Former Head of state, General Yakubu Gowon, has questioned the possibility of restructuring Nigeria saying the current composition of the country makes it difficult for any kind of restructuring to take place.
Gowon, speaking at Minna, Niger State, said Nigeria is made up of over 500 ethnic groups which would not allow each group to yield to another in terms of concession of certain benefits saying the people must have faith in the indivisibility of the country rather than agitating for its restructuring.
He declared that there would be various definitions of what restructuring is by the various ethnic groups which would make it difficult for the groups to come to general conclusion as to what it really should be.
Gowon who urged for a united Nigeria however doubted the financial capacity of the state governments to fend for themselves if the country is to be restructured to regional bases as being pushed by some.
The former Head of state who is known for his strong faith in ‘One Nigeria’ said most states will be reluctant to be joined to another state for the restructuring into regions to occur, hence the impossibility of Nigeria’s restructuring.
“Nigeria is made up of over 500 ethnic groups, languages and dialects and so many various groups called nationalities and they want restructuring,” he stated.
“This restructuring everybody is asking for, we will have about 500 different ideas of restructuring. There is call for restructuring to reduce the number of states to only a few either back to the old region or to the zones.
“Those are some of the ideas that I do not know whether it will be possible for any state today to wish to be merged with another state. Let us see whether our politicians will see guidelines to be able to achieve what they want.
“But I have my problem whether the states will be financially capable so they will be able to run there states properly.”
The Will.
