Fani-Kayode Tackles Obasanjo, Gowon, Danjuma Over Calls For Restructuring

Former Minister of Aviation Femi Fani-Kayode has said it is too late to call for the restructuring of Nigeria, insisting that the country must be divided.

Naija News recalls that former President Olusegun Obasanjo, ex-Head of State, General Yakubu Gowon (retd), and erstwhile military commander, Theophilus Danjuma, had on various occasions called for the restructuring of Nigeria.

In a public event organised by Igbo Leadership Development Foundation last week, Gowon had admitted that the Igbo nation had been marginalised in Nigeria’s polity.

“I believe that a lot of injustice has been done to the Igbos and a constitutional debate on restructuring must address all imbalances and restore hope and confidence,” he said.

Also speaking at the Frederick Fasehun 1st Memorial Lecture, Olusegun Obasanjo warned that calls for self-determination may not be easily suppressed, adding that Nigeria cannot afford another war.

He said, “We estimated that Federal Government would suppress the Biafran rebellion within three months. To make allowances for the unforeseen, we allowed six months. But it took us thirty months, five times what we allowed for, and what is more, we nearly lost the war. And as a Field Commander at the end of the war, I can attest that we fought with all Nigerian tribes including Igbos against Biafra.

“And if after over ten years of fighting Boko Haram, the terrorist group is still waxing strong, let nobody out of self-delusion think that a war of self-determination by one or more geopolitical zones of Nigeria with the present disenchantment would be easily suppressed by the rest of what may remain of the country. Some will fight to the last drop of the blood of their group rather than suffer the indignity of slavery, oppression, domination and atrocious injustice in the land of their birth and the only one that they can call their country.

“If Boko Haram can get outside support, any geo-political zone opting for self-determination may equally get external support. War may not necessarily go as planned, estimated and predicted. Everything must, therefore, be put in place to avoid a war, the end of which no one can precisely predict. There is no assurance that Nigeria can survive a second civil war. But rather, we should seek a political solution and avoid a destructive civil war.”

Reacting in a post on his Twitter page on Monday, Fani-Kayode stated that it was rather too late for the elder statesmen to call for restructuring.

According to the PDP chieftain, Gowon, Obasanjo and Danjuma had in 1967 rejected moves to restructure the country.

He said: “Those that opposed restructuring at Aburi in 1967 and waged war against Biafra, namely Gowon, OBJ and TY Danjuma are now calling for restructuring.

“The truth is that restructuring is too little, too late. The new kid on the block is known as self-determination and he cannot be denied.”