A legal practitioner, Isaac Anumudu has said that President Muhammadu Buhari administration was responsible for Nigeria’s current economic situation.
He said this while addressing the opinion that the priority of the Buhari-administration was to address the issue of recession rather than this recent calls for a national restructuring.
Anumudu, who was speaking on Channels TV’s breakfast show, Sunrise Daily, described the opinion as “very insincere.”
He said as a matter of fact that the issue of restructuring has become a national emergency and that the idea that the call for restructuring is political, is most misconceived.
“With people like former president, Ibrahim Babangida, who resisted restructuring calls to now own up to it, with people like Jerry Gana from the Middle Belt, even some northerners, the South-West have been the ones clamouring for it for a long time so it’s not a current thing – it came even before this current political dispensation, it was there even during the military era so for anybody to say its political is with all due respect most misconceived.”
He also stated that one must be careful in dealing with sensitive national issues such as this, adding that the tendency of people shifting positions when their position changes in political circles, must stop.
Anumudu cited an example about the Kaduna State Governor, Nasir el-Rufai, who according to him gave contradictory positions on the issue of restructuring between 2010 when he was not in the APC government and a recent interview he had with Channel TV.
El-Rufai had described those calling for a restructuring as mere opportunists.
Speaking further, the lawyer described the threats from south easterners to secede and threats from northern youth about quit notices among others as “drum beats of war”, stressing that one must handle sensitive national issues with caution.
“These are drum beats of war, how come we are playing politics with it? These are sensitive national issues and all we need to do is find out why these things are happening and address them quickly.
“October 1st is just a few months away from now, why are we sitting on a keg of gun powder and waiting for it to explode before we take action? They are aware that restructuring is critical.”
In his opinion, he stated that what restructuring simply entails is reforming the nation in a manner that all sections of the country are taken into proper and just consideration.
The legal practitioner then questioned further that even if what the APC meant by restructuring was the devolution of power, “what is stopping them from devolving power”.
He said the National Assembly itself has called for the 2014 Conference Report to be brought for a legislation and according to him, implementing it is not as difficult as some people have made it seem.
He then opined that even if the conference report cannot be implemented in its entirety, it was possible to take on aspects of it that are very critical.