NIGERIA is headed in the wrong way, and it won’t be able to turn around unless a complete overhaul of the nation’s structure is implemented, challenging the unity government imposed on everyone by the military, which ended the country’s 1966 federation plan.
This was stated by a foremost elder statesman, Pa Edwin Clark, while speaking on the third edition of Channels TV’s “Inside Sources”
The 96-year-old former member of David Ejoor’s advisory committee, who named him a Federal Commissioner of Information in 1975 after he was designated military governor of the province in the Mid-Western Region, contended that “unless we go back there, there will be no Nigeria.”
According to the convener of the Pan-Niger Delta Forum (PANDEF), the current state of the nation is the result of the military seizing power from legitimate political authorities in 1966. He added that General Aguiyi Ironsi, the head of the military junta at the time, only imposed the unity government on the nation through Decree 34 rather than governing under a federal system.
He went on to say that the military took power in 1966 under General Aguiyi Ironsi, who, according to him, united the nation with Decree 34, transforming Nigeria from a federation into a unity type of government.
“We are not going in the right direction. Nigeria cannot go the right direction, unless you restructure this country from the top to the down,” Chief Clerk stated.
When asked what he meant by “restructuring,” Chief Clark responded, “Restructuring is this, the military came in 1966. Ironsi by decree Number 34 united the whole country, turned the country into a unity form of government instead of federation where you have Western Nigeria, Eastern Nigeria, Northern Nigeria and Mid West region,” Chief Clark said.
Continuing, he said, “These regions from the federation of Nigeria and they managed the resources at their disposal, in their region and the federal government received part of it.”
“For instance, 1963 to 1966 Constitution, Section 402 says that the region where the resources are produced shall receive 50 per cent of such resources to develop themselves at their own level, 20 per cent will be given to the federal government to manage the federal services like customs, police and so on. The remaining 30 per cent will go to the pool where it will be shared again among the four regions and the federal government.”
“That was the situation that existed in 1966 and the whole federal service. Part of the constitution of 1960, the independence constitution and the republican constitution of 1963 were made by all Nigerians.
“We should go back to the 1963 constitution with some adjustments and amendments Unless we go back there, there will be no Nigeria. Because the British, having gone, they are now replacing their fellow Nigerians as their boss whereas some people are now claiming first-class citizens due to the population otherwise. The very people who said that they don’t want independence for Nigeria because they haven’t reached that standard.”
“Now some of them now claiming that we are anti-restructuring. Restructuring means that we should return to the federal system of government as it was in 1960 to 1963 where you have four regions with their own flags, their own constitutions. Nigeria has a representative in London called the Nigeria High Commissioner. Each of these regions had their own Agent-General in London,” Chief Clark concluded.
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