By Jacob Kubeka (Abuja)
Ahead of the 2023 general elections, a political stalwart and activist, Dr Nnamdi Onochie, has renewed the call for urgent restructuring of Nigeria to guarantee national peace and cohesion in the country.
Onochie told the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) in Abuja on Sunday that current challenges could be addressed by listening to the relentless voices of the people.
The outspoken Onochie argued that “the apparent refusal of the Federal Government to restructure the country has contributed immensely to demands for self-determination by ethnic nationalities’’.
He pleaded with the current administration to take the bull by the horn by doing the needful to put Nigeria on the path of peace “before it is too late’’.
Onochie’s call comes barely one week after the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC), announced the date for the forthcoming 2023 general elections in Nigeria.
Chairman of the commission, Prof Mahmood Yakubu, made the announcement on April 28, 2021 at a one-day public hearing on the National Electoral Offences Commission (Establishment) Bill 2021, organized by the Senate Committee on INEC.
According to the INEC Chairman, the general elections were one year, nine months, two weeks and six days or 660 days from the date of the announcement, hence the need for preparation.
“By the principle established by the Commission, the 2023 General Election will hold on Saturday 18th February 2023 which is exactly one year, nine months, two weeks and six days or 660 days from today,” Prof Yakubu said.
The activist said that strident calls for Biafra in Igboland, Oduduwa Republic in the Yoruba country; arson against police, prison and security stations in Imo, Anambra and Ebonyi, called for concern.
Onochie pleaded with President Muhammadu Buhari to read the hand writing on the wall and rise to the challenge, instead of thinking that “this storm will also pass.
“It is only through the practice of true federalism as demonstrated in other democratic countries that Nigeria can stand as an indivisible entity. The time to restructure Nigeria is now.’’
Onochie, a former diplomat advised the Federal Government to take a cue from Switzerland, where the presidency is anchored on rotational and inclusive basis to give every component of the country a sense of belonging.
“How can a multi-ethnic polity such as Nigeria continue to be administered the way it is without the high political tension and stress currently going on in the polity?
“Nigeria should be saved from disintegration through the practice of true federalism so that every component area from the Middle Belt to the South South should feel a sense of belonging.’’
Onochie, who last March, embarked on a self-sponsored nationwide peace campaign, condemned what he described as the relentless orgy of violence, abductions and extra-judicial killings in parts of the country.
He, however, appealed to Nigerians to give peace a chance and support the government, to administer the country in a way that everyone would benefit.
The PDP chieftain also told government to take urgent and measured steps to reduce tension in the country, to guarantee that the 2023 general elections would be staged in an atmosphere of peace and tranquility. (With a NAN report)