Elder
statesman, Edwin Clark, on Tuesday condemned the Biafra agitation led by Nnamdi
Kanu.
Mr. Clark
made this known when the Chairman, Senate Committee on Local and Foreign Debt,
Shehu Sani, visited him in his Abuja residence.
He further
condemned the quit notice by the Arewa Group to Igbos in the North, saying it
was worrisome.
He warned
that secession or agitation were not the way to go on restructuring the
country.
He said
“when Kanu talks about Biafra, he is talking nonsense. We do not want a second
war.
“America
fought their civil war for a long time and they are not thinking of a second
one. Kanu should drop the agitation.
“At the same
time, it is arrogant and foolish on the part of some Northern youths to issue
quit notice. You do not own the North. It is part of Nigeria and anybody can
live there.
“The Igbos
have been living in the North for over 100 years. I condemn all of them.”
The elder
statesman, however, emphasised the need for restructuring for equity and
balance in the country.
He explained
that although the call for restructuring had been loud in recent times, the
country had been undergoing restructuring.
“We have
been living together since 1914 and from time to time, we have been changing
the way of our lives.
“In 1947, Dr
Nnamdi Azikiwe said the Richard Constitution was obnoxious; that it was
anti-people. In 1950, we had the Macpherson Constitution which created the
three regions and in 1963, we had another constitution.
“During all
these constitutions, the issue of fiscal federation was very prominent. So, we
have been restructuring this country and nobody talked about breaking up the
country.
“The war
between 1967 and 1970 was an unfortunate one.”
Mr. Clark
said making necessary changes to allow for social justice was the way to go and
urged the National Assembly (NASS) to re-visit the issue of devolution of power
upon resumption from recess, saying it was one of the ways to properly
restructure the country.
According to
him, the vote against devolution of power by NASS is borne out of the fear that
it would whittle down the powers of legislators.
“We have
reached a stage where states are not paying salaries and something has to be
done to gear their minds to see what they can do in their own area to generate
money.
“I am happy
you believe in restructuring, which can be achieved within a short time but it
may take up to 20 years if we do not agree among ourselves.
“So, once
more I want to say that when you resume, the issue of devolution of power
should be re-visited so that Federal Government will deal with foreign affairs,
prisons, customs and a few other things.
On call to
return to regionalism, Mr. Clark said “you cannot abolish the states now and
say you want six regions. It is not going to be easy or possible now.
“I feel we
should use the same states as federating units and the local governments should
remain with the states.”
He called
for the establishment of Revenue Mobilisation Commission to deal with funds
that move between states and local governments to sustain them.
Mr. Clark, a
former federal commissioner of information, promised to convene a meeting of
elder statesmen across the country to find lasting solution to the problem of
restructuring.
In his
remarks, Mr.A Sani, who is also the Vice Chairman Committee on Foreign Affairs,
said one of the reasons the devolution of power did not scale through in NASS
was the fear that state governments might abuse their powers.
He said “the
problem we have with devolution of power is how to tackle some of the problems
that come with it.
“For
example, the present crop of governors might not be able to handle state police
in a manner that people who disagree with them can be safe.
“Secondly,
the manner in which elections are conducted by state independent electoral
commissions where the ruling party in state wins all positions is worrisome.
“So, if we
devolve the police, we have to allay the fears of people on the implications.
Those who are championing some of these issues need to make clarifications.”
On
derivation and resource control, the lawmaker said it was in the best interest
of the country to stop thinking about oil because it was becoming
non-attractive globally.
On the quit
notice, Mr. Sani said “it is embarrassing”.
(NAN)
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