From: Adewale Sanyaolu
The National Association of Seadogs (NAS), also known as the Pyrates
Confraternity, has drummed support for the restructuring of the
country saying such move would address the rising agitation for
cessation among ethnic nationalities.
A statement signed by the International President of NAS, Arthur Boje
Esq, explained that there was little or no disagreement among
Nigerians and students of Nigerian history about the fact that from
either the 1914 amalgamation or the independence in 1960 till date,
the Nigerian project had not been a success story.
“Taking a reference from indices which included; Gross Domestic
Product (GDP) per capita income, infant mortality, life expectancy,
literacy, physical and social infrastructure, cost of governance, and
public-sector efficiency, the Nigerian experiment has, for the most
part, proven to be an unmitigated failure. We are of the view that
urgent and radical measures are required to rescue Nigeria from an
impending disaster,” the statement noted.
The NAS leader also stated that the association was resolute in its belief
that rationality and good conscience demand the restructuring of any
polity.
“Obscenely rewards political office holders who “served” for only 4
or 8 years, with hundreds of millions of naira in lifetime pensions
and free housing, while retired civil servants who sacrificed as long
as 35 years of their lives in the service of the nation, slump and
sometimes die, on endless queues, waiting for paltry pension receipts
that they cannot be sure will ever come.
Has an educational system that brazenly demands from one pupil a score of up to 130 points while requiring from his or her classmate a mere 4 points to qualify for the next class, solely on the basis of their
different ethnic backgrounds, certainly needs to be restructured,’’.
Boje, who is also the NAS Cap’n, said the above deficiencies coupled
with other manifestations of structural imbalances that have remained
the major impediments to the socioeconomic development of Nigeria are responsible for the current increased tension and restiveness across
the country.
Boje, said the organisation said that since the restructuring idea has
received various interpretations among proponents and opponents,
including the call for such initiatives as the devolution of political
power from the federal government to the states or indeed to regions,
it is vital for the government to heed the call.
He maintained that his organisation would not be ‘‘ bogged down in an
effort to define these demands. We however consider ourselves
duty-bound to draw attention to various critical issues about today’s
Nigeria that should have a direct impact on the main restructuring
debate,”.