From Romanus Ugwu, Abuja
Former President of the Senate, Senator Ken Nnamani, has blamed the problem of Nigeria on structural inefficiency and ineffectiveness.
Senator Nnamani spoke at the All Progressives Congress (APC) Press Corps quarterly public lecture series held in Abuja on Thursday.
He emphasised that part of the inefficiency is the idea of federal government concerning itself with matters as trivial as issuing driver’s licenses.
He further argued that if Nigeria is made more efficient nobody in his right sense will be saying it should be divided, reminding those agitating for a separate nation that every state in Nigeria has something unique that few countries are as blessed as Nigeria.
“I have a simple definition of restructuring and that is making something more efficient than you met it. If we must tell ourselves the truth, the structure of our government is neither efficient nor effective. We should make our government more efficient and more effective.
“Efficiency and I will give one example.
“Why should the federal government be concern about issuing driver’s licenses? I spent quite some time in the United States. When I was in Iowa, I had Iowa, driving license. When I moved to Washington, I had a Washington driver’s license.
“When I went to New York, I had a New York driver’s license. Why should we spend time here in Abuja issuing somebody a license in Sokoto? Some things can be done more efficiently and that also implies restructuring. Restructuring does mean dividing our country. Because the more united we are the better we are as a country.
“So any reasonable person who witnessed the Biafran war with Nigeria will never preach anything near war. You won’t wish your enemy to go through that. So, for those who were not borne then, who takes delight in pronouncing war, it is not African magic, that you stay back and watch. It is a thing you may not come back. And those shouting war, under three weeks of the battle they are gone. So nobody will wish our country another war.
“The lesson we can learn from the presentation from the governor of Kano state is fundamental. Governor Okorocha talks about a level playing field. That as long as the issue of agitations will be drastically reduced.
Eugina Abu told us after serving 10 years from Kogi or somewhere. That we can make it easier for people to get what they deserve is part of a restructuring. Companies do restructure and make the company more efficient and more profitable.
“Countries can equally do that. If you look at areas we are having waste, where we are grossly inefficient, we make it more efficient. It is a matter of semantics. It doesn’t require violence.
“And people who are agitating for a separate nation, I think that if Nigeria is made more efficient nobody in his right sense will be saying it should be divided. Every state in Nigeria has something unique that few countries are as pleased as Nigeria.
“It is for us to discover our own strength and emphasize it and make it better. Let us not be afraid of restructuring. It simply means how can we make our country more efficient and better,” he noted.
Nnamani, who represented the chairman APC Caretaker/Extraordinary Convention Planning Committee, Governor Mai Mala Buni, said that nothing should be compared with the unity of Nigeria, urging those clamouring for war to understand that war is not the type Nigerians watch in Movie Margic.
“I am here to represent Governor Mai Bala Buni. He has confessed to the lots of work that the APC Press Corps is doing in popularising the work the Caretaker is doing for Nigeria.
“Governor Mai Mala Buni is not the chairman of APC as a party. He is the chairman of the Caretaker Committee. It is good to make this clarification arising from the recent Supreme Court judgment.
“He said that the APC Press Corps is doing a lot of work in letting Nigerian’s know what the party is doing. Because publicity confers legitimacy on any organization. You are kind enough to let Nigerians know what APC is doing. So, he sends his sincere greetings for this occasion.
“In his personal opinion, I must commend the governor of Kano state for his presentation. He did some research work and talks the historical perspective of our country. I believe it is a document that people should find time to read before making serious comments on it.
“I will like to point out that respect and love are earned. You don’t tell someone to love you. Or respect me. Even our children, you don’t tell your child please love or respect me. You have to earn it.
“According to the lecture, all of us should be involved in making it more attractive so that people can aspire to say I belong to Nigeria. I am a Nigerian citizen. I am not too sure that the issue of citizenship whether it is dual or triplicate or any number of countries you can try to belong to does not tell how much you love or hate your country.
“I think our country, Nigeria deserves individual responsibility to make it attractive enough for people to aspire to call themselves Nigerians. It takes a lesson and that is why history is very nice. It teaches us from the past lessons that can help to shape the future. What you can call civics is what is going on now in Japan.
“I saw some medalists bearing Nigerian names with medals for another country. You cannot blame them. You don’t know the circumstance that forced their parents to where they are. I saw about three of them with Nigerian names. So, it is our responsibility as Nigerians to make our country very attractive to ourselves and our offspring,” he noted.