Letter to the Editor Restructuring and the common man

True Restructuring should start from our ‘homes’ - states and LGAs. State Governors should free funds meant for local councils and spend their FAC allocations transparently for the common good of their states, while the local councils should spend their monies well. The long run- free the people from the prison of poverty.

Many of our emperor-governors have pocketed everyone; everything and anything while we’re looking at the center shouting “Restructuring”.

If our states and LGAs are run the way they ought to, we will be less interested at the center and states would be buoyant enough to stand on their legs.

Nevertheless, the ‘Restructuring’ kites flying around are nothing but politics. The common man does not even know its meaning nor takes serious the Restructuring Advocates. In fact, many of the people talking about restructuring cannot clearly explain what they’re asking for or where the stand- To some of the Restructuring Advocates; Restructuring is a return to regional arrangement - 3, 6, 12 etc regions. To some; it is secession of their ‘indigenous land’ from Nigeria. To others; it is resource control by theregions. To some; it is resource control by states. To some; it is resource control by communities. To some; it is a political weapon to intimidate another region. To some, it is a new meal ‘ticket’. To one man who is desperate to be presidency; it is a weapon to get votes from some misinformed Nigeria in 2019. To some regional-ethnopolitician; Buhari is in power, restructuring is the only usable word to oppose the government. To ordinary Nigerians, they don’t know what Restructuring is all about.

The Nigerian constitution is not perfect; but it has in it STRUCTURED processes, procedures, laws and developmental ideas that will assist the political leadership to continually RESTRUCTURE the nation’s development according to each state’s strength, but we have discarded, abused and thrown into ‘dust bin’ most of the beautiful constitutional provisions.

True Restructuring is when the masses are free from the prison of poverty; insecurity; preventable diseases and toxic leadership. The Restructuring the common man needs is for our politicians to device a means for every Nigerian to always get rice and beans on their table- shikenan!

Zayyad I. Muhammad, Jimeta, Adamawa State 08036070980.