From: Oluseye Ojo, Ibadan
Former Nigeria’s Ambassador to the Netherlands, Dr. (Mrs) Olatokunbo Awolowo-Dosunmu, on Tuesday, said the calls for restructuring of Nigeria into regional lines should be supported by all Nigerians because every part of the country will benefit immensely from it.
She disclosed this in her address at a town hall meeting, with the theme: ‘Nigeria Pre and Post Independence: The Critical Paradigm of Yoruba Youth as Motivator for Regional Restructuring,’ organised by the Yoruba Youth Council (YYC), held at the House of Chiefs, Parliament Building, Oyo State Government Secretariat, Agodi, Ibadan.
Dosunmu-Awolowo, daughter of the late Chief Obafemi Awolowo, who was a Premier of the defunct Western Region, stated: “The clamour for restructuring is not ignorance, not tribalistic, not divisive because there is no part of this country that will not benefit from restructuring.
“Absolutely, there is no part of this country that doesn’t have the resources with which to develop itself. It is just because we have gone to sleep, stopped working, stopped thinking and stopped trying to be creative about this business of development, but develop we must.
“Therefore, it is for the benefit of the whole nation and once that is done in a multi-ethnic country, then the tension goes down, we can deal with one another in a civil manner. And the size of Nigeria will work for us, because trading between ourselves and all the rest of it will benefit every part of Nigeria.
“It has been done before and that was when we recorded the greatest stride in devolpment. And so, we need to go back, and not all the time that old things are bad; sometimes we need to go back to the ancient landmarks in order to move forward.”
Dosunmu-Awolowo, however, counselled Nigerian youths that “it is also up to the youths to change things. First of all, they need to have the vision and develop the courage to tell the world what that their vision is for a better Nigeria.
“And to work for a better Nigeria, there are no shortcuts, they have to work for it. They also have to rise up and say what they want and how they want to make it better, but doing nothing is not an option for them.
“People like Chief Awolowo were able to do what they did because the constitution empowered them to do what they did. And the constitution gave them the resources to do what they did.”
President, Yoruba Youth Council worldwide, Mr. Eric Oluwole, also contended: “Only sincere restructuring can guarantee a Yoruba nation of our forefathers’ dream and by extension give other federating unit a clear sense of direction. We want restructuring that will enthrone true federalism well.
“We want to return to the independent constitution that will strengthen our institutions and ensure devolution of power to the federating units. We want restructuring before 2019 general elections. This is dear to us and any other national exercise is secondary.”
Former Nigeria’s Ambassador to the Netherlands, Dr. (Mrs) Olatokunbo Awolowo-Dosunmu, on Tuesday, said the calls for restructuring of Nigeria into regional lines should be supported by all Nigerians because every part of the country will benefit immensely from it.
She disclosed this in her address at a town hall meeting, with the theme: ‘Nigeria Pre and Post Independence: The Critical Paradigm of Yoruba Youth as Motivator for Regional Restructuring,’ organised by the Yoruba Youth Council (YYC), held at the House of Chiefs, Parliament Building, Oyo State Government Secretariat, Agodi, Ibadan.
Dosunmu-Awolowo, daughter of the late Chief Obafemi Awolowo, who was a Premier of the defunct Western Region, stated: “The clamour for restructuring is not ignorance, not tribalistic, not divisive because there is no part of this country that will not benefit from restructuring.
“Absolutely, there is no part of this country that doesn’t have the resources with which to develop itself. It is just because we have gone to sleep, stopped working, stopped thinking and stopped trying to be creative about this business of development, but develop we must.
“Therefore, it is for the benefit of the whole nation and once that is done in a multi-ethnic country, then the tension goes down, we can deal with one another in a civil manner. And the size of Nigeria will work for us, because trading between ourselves and all the rest of it will benefit every part of Nigeria.
“It has been done before and that was when we recorded the greatest stride in devolpment. And so, we need to go back, and not all the time that old things are bad; sometimes we need to go back to the ancient landmarks in order to move forward.”
Dosunmu-Awolowo, however, counselled Nigerian youths that “it is also up to the youths to change things. First of all, they need to have the vision and develop the courage to tell the world what that their vision is for a better Nigeria.
“And to work for a better Nigeria, there are no shortcuts, they have to work for it. They also have to rise up and say what they want and how they want to make it better, but doing nothing is not an option for them.
“People like Chief Awolowo were able to do what they did because the constitution empowered them to do what they did. And the constitution gave them the resources to do what they did.”
President, Yoruba Youth Council worldwide, Mr. Eric Oluwole, also contended: “Only sincere restructuring can guarantee a Yoruba nation of our forefathers’ dream and by extension give other federating unit a clear sense of direction. We want restructuring that will enthrone true federalism well.
“We want to return to the independent constitution that will strengthen our institutions and ensure devolution of power to the federating units. We want restructuring before 2019 general elections. This is dear to us and any other national exercise is secondary.”