By Ojonugwa Felix Ugboja
ABUJA (Sundiata Post) The Governor of Bayelsa state, Seriake Dickson has expressed his disappointment in President Buhari’s inability to act upon the Nasir El-Rufai’s committee report on the restructuring of Nigeria.
The Governor made this known while speaking on Friday at the public presentation of the book, ‘We Are All Biafrans’ by Journalist and Rights Activist, Chido Onumah at the Shehu Musa Yar’Adua Centre, Abuja.
‘’I regret to say that the president didn’t rise to the occasion. It is a disappointment for me, but a tragedy for our country, and also a major tragedy for his own leadership.
‘’I commend the work done by the APC panel on true federalism or restructuring led by Kaduna state Governor, Nasir El-Rufai. That panel report was very clear on the roadmap for our country. I know some people in my party weren’t happy that I endorsed the report, but I believe it is the right thing for our country.
‘’But unfortunately, there was no follow up, and the president didn’t utilise the lifeline that his own party offered him to fix Nigeria. He threw away the wonderful opportunity,’’ he said.
Speaking further, he said that he is very passionate about the issue of restructuring as it will open the doors for equal opportunities and justice for everyone.
He said that Nigerians, especially public officials should be able to advance views on how to move the country forward. People’s voices, he said, shouldn’t be stifled as is currently the case.
‘’Until we get Nigeria right, we can’t stop debating its existence. No one owns this country more than the other. No one’s patriotism should be questioned.
‘’We ought to engage and join forces to establish a Nigeria of equal citizenship; for the weak and the strong; the big and the small. We have to slug it out here together.
‘’Our founding fathers dialogued, and sometimes even walked out of conferences – that too is a kind of dialogue. We ought to learn from them. We have to learn to understand each other.
‘’There is no way we can fix our fault lines without addressing our faulty structure. It is a responsibility of the leadership of the country to address this issue. Our current structure is not designed to make Nigeria work,’ he said.
On the subject of the book, ‘We Are All Biafrans,’ he agreed with the author that we are all Biafrans so far as we are concerned with issues of equity. ‘’If we are concerned about the contradictions and challenges of nationhood, then we are all Biafrans. All those who want a just and equitable Nigeria are all Biafrans.’’
However, he made it known that he is not in support of any succession, not even that of Biafra.
‘’I don’t agree with the issue of separation. I believe in a united and strong Nigeria – but a fair one – a Nigeria that symbolises the hope of the black race. I don’t believe in the Biafra that connotes separation, but one that represents our collective struggle for unified and just Nigeria.’’
If all is well, he said, none will seek secession. But if all is not working then we must talk about it, and we shouldn’t be afraid to disagree.
He further spoke on the achievements of Nigeria’s former leaders during the existence of regional governments, and how they were able to build a lot of infrastructures even without the discovery of oil as at that time.
He said that Nigeria has not fared better under the current oil regime like it did before it, and that it was time for everyone to look inward because every state he said, have what it takes to do even better than the so called oil rich states.
He said that Nigeria remains a country of hope, and that there is an urgent need to invest in the education of its people in order to see that hope come true.
‘’I want to use this opportunity to call for a leadership responsibility by the President of the Federal Republic. He’s got to use the power, authority and influence of that position to mobilise our country to do the restructuring that is possible
‘’I personally advocate for restructuring, so much so that every candidate in my party have to publicly admit that they endorse restructuring.
We will only support a candidate that believes in restructuring,’’ he said.
The book, ‘We Are All Biafrans’ by Chido Onumah focuses on the themes of Federalism, Restructuring and Nation-building, and according to many speakers at the event, it was a timely book, especially with the current state of affairs in the country, where interests are vested and resolutions are hard to reach.