PRESIDENT Muhammadu Buhari has said no government will cede its authority to the people that are not elected, saying those calling for restructuring, secession are ignorant. He made this known at the launching of the Kudirat Abiola Sabon Gari Peace Foundation held at Congo Conference hotel in Zaria on Saturday.
He said each time people talk about restructuring I ask what we are going to restructure. Represented by the Executive Secretary of the Revenue Mobilization Allocation and Fiscal Commission, Alhaji Mohammed Bello Shehu, Buhari noted, “you ask many Nigerians what are they going to restructure, you will find out that they have nothing to talk about.
“Some of them have not even studied the 1999 constitution. The 1999 constitution is almost 70 to 80 per cent 1979 constitution.
“It is okay to demand for restructuring, renewal of constitution, but what is most important now is how can states make local government functional, how can states make judiciary and legislative arms independent.
“Rather we ask Nigerians to focus on putting pressure on the National Assembly to make sure that the autonomy as enshrined in our constitution is respected and implemented.
“So if that were to be done, some of these issues like insecurity, you will find a situation where local government chairmen in collaboration with traditional rulers will form a chain of communication to figure out what is really happening.
“So these are the things I expect those calling for agitation to do. And I said also that a majority of those calling for restructuring are people that are afraid to go into partisan politics. And even if they were to go into partisan politics, they will not win.
“There is no government in the world that will cede its authority to the people that are not elected.
“You are telling us to dissolve a system and call for an obscure conference to come and discuss how we can move forward as a nation, that can never be done and no country will agree to that.
“Those who are doing that should go back and meet their representatives in the National Assembly and ask for whatever amendment of constitution. I think due process should be followed.
“If you go to Southern Kaduna, Taraba, who is to represent them? We have different combination of ethnicity in many states. Even Kano and Kaduna igbos have properties. The same goes with Yorubas. There are Fulanis in Port Hacourt.
“Those calling for whether separation or restructuring, some of them I will say are very naive or even mischievously dangerous. Those agitating for restructuring are ignorant of war and its consequences because Nigeria is a dominant force in West Africa,” he said.