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Home Politics

Restructuring: Let’s go our ways in peace –Rufai Hanga

1st September 2016
in Politics
9
Restructuring: Let’s go our ways in peace –Rufai Hanga
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By Omoniyi Salaudeen

Senator Rufai Hanga is a prominent Kano politician and founding national chairman of the defunct Congress for Progress Change (CPC). In this interview, he challenged those clamouring for a restructuring of the country to lay their facts on the table, saying it is better for the constituent parts to separate in peace than going into a crisis.
From your personal assessment, how has the 8th National Assembly fared in terms of its responsibilities and functions as a lawmaking organ of the country?
I am not happy with what is happing because there is a lot of rumbling between the executive and members of the National Assembly, which is affecting the country. I am not too impressed with the performance of these lawmakers. I don’t know whether their failure is as a result of the circumstance in which they found themselves, but what they have done so far is nothing to write home about. I can’t point at any significant thing they have done this time around. Rather, they are more concerned with protecting their personal interests.
On the side of the executive, how would you assess the support base for the Buhari administration since he assumed power vis-a vis his popularity before the election?
Certainly, it is diminishing by the day. That is the home truth. I like Buhari, I support him, but unfortunately, the support base for his government is dwindling by the day. I think this has to do with ill-advice by those people around him. I don’t know whose advice he is listening to, but there are so many things that are wrong. There are so many things that are done wrongly. There are so many things that need to be addressed. Presumably, may be those around him are not advising him well. Some of the people around him are analogue; they have no proper understanding of the present reality. Therefore, he needs to broaden his reach so that things can move on well. People like him, he means well, but then, there is a need for him to open up.  I believe he is sincere and he is doing what he is doing in good fate, but like people say, ‘a single tree can never make a forest.’ There are certain things you may feel are not good for him to do, but as a leader, he must take a risk.
The renewed violence in the oil producing region by the Niger Delta Avengers is part of the problems the government has had to grapple with, especially its crippling effects on the economy.
I won’t attribute what I have just said to the Niger Delta crisis.  There is a great degree of sabotage in that part of the country. I think some people who are under the watch of the anti-corruption agency are trying to cover up their asses. That is why they are trying to divert attention. Right now, President Buhari is dealing more with Northerners in his anti-corruption war than any other group. More northerners are affected by his anti-corruption war. And as we all know, more of these atrocities were committed in the Niger Delta region. That is where bunkering activities involving several millions of dollars were done. President Buhari is yet to reach out to these people; so, they are doing this to divert the attention of government or sabotage him to make sure he fails. And they are succeeding. They are succeeding because the oil revenue is down so much that confession was made recently by Secretary to the Government of the Federal (SGF) that government cannot implement the 2016 budget because of the dwindling revenue accruing to the federation account. By all economic analyses, if we continue like this, Nigeria will be in a serious recession. And the major cause is the Niger Delta violence activities.
In the light of this, would you support government’s dialogue with the militants?
I think the government has already decided on dialoguing with them from what I read in newspapers. Another story I read is that they are being dealt with. So, I don’t know how you can blow hot and cold, and at the same time expect to get the same result. I read that the military is determined to deal with them. And I also read another version saying that the government is dialoguing with them. So, I don’t know which is which. But if it is true that government is dialoguing with them, the government must be careful not to be blackmailed. Whichever of the group rises up, the government can sit and dialogue with it, but there is a tendency for some people to confuse the government because there are several other groups which may also emerge after reaching an agreement with them. If I were in government, I will say, ‘sit down, we are not going to discuss anything with you because you’ve already negotiated with the previous government. This is a new government and you know government is dynamic, let us maintain the agreement you had with the previous government and then we will give you moratorium for so and so months. When everything is calm, then we can come back and continue further negotiation. But if you continue doing what you are doing, then there is nothing for you”   This is one of the measures I would have taken if were in government.
You must have also read different opinions on the issue of restructuring which is now on the front burner of national discourse. What is your take on this agitation?
People are not telling the truth. When you are talking about a restructuring, let them lay it on the table. What kind of restructuring do they want? Restructuring can mean a lot of things. Most of the people clamouring for restructuring are just saying so without breaking it down. Let them break it down so that we can know the kind of restructuring they want. Let them come out. For me, I don’t know what they mean and I cannot give an opinion on something I am not conversant with. Let them define it and then I will give my own opinion. Right now, when I see some people talking of restructuring, I look at them as   non-conformists, I see them as hypocrites who want cheap popularity among the people that are disgruntled. I see some of them as just merely following the train of bandwagon because they hear people saying restructuring.
Let whosoever want the country restructured come out and put it in black and white the way they want the country restructured. I have once given my opinion on this. Even if they want the country divided, I welcome it. True to God, I welcome it because I will rather prefer we separate peacefully to fighting ourselves. One thing I will never support is fighting ourselves, especially over religious division. Religious crisis is the most dangerous thing in all aspects of life because when it comes to religion, nobody reasons. Whether educated, illiterates, semi-illiterates, big, young or old, nobody reasons when it comes to religion.  I don’t want any problem with the country. Rather than having an internal crisis like religious or ethnic, I will prefer everybody goes his way. It will be better for everybody to go and start afresh. There are lots of countries that have separated and they are doing fine. If that is what they mean by restructuring, then it is welcome. I personally welcome it than fighting ourselves. I don’t want any crisis. People who are agitating and instigating people don’t know the implication of what they are doing. We should not let such people drag us into a crisis because it is dangerous.
What would you like to say about the arms purchase scandal involving some top military brass?
It is an unfortunate situation. If what is being said is true, then I shed tears for Nigeria. If people who are responsible for security, responsible for making sure we have peace could go to that extent of looting, then we should all shed tears for this country. I am always proud to be a Nigerian anywhere in the world but this is very unfortunate.
What is your take on the viability or otherwise of states that can no longer meet their obligations of paying salaries of their workers?
If a state is unable to survive, then it is not viable. There are two ways to it. It is either the leaders are misfits, incompetent, can’t sit down and think about how they can generate internal revenue to sustain themselves or the states are not viable.
I will suggest a situation where some states are merged with the viable ones. If they cannot sustain themselves, how can we allow them to remain as parasites? It is too ways. One, it is either the leaders are incompetent to keep the states afloat or the states are not viable.

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Comments 9

  1. Christopher says:
    6 years ago

    Senator Mumu Hanga it is unfortunate that you have exposed how berieved of knowledge you are as a politician. Please read carefully if you care. Political restructuring under the current Nigerian political context is devolusion of power, responsibilities and accountability from the central government (federal government) to the constituent units that comprise the federating units (states). The essence of it is to maximize the well-being of the people and empower each unit of the federal structure to pursue their economic development process without the interference of the central government whose responsibilities will include acting unbehalf of all the federating units in such matters as defence, foreign policy and homeland security (immigration). Now this is what restructuring means. You can also call it fiscal federalism. There is nothing to be afraid off, no body is fighting. People like you can call on federal government to call for a plebiscite or referendum to allow the electotrates decide on the issue. This is democracy, peoples’ rights and privileges should respected and allowed.The people should be allowed to proffer political solution to save Nigeria. It is really shamful that you can no longer plan in Nigeria no matter how accurate your estimations could be.

    Reply
  2. oriogu ephraim onwuamaeze says:
    6 years ago

    Nigeria statesand local government were politicaly created by the federal government that is why they are not economically viable. Those calling for restructuri,g are at countries like the united states of america,canada,australia etc with strong regional authonomies.

    Reply
  3. tunde faleye says:
    6 years ago

    Good message.

    Reply
  4. Aminu Ahmad says:
    6 years ago

    Christopher or whatever your name is, and all your folks, with the same sentimental faculty of thinking, I pity you. The Senator has been very objective and impartial in his comments about national issues which is unlike your ethnically-inclined, regional and sectional bigots that are your kinsmen from the south. You people are half-wits and brainless. Just as he (Hanga) rightly put it, you are just following the train of bandwagon, but in the actual sense don’t have an iota of knowledge of what you are talking about. Why didn’t you guys make sure ‘your son’ (Dr Goodluck Jonathan) assent to your clamouring of restructuring while he was in office? Tell your Igbo nincompoops to continue their Biafra nd Ijaws with their ND republic, as the North is now ready go on it’s own. We have never been afraid of separation and we will never be. The senator has reitrated that. The north is more homogenous than the South and therefore will end up like the Sudan while you guys will become the South Sudan and will never know peace with your belligerent young and old.

    Reply
    • Christopher says:
      6 years ago

      Yes I know you will think this way because it was instilled in you to think like that. Restructuring is not about araba but if it is, why are you afraid? You do not even know the part of Nigeria I come from. Although the section I come from has nothing to do with the way I think because I live in an egalitarian society. Half-baked politicians and professionals produce half-baked leadership and half-baked policies. I am not a bigot am just saying it the way it is boy.

      Reply
      • Tony says:
        6 years ago

        Mallam,the fact that his name is Christopher doesn’t imply that he is Biafran or from SS.Assimilate his message and ponder rather than resorting to blackmail about his ethnicity. Restructuring means reducing the number of states to about 6 equitable and viable units,or a recourse to the original regions that our founding fathers negotiated at Independence,with a concurrent devolution of power to the federating units.

        Reply
  5. StraightUp says:
    6 years ago

    You wonder why a news media would honor, with an interview, someone who confesses that he does not know what restructuring is…even after the National Conference addressed and put the issue in the public domain.

    Reply
  6. Arinze A. Anughere says:
    6 years ago

    Senator Hanga, the restructuring wanted in Nigeria has been articulated for upwards of 20 years now. It is not a brand new idea to warrant you feigning ignorance of it. For goodness sake, your suggestion that unviable states be merged with viable states is indeed part of the restructuring people are agitating for. You cannot reject restructuring and at the same time want absolute peace. Those under the yoke and the receiving end of the skewed Nigerian Federalism are not finding it funny. No force on earth can stop the march towards the restructuring of Nigeria, because man as a free spirit wants space. Those who have been crippled by the suffocating Unitary Nigeria, masqueraded as a Federal Republic are gasping for air. You may not feel what they feel, but they know what they feel.

    Reply
  7. peters says:
    6 years ago

    Is a pity hering that this perishing worlds of yours is a good consanant to voice as
    restructuring . Would have prefer you put your mouth in a saves account than this bad breath of thoughts.

    Reply

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