The presidential candidate of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) in the 2023 general elections, former Vice President Atiku Abubakar, at the launch of a book titled – Belly of the Vultures – by a journalist, Tola Adeniyi, in Lagos, reiterated the imperatives of restructuring the country, saying that the current structure in Nigeria facilitates corruption and makes it difficult for even a good leader to succeed.
Atiku noted that some people attribute the problems of Nigeria to leadership, others corruption. He said that all the identifiable issues, including restructuring, are necessary and should be given attention for the country to move forward.
The PDP presidential candidate stated that restructuring is not a giant any region in Nigeria, emphasising why the North should allay their fears and accept restructuring, adding that it will benefit the region in the long run. He stated that there is no need for leaders in the country to politicise restructuring.
Atiku observed that restructuring may not handle all the problems in Nigeria but will solve a basic problem relative to its obstruction.
Atiku declared: “The first disclaimer is that Restructuring is not going to solve all of Nigeria’s challenges, though it will help with some very important ones.
“I say this because some of those who argue against restructuring keep saying that it is not our main problem.
“Some say it is good leadership that we lack. Others say it is corruption that we should focus on instead. Well, my position is that all are important and should be addressed. But to pretend that the critical issues thrown up by the current deformed structure of our federation will disappear as soon as we have good leadership or tackle corruption is to miss the point. In fact, it is disingenuous. Our current structure facilitates corruption and makes it more difficult for the kind of leadership being clamoured for to emerge.
“This is a structure that emerged at a time of military rule and sustained by the oil economy.
“Some of the enduring features of that oil economy have been excessive centralization, corruption, oil dependency and low productivity.
“When we restructure, we will be forced to pay greater attention to production rather than rent-seeking. We will improve security and, therefore, improve the environment for investment and job creation.
“And the federating units will have greater autonomy to decide on their priorities and peculiar challenges. So, restructuring is critical for us although it is not a magic wand that would solve all our problems.”