Vice President Yemi Osinbajo has shrugged off calls
to restructure Nigeria saying it is not helpful and
will not make any difference.
to restructure Nigeria saying it is not helpful and
will not make any difference.
The vice president made the remark weekend while
delivering the second foundation lecture of the
Elizade University, Ilara-Mokin, Ondo State,
according to a statement by his Senior Special
Assistant Media and Publicity, Laolu Akande.
The title of the lecture was “The Future is Here
Earlier Than We Thought.” The call for restructuring
Nigeria has been a recurring decimal and of late
reignited by former Vice President, Atiku Abubakar.
In a speech at launch of a book: ‘We Are Biafrans,’
in Abuja in June, Atiku said what Nigeria required
most was restructuring of the federation.
The increasing wave of agitations and even
militancy across the country, he said, called “for a
restructuring and renewal of our federation to make
it less centralised, less suffocating and less
dictatorial in the affairs of our country’s constituent
units and localities.”
His remarks were immediately praised by the pan-
Yoruba socio-cultural group, Afenifere, and the
apexsocio-political association of the Igbo, the
Ohanaeze Ndigbo who argued that the move would
provide solutions to the country’s problems.
However, the vice president, while answering a
question on restructuring, stated: “Even if states are
given half of the resources of the federal
government, the situation will not change.
According to Osinbajo, “The only change is to
diversify the economy.”
The vice president also stated that the country was
not earning enough from oil and taxes anymore.
He noted the nation was blessed and that every
state could feed itself and export products if the
citizens engaged in agriculture.
He disclosed that this year, the Federal Government
would establish technology hubs across Nigeria.
“Two super hubs in Abuja and Lagos and six
regional hubs in the six geo-political zones. In
partnership with several technology companies the
hubs will be fully resourced with infrastructure and
capacity building,” he said.
He added that in few weeks’ time, the government
would begin to train a pool of 100,000 software
developers, hardware service professionals,
animators, graphic artists, building services
professionals, artisans and others.
He said in its quest to make Nigeria the technology
hub of Africa, the government had launched a
special presidential initiative on technology and
start-ups.
He said: “50 of the most innovative technology
start-ups will soon be invited to the Presidential
Villa to meet with major technology and innovation
companies as well as collaborate with the federal
government. The closest position to that of the
confidential secretary now is an executive assistant
who is expected to have strong technology skills.”
Osinbajo said understanding the way technology
works and thinking out of the box is the way to go
in today’s world.
“Whatever you choose to do, be technology savvy
and understand its best uses in your chosen
discipline. You must learn to be a versatile
operator, not a mono-skilled graduate. Everyone has
a right to be rich, age is not a barrier,” he said.
He said it was in recognition of the role of
innovation and technology in the nation’s economic
growth plan that the federal government provided
extensively for technology and innovation in the
2016 budget.
Daily Trust reports that former Vice President, Atiku
Abubakar, had at a book launch in Abuja called for
restructuring of the country in line with the
aspirations of its component units, describing it as
the only answer to the current agitation for a Biafra
Republic, among others.
“The call for restructuring is even more relevant
today in the light of the governance and economic
challenges facing us. And the rising tide of
agitations, some militant and violent, require a re-
set in our relationships as a united nation,” he said.
The calls for the restructuring of the country had
also attracted varied comments from Nigerians,
including Nobel laureate, Prof. Wole Soyinka, who
backs the calls and Prof Tam David-West, who is
against it.
