By Wuraola Oyedokun
The Prelate Emeritus, Methodist Church of Nigeria, His Eminence [Dr.] Sunday Ola Makinde, has said there will be problems if the country is not restructured, stating that unless Nigeria is restructured, there will be no progress, peace and abundance.
Makinde who said this while playing host to The Rebirth Group, an organisation that is also pressing for the restructuring of Nigeria in his office in Ibadan, the Oyo State capital, maintained that restructuring is imperative for the country to regain its past glory.
The religious leader emphasised that the country must return to the path of progress as envisioned by its founding fathers in the First Republic.
According to him, the system and form of government in the First Republic engendered economic development and prosperity.
“Evidence abounds to show that each region was doing well at the dawn of the nation’s independence”, he stated.
The Prelate said that the incursion of the military into the political system was the bane of the country.
‘’There is a need to restructure the country. Unless we restructure this country, there will be no peace, no progress and abundance. In those days, each region was doing well. Chief Awolowo built the Cocoa House from the proceeds of cocoa. There was palm produce in the East and there were groundnut pyramids in the North. We have to restructure this country. If you don’t restructure, there will be problems.
‘’The incursion of the military into the political system is regrettable’’.
Speaking earlier, Deacon Owolabi Oladejo who led the delegation to the Prelate submitted that the situation in which Nigeria is today calls for a total overhauling of the country hence his group’s advocacy for a restructured country to be known as United Regions of Nigeria (URN).
“This is important if the country is to find solutions to the myriad of its challenges”, he emphasised.
The Prelate who concurred with Oladejo said that the level of insecurity, hunger and social dislocation in the country is raising a lot of concern.
To him, ‘’Anyone saying that he is comfortable now is a liar. The poverty in the land is unspeakable. There is hunger; there is banditry; there is armed robbery; there is high cost of living, and there is a high unemployment rate. There is insecurity now. In those days we would not lock our doors. When you are running a country and the people are jobless, there is a danger”.