Only restructuring can douse tension — Nwodo

The President-General of Ohanaeze Ndigbo, Chief John Nwodo, has said Nigeria must be restructured to “douse the palpable tension” in the country.

Nwodo made the remarks yesterday at Chatham House, in London, when he spoke on ‘Next Generation Nigeria: Participation, Accountability and National Cohesion.”

According to him, Nigeria as presently constituted was not conducive for productivity and development, stressing that the imbalance and lopsided resource advantage in favour of the Federal Government had made competition for its control intensely fierce.

He explained that restructuring would ensure peaceful coexistence, stem the scourge of corruption and unlock the socio-economic potentials of various geo-political zones as happened in the first republic when the country had autonomous regions.

He stated that the North, with its huge agricultural potentials, would be the richest part of the country in an autonomous setting in post-oil economy, but lamented that the present arrangement had made Nigeria’s economic outlook “very grim.”

He expressed delight that for the first time in Nigeria’s history, the entire southern part of the country had come to a consensus that restructuring was essential for the overall good of the country.

Chief Nwodo, who said the South East zone was “grossly marginalised” and its people treated “like second class citizens,” criticised the Nigerian Army’s Python Dance handling of IPOB, claiming that the way the army treated the group was “horrid, unfair and not in conformity with the law.”

He urged those affected to embrace lawful means to seek redress, and warned that no one should contemplate waging a war because the consequences, as experienced during the civil war, were frightening.