationality and people in Ethiopia shall have the right to speak, write and develop its language and to promote its culture, help grow and flourish, and preserve its historic heritage.

3. Every nation, nationality or people in Ethiopia shall have the unrestricted right to administer itself and this shall include the right to establish government institutions within the territory it inhabits and the right to fair representation in the federal and state governments.

4. The right to self-determination up to secession of ethnic nationalities and people may be exercised:

(a) where the demand for secession is approved by a two thirds majority of the legislature of the nation, nationality or people concerned;

(b) where the Federal Government within three years upon receipt of the decision of the legislature of the nation, nationality or people demanding secession, organizes a referendum for the nation, nationality or people demanding secession;

(c) where the demand for secession is supported by a simple majority vote in the referendum;

(d) where the Federal Government transfers power to the parliament of the nation, nationality or people which has opted for secession;

(e) where property is partitioned in accordance with the law.

5. Every nationality in Ethiopia shall have the right to speak and write in its own language, and express, promote and develop it.

6. Nationalities shall have, on the basis of the free choice of their peoples, the right to organize on a larger territory a self-administrative structure for running their internal affairs and establish government institutions for common self-administration.

7. Nationalities shall also have, on the basis of the free choice of their peoples, the right to establish regional self- administration and such regional self -administrative unit shall be a member of the federation.

8. For the purposes of this constitution, the term "nationality" shall mean a community having the following characteristics; people with a common culture reflecting considerable uniformity and a similarity of custom, a common language or (minority) languages of communication, a belief in a common bond and identity, the majority of whom live in a common territory.

Nigerians have a lot to learn from Ghana, South Africa, Kenya and Ethiopia.

To buttress this point, Prof Paul Collier, in his book, “Wars, Guns, and Votes: Democracy in Dangerous Places” stated that, “In Africa the colonial groupings split nations into countries. These little countries are too large to be a nation because there was no process that build common sense of identity and nationhood like you have with European nations. Without that sense of national identity, that common identity, what you’re left with is very strong sub-national identity. Strong sub-national identity makes it more harder to cooperate and cooperation is needed to supply public goods”.

“It has been observed that the areas which are ethnically diverse cannot produce public goods, the supply of public goods collapses. The failure to build a common sense of nationhood is exactly the price of inability to supply public goods. So, because of the ethnic diversity in Africa, we have countries which are too large to be nations. The 2 key public goods lacking in these countries are security and accountability. There is gross inadequate provision of security and accountability in these countries.”

Despite the fact that Nigeria is a country of many nations, we secured in 1959, a constitution which provided for each nationality to protect that which was most precious to it and for each nationality to obtain its own statehood within Nigeria by popular referendum.

The Nigeria’s independent constitution established a parliamentary democracy, with a bicameral legislature consisting of the Senate and the House of Representatives.

Executive power was vested in a Prime Minister, while a largely ceremonial governor general represented the British monarch as head of state.

In 1963, the governor general was replaced with a president serving a similarly symbolic function, making the country a republic. Each of Nigeria's three constituent units—the Western, Eastern, and Northern regions—also had its own constitution, flag, emblem and premiers.

In 1966, the Igbo and the Hausa and Fulani suspended the regional system of government, adopted the unitary presidential structure and the states as the federating units. Since then, the country and her people have remained inadequate as a people.

What can be done to redeemed Nigeria?

The simple answer is to replace the unitary presidential system of government of the 36 states structure with the regional parliamentary system of government of 6 regions in what we called restructuring. In the alternative we break up the damn country.

What then is restructuring?

Restructuring is the “Four Needs” policy that Nigeria must have and cannot do without in order to be stable and successful.

Before explaining these four needs, permit me to quote the Rt. Rev. Bolanle Gbonigi on restructuring. He said in 2011 and I quote, “Rather than allow the various nations making up Nigeria to manage their affairs in their political units with a union government to coordinate affairs on mutually agreed matters, everyone is coerced into a huge prison bearing the pretentious label of one Nigeria. This anomaly is the source and cause of mayhem and brigandage afflicting our elections and it is also the major explanation for our inability to develop economically either in parts or as a whole.”

What are these Four Needs?

1. Regional Autonomy and Parliamentary System.
2. Regional Police and Regional Regimental Armed Forces.
3. Regional Court and Federal Court.
4. Regional Constitution and Federal Constitution.

The specific issues restructuring will address include:

1. The structure of the federation.
2. The scope and limits of the powers of the central government, vis-à-vis the power of the regional government.
3. The form of government.
4. Taxation system that conforms to Fiscal Federalism.
5. Police/Policing in Nigeria.
6. The structure of the Courts, including the need to create a Constitutional Court.
7. Status of the Federal capital.

Restructuring is to create powerful, independent, localised ethnic regions bound by the common use of the name Nigerian.

Restructuring also mean the renaming of the Federal Republic of Nigeria to ‘the Union of Nigeria’ which shall consist of 6 mono-nationality and multi-nationality regions as opposed to the structure of 36 states to create a strong independent localised exploitation by each self-contained nation, rather than national exploitation.

The Union would:

Be governed by a system of Federations broken down into regions with each region having its own prime minister, governors, council chairmen, councillors, flag, emblem, anthem, government and constitution.

Be bound by the common use of the name Nigerian. Abuja as the capital of the Union to be administered by a council composed of a chairman appointed by the Union's council of ministers, one member elected by the residents of the territory. The chairman and deputy chairman's posts of the capital, shall rotate among the regions.

Overlap with a return to parliamentary system of government with a bi-cameral legislature which will comprise of a House of Representatives and a House of Nationalities. The regions each will also have their Houses of Assembly.

Restructuring means re-organizing Nigeria into six (6) regions which shall be the federating units as: Igbo Region, Yoruba Region, Hausa and Fulani Region, Southern Region, Central Region, and Kanuri Region.

In addition, the areas constituting each region will, subject to referendum in areas where there is uncertainty, be as follows:

Igbo Region to be made up of:

1. Abia
2. Anambra
3. Enugu
4. Ebonyi
5. Imo
6. Together with the Igbo-speaking peoples of Aniocha in Delta state and Ogba and Ikwere in Rivers states.

Yoruba Region to be made up of:

1. Lagos
2. Ogun
3. Ondo
4. Osun
5. Ekiti
6. Oyo
7. Together with the Yoruba-speaking peoples of Kwara and Kogi states, as well as Itsekiri in Delta state and Akoko-Edo people in Edo state.

Southern Region to be made up of:

1. Akwa-Ibom
2. Cross River
3. Edo (excluding Akoko-Edo)
4. Delta (excluding Itsekiri)
5. Bayelsa
6. Rivers states (excluding the Igbo-speaking peoples of Delta and Rivers states).

Central Region to be made up of:

1. Kwara (excluding Yoruba-speaking people)
2. Benue
3. Kogi (excluding Yoruba-speaking people)
4. Niger
5. Plateau
6. Nassarawa
7. Taraba states
8. Kaduna (excluding Northern Kaduna)
9. Kebbi (excluding Hausa and Fulani-speaking people)
10. Zamfara (excluding Hausa and Fulani-speaking people)

Kanuri Region to be made up of:

1. Adamawa
2. Bauchi
3. Borno
4. Gombe
5. Yobe

Hausa and Fulani Region to be made up of:

1. Sokoto
2. Kastina
3. Jigawa
4. Kano
5. Together with the Hausa and Fulani-speaking peoples of Northern Kaduna, Kebbi and Zamfara states.

Three of the regions (Igbo, Yoruba, Hausa and Fulani) are inhabited by "major" ethnic groups, while three of the regions (Southern, Central and Kanuri) are inhabited by "minor" ethnic groups.

What I have described above is based on six regions as the federating units of Nigeria.

There are other people led by the late Anthony Enahoro who had advocated that we restructured the Union of Nigeria into 18 Nationality-Based Regions, being the Federating Units:

1. Abuja as the Federal Capital
2. Hausa and Fulani Region
3. Kanuri Region
4. Western Middle-Belt Region (Bariba, Bussawa, Kambari, Dukawa, Kamuku)
5. Eastern Middle-Belt Region (Katab, Birom, Jukun, Mumuye, Chamba, Arawa, Gas, Tangale, Batta, Marghi, Longuda)
6. Central Middle-Belt Region (Igbira, Igala, and Idoma)
7. Gwari Region
8. Tiv Region
9. Nupe Region
10. Yoruba Region
11. Edo Region
12. Urhobo Region
13. Ijaw Region
14. Western-Delta Region (Esan, Igbanke, Ora, Afemai/Etsako)
15. Central-Delta Region (Ika, Aniocha, Ukwani and Isoko)
16. Igbo Region
17. Ibibio Region
18. South-East Region (Ekio, Jkelli, Iyalla)

If we look at the political structures in the United Kingdom, Canada, Australia, Belgium, and Switzerland, you will appreciate the fact that these countries are multi-ethnic like Nigeria and operate a political system that divides their countries based on ethnic nationalities and give political powers to the regions.

The United Kingdom:

The United Kingdom is a country of four nations namely: England, Northern Ireland, Scotland and Wales.

It is governed by a parliamentary system with its seat of government in London, the capital, but with devolved regional governments of varying powers in Belfast, Cardiff and Edinburgh, the capitals of Northern Ireland, Wales and Scotland respectively. England is divided into 9 divisions that are each made up of a number of counties, and districts.

Canada:

Arthur Lower, the celebrated historian, described 60 years ago that Canada is beyond all doubt, two nations. He writes, "There are, as yet, two Canadas, inhabited by two peoples," he writes further. "In the strictest sense, there can be no History of Canada. There can be histories of French Canada. There can be histories of English Canada. There can be histories of Canada written by French authors or English authors, which will hardly refer to the same country. Writing Canadian history remains an act of faith -- the substance of things hoped for”.

In 1968, Jean-Jacques Bertrand, a Union Nationale premier of Quebec, abolished Quebec's legislative assembly and replaced it with a National Assembly. And added that “Quebec is my nation, but Canada my country".

The symbolic recognition of Quebec as a nation helped end English Canada's tedious and rote repetition of a One Canada mythology.

In Canada, there are 3 levels of government. Each level of government has different responsibilities.

Federal government - Responsible for things that affect the whole country, such as citizenship and immigration, national defence and trade with other countries.

Provincial and territorial governments (for example, the Province of Ontario) - Responsible for things such as education, health care and highways.

Municipal (local) governments (cities, towns, and villages in Ontario) - Responsible for firefighting, city streets and other local matters. If there is no local government, the province provides services.

Australia:

Australia practices a regional system of government. The regionalization of Australia is the governmental division of the country into regions for economic development purposes.

Australia has six regions—New South Wales, Queensland, South Australia, Tasmania, Victoria and Western Australia —and two major mainland territories—the Australian Capital Territory and the Northern Territory.

Belgium:

The political system of Belgium is based on a federal parliamentary democracy under a constitutional monarchy, with King Albert II as head of state.

Under the political system of Belgium, the government is divided into the federal government, the regional governments and the community councils.

In addition to this, there are three regional government areas in Belgium- Dutch speaking Flanders, French-speaking Wallonia and the bilingual capital, Brussels.

The 3 regions have authority over 11 policy areas (economy, energy, employment, transport, public works, science, regional development, environment, agriculture, housing, and water).

The three ethnic communities are also in charge of education, culture and language.

Switzerland:

Switzerland is the oldest democracy in the world with some unique political characteristics. A special feature of the political system in Switzerland is decentralization.

The Federal Government is the highest political level in Switzerland and includes 26 cantons (regions). Each canton has its own constitution, government, its own parliament, courts and own police force.

Some areas, such as foreign policy, were the reserve of the federal government.

Nigeria present political structure is lethargy. It’s impossible to make progress in a multi-ethnic country without a regional system of government.

Responsibility for the Region:

Today, Nigeria is spoken of only in pessimistic terms. The sum of its misfortunes – its wars, its despotism, and its corruption – is truly daunting.

Let each region has responsibly for its:

Transportation; Communities and Local Government; Economy; Education; Health; Ministry of Justice; Environment, Food and Rural Affairs; Culture, Media and Sport; Work and Pension, Energy; Employment; Public Works; Science & Technology; Regional Development; Agriculture, Housing, Water Resources.

With a Central Government at Abuja with responsibility for: Foreign Affairs; External Defense; Citizenship and Immigration and trade with other countries.

With these structures in place, Nigeria will progress politically and economically other than these, we will continue to retrogress and falter.

Control of Natural and Mineral Resources:

At present, the control of natural and mineral resources has been generating tension in the country for a long time. The people, not the Government, should control their resources.

All natural and mineral resources upon or under land, forming part of the territory of the Union, shall belong to the person or persons or community who are the owners of the land.

All natural and mineral resources in, under or upon the territorial waters of any nationality, within 24 nautical miles of the shores of the Union, shall belong to the region of which the waters form apart.

Revenue Contribution Arrangement:

It is the people on whose territory the revenue accrues who should collect and distribute to all levels of government. In that case, there is no revenue sharing but revenue contribution, in accordance with the 1963 federal constitution.

That is the way it is supposed to be and that is where we must go. But what we do now is to first take the revenue that belongs to the people to Abuja and then ‘cap in hands’, dole out to the people what Abuja thinks they should have.

There were times the Federal Government felt the money was too much and they were keeping it –they call it excess crude oil account. These are some of the anomalies in our system.

As a first step to redressing the present distortion, revenue contribution of 10% from the people on whose territory the revenue accrues to the federal government based on a thorough study of financial requirements for accomplishing its reduced functions.

The revenue contribution formula between the regions, states and local governments be work out separately for each region depending on its structural configuration and the relative contribution to the revenue by its various constituent states and local governments.

Where the need arises for the regions to contribute to a particular agreed national project, the contribution be made equally by all the six regions.

Regional Government Matters:

Firstly, because regional politics works. Problems like crime, healthcare, education, employment generation and transport need bespoke solutions. They are best solved regionally.

Secondly, because regionalism should be natural. Federalism is not ‘a step down, decided upon by a ‘generously minded centre’, it is an attempt to find a rational compromise between the divergent interest-groups which history has thrown together; but it is a compromise based on the will of the people.

Power should remain regional unless there is a compelling case for it to be centralised (like external defence, foreign affairs, citizenship and immigration).

Thirdly, better regional politics will mean better national politics. Currently, the bulk of senators’ corruption sacks are about constituency projects that actually should be the responsibility of regional government officials.

If regional governments had been allowed since 1999, they would by now be visible, powerful, and accountable regionally, and then senators in Abuja would have had more time to raise the concerns of their constituents which are genuinely national.

In Nigeria, stretching from the cultural and tourist centre of the Yoruba nation, to the busy and open caliphates spaces of Hausa and Fulani nation with the high entrepreneurial spirit of the Igbo nation, and a big heart of the Niger Delta region, coupled with the temperate weather of the Middle Belt region and finally stretching to the Kanuri heartland, the only representative people can begin to name is the President, and barely half can do that.

To excuse that as typical because of the current quasi federalism we practice misses the point. The current quasi federalism we follow is the problem.

People do not see their local vote as influencing much of their neighbourhood because in many areas, over the heads of locally elected people, central government, hundreds of miles away, controls 90 per cent of public expenditure.

The point of regional government is in its title. Each region is different, each will need different solutions for its problems, and only local people know what those solutions are.

Regionalism matters not because it's about how to organise a hugely diverse, multicultural, multi-religious society.

In the 60s the Saudi Royal family patronised the University College Hospital, UCH Ibadan. Today Nigerian elites flock to Saudi Arabia for treatment.

Similarly, Malaysia took palm seedlings from Western Region of Nigeria in the 50s, but today Nigeria import palm oil-based products from Malaysia.

During these periods, our society was well organised. Nigeria practiced parliamentary democracy based on regional government.

The Truth About Southern Unity:

The Igbo, under the umbrella of the Ohaneze Ndigbo, met in Awka, Anambra State on the 21 May 2018.

The Yoruba, under the umbrella of the Afenifere, met in Ibadan, the Oyo State capital on the 7 September 2017.

I have made a comparison between the recommendations of the Igbo restructuring summit and the recommendations of the Yoruba restructuring summit:

1. Igbo: Recommends six-year rotational single tenure for the President and Governors of the 36 States.

Yoruba: Recommends that Nigeria returns to the 1963 constitution that was based on federalism.

2. Igbo: Recommends that the 36 States shall be the Federating Units of Nigeria.

Yoruba: Recommends six Regions as the Federating Units of Nigeria.

3. Igbo: Recommends for six Vice Presidents to be elected from the six geopolitical zones to deputise for the President.

Yoruba: Recommends for six elected Premiers from the six Regions to manage the daily running of the government business for the Regions.

4. Igbo: Recommends that the Federal Government creates one additional state for the Igbo.

Yoruba: Recommends that the Regions shall create States.

5. Igbo: Recommends scrapping of local governments.

Yoruba: Recommends that the States shall create local governments.

6. Igbo: Recommends scrapping of state of origin and its replacement with residential rights whereby a Nigerian would have full right in any place he or she resides for 10 years.

Yoruba: Recommends decentralization of the Police and Armed Forces and its replacement with Regional Police and Regional Regimental Armed Forces.

7. Igbo: Recommends resource control for the States where natural resources are exploited.

Yoruba: Recommends that the Regions shall manage all the resources found within their boundaries and the revenue accruing thereform.

8. Igbo: Recommends Unitary Presidential System of Government.

Yoruba: Recommends Regional Parliamentary System of Government.

It is obvious from the above that the Igbo prefers to remain part of Nigeria; they like the current unitary presidential system and the creation of more states by the Federal Government; they don’t want a return to the regional system of government; they don’t want a wholly Igbo speaking region or country of their own; and they cannot survive without Yorubaland’s money.

The Igbo agitation for restructuring or Biafra is, therefore a fraud.

The desire of the Igbo is to annex the homelands of the Edo, Urhobo, Itsekiri, Ijaw, Ogoni, Efik and Ibibio as part of their Biafra.

Where that is impossible, the Igbo would rather remain as part of Nigeria under the current unitary system as clearly articulated above by the Ohaneze Ndigbo in the hope that they can one day be elected the President of Nigeria so as to use the Presidency, the National Assembly, the Judiciary, the Military, the Police, the Intelligence Agencies and the Federal Civil Service to suppress and subjugate the Yoruba nation the same way the Fulani has been doing since 1966.

The Bible says, “Can two work together except they agree”?

The Igbo and the Yoruba do not have the same aspiration and cannot work together. The agitation for Southern Unity is dead on arrival.

The Yoruba must, however, continue to work with the people of Edo, Urhobo, Itsekiri, Ijaw, Ogoni, Efik, and Ibibio. These people want the same things as the Yoruba and they are our friends.

The Igbo, the Hausa and Fulani and the Kanuri want the same thing out of Nigeria, which is the continuation of the unitary presidential system of government and the subjugation of the Yoruba nation.

Restructuring is therefore too late.

Our generation has been born to stop the Igbo and the Hausa and Fulani’s incursion into Yorubaland. And we must be very very ruthless.

Summary:

The starting point for the Union of Nigeria is the reform of the Pre-1966 Nigeria's constitution:

1. The Federating units must be restructured into six autonomous region, three of these regions - Igbo, Yoruba, Hausa and Fulani must be inhabited by the 'major' ethnic groups, while Southern, Central and Kanuri regions must be inhabited by 'minor' ethnic groups.

2. The regions and not the federal government should control all natural and mineral resources.

3. It is the region on whose territory the revenue accrues who should collect and distribute to all level of government.

4. In the light of objective threat analysis, the Nigerian army be restructured along regimental lines into six area commands corresponding to six regions and these commands take order from the regional Premiers.

5. The divisional army commander and the men will be drawn from the region in which they operate.

6. The Navy and Air Force may not operate on regional regimental basis but the command must be structured to reflect regional commanders.

7. Police be structured into Regional Command under each region.

Pre-1966 Nigeria is better than the present constitution, but without the total restructuring of the Nigerian Armed Forces, the military will continue to threaten the peace and security of Nigeria.

The future of Nigeria hinges on a comprehensive resolve to permanently alter the Nigeria Federation and its military establishment.

The failure to have the military under the regional command of the Premiers gave impetus to the military to destabilize Nigeria in 1966.