WE ARE NOT AFRAID OF RESTRUCTURING SAYS NORTHERN GOVERNORS.

 

 FROM ODINAKA EZEOKA.

Governor of Sokoto State, Aminu Tambuwal, has said the 19 northern states are not afraid of the proposed restructuring of the country.

  Tambuwal stated this yesterday in Jos, Plateau State, at the annual Law Week and memorial lecture by the Nigerian Bar Association, Jos branch, for Justice Dauda Azaki, who died 20 years ago.

The statement came after a remark by his Borno State counterpart, Mr. Shettima, dismissing that the clamour for restructuring elicited widespread condemnation, especially from eminent southern Nigerians and groups from the southern half of the country.

“I can confidently say here that we in the northern part of Nigeria are not afraid of restructuring,”  Gov Tambuwal said.

The Sokoto governor, who is a former Speaker of the House of Representatives, said contrary to insinuations that northern Nigerians were opposed to restructuring of the country, those saying so were merely raising a false alarm.

Governor Tambuwal stressed that northerners were not afraid of the economic implications of restructuring. He said  most states in the north have enough mineral deposits to be self-sustaining.

He added that Nigerians from all parts of the country desire true federalism.

Speaking in the same vein, Bauchi State Governor, Mohammed Abubakar, said restructuring is a welcome development as long as the proposed restructuring will not ignite rancour in the country.

Abubakar urged Nigerians to be properly educated on the issue to allay fears among some of them.

On his part, Plateau State Governor, Simon Lalong, also called for caution on the issue.

Lalong said the agitation for restructuring almost caused the country another round of unrest.

“A misunderstanding of the concept of restructuring among the younger generation has also undoubtedly given rise in some quarters to the provocative and inciting calls for seccesion and the dissolution of the Nigerian state,” he said.

Governor Lalong said he supported the policy of restructuring, but lamented that some of the agitations for restructuring had veered into hate speeches.

Returning to the topic of the event, Tambuwal admonished Nigerian judges and lawyers to adjudicate speedily on cases to avoid prolonging stay of persons awaiting trial in prisons