Former President Olusegun Obasanjo has said the present government needs to heed the agitations of those clamouring for restructuring before such agitations develop into self-determination.
Speaking in Lagos on Saturday at the first memorial lecture organised in honour of the founder of the Oodua People’s Congress, Dr Fredrick Fasehun, the former President advised the President, Major General Muhammadu Buhari (retd.) to heed the call now before it would be too late.
He said Nigeria could not afford to be plunged into another war because the nation might not survive the second civil war.
Obasanjo, who said insecurity was a major concern in Nigeria, commended the South-West governors for establishing the Western Nigeria Security Network popularly known as Operation Amotekun.
He particularly commended Oyo State Governor Seyi Makinde “for his leadership on this matter and for sharing their thinking with me.”
The former President said no section of the country should think it would be easy to quell any other region that might want to secede if the agitation for restructuring was not addressed.
He stated that the agitation, while he was in office, was for true federalism but now it had changed to restructuring.
He said, “President Goodluck Jonathan’s effort of a National Conference did not even get to the National Assembly. Today, the agitation has moved up to restructuring. Thanks to Buhari’s administration and its impunity and all. With the fractional political division, poor management of the economy, the non-protecting security and the politics of uncertainty in the land, we should not allow restructuring agitation to degenerate to self-determination.
“There is still a window of opportunity for us to nip in the bud a possible and indeed likely agitation for self-determination that will be violent, destructive and all-empowering. We have descended to lack of civility bordering on uncivilisation, indignity, mutual disrespect and crudity in the language of our debate, dialogue, discourse, address, comments and remarks across tribe, section, religion, region, ethnicity and community.
