The call for restructuring Nigeria has never been louder in the history of this country, the voices cuts across party affiliations and political divides.  Nigerians at the moment seems to have one voice in calling for immediate restructuring of the Nigerian federalism.

This call became a hot topic shortly after President Muhammadu Buhari made a statement that Nigeria’s sovereignty is non-negotiable. Since then Nigerians from all watks of life have bared their minds on the need to restructure Nigeria.

Below is  a collection of what Nigerians have to say about the need for immediate restructuring of the Nigerian federalism:

President Mohammadu Buhari – “I assure them that when we were very junior officers, we were told by our leaders, by the Head of State which was Gen. Gowon that to keep Nigeria one is a task that must be done…we never thought of oil. What we were after is one Nigeria. Please, pass the message to the militants that one Nigeria is not negotiable. And I pray they better accept it. The constitution is very clear…I assure them there would justice. Source

Nobel laureate, Prof. Wole Soyinka – ““I am on the side of those who say we must do everything to avoid disintegration. That language I understand. I don’t understand (ex-President Olusegun) Obasanjo’s language. I don’t understand (President Muhammadu) Buhari’s language and all their predecessors, saying the sovereignty of this nation is non-negotiable. It’s bloody well negotiable and we had better negotiate it. We better negotiate it, not even at meetings, not at conferences, but everyday in our conduct towards one another”. – Source

Former military Head of State, General Yakubu Gowon – “We can restructure within one Nigeria context. I did it in 1967. We created states to stop Eastern Nigeria from seceding,” he said. “We had to do something to ensure the fear of their secession did not exist – a serious issue of a part of the country wanting to breakaway when we already lost a part to Cameroun. “If we had allowed the Eastern Region to go away, the map of Nigeria would have looked funny, it would have been tilted one way. Source

Former Vice President, Atiku Abubakar – Atiku recount his experiences in government, said the increasing wave of agitations across the country calls “for a  restructuring and renewal of our federation to make it less centralised, less suffocating and less dictatorial in the affairs of our country’s constituent units and localities. “As some of you may know, I have for a long time advocated the need to restructure our federation. Our current structure and the practices it has encouraged have been a major impediment to the economic and political development of our country. Source

Pastor Tunde Bakare – He has faulted Northern elders who are opposed to the call for the restructuring of Nigeria, noting that they have deviated from the principles of the founding fathers of the region. He said: “It is inconsistent with the interest of the North or the South for the current pseudo-federal structure to persist. If the elders of the North are true elders in this generation, I charge them with the words of the wisest king to ever live which says ‘do not remove the ancient landmark which your fathers have set.’“Our current leaders must find courage in heroic deeds of Fajuyi, they must find courage to restructure and to reconcile aggrieved sections within the nation,” Source

Professor Benjamin Obiefuna Nwabueze – “Without restructuring this country, I cannot see us transform into one nation. Things are not are going on well right now, but I still hope and pray that this country will change for the better. Source

Senator Dino Melaye – “Anybody who is against restructuring of this country is an enemy of the country. I’m a strong advocate for restructuring the country and once you have a structure anywhere and it’s not working, there is definitely a reason to restructure. So, anyone who is against restructuring is anti-Nigeria. Source

The Coalition of Civil Societies Movement for Good Governance – The national coordinator of the group, Comrade Ajibade Oyayeye told newsmen in Abuja, at the week-end, that if Chief Obafemi Awolowo was around by now, he would have given maximum support to restructuring the country, adding that all his policies in the South West  were geared towards achievement of this political ideology. Source

Former Vice President, Dr. Alex Ekwueme – “There is need for us to return to the basics from what we inherited from our founding fathers,” he said.” He recalled that what Nigeria negotiated and agreed with colonial masters before independence was a regional government where each has a constitution, which was annexed to the Republican Constitution of 1963.
The republican constitution, he further noted provided for 50 per cent revenue sharing formula for the regions, 30 per cent to a distributable pool, and 20 per cent to the centre. Speaking on the theme of the convention, “Still in search of True Democracy,” Ekwueme and all other political actors who attended agreed on the need to restructure Nigeria starting with the immediate implementation of the 2014 National Conference report. Source

Yoruba leader Ayo Adebanjo – “In a multi-cultural, multi-ethnic, multi-religious and geographically diverse nation like Nigeria the only viable form of structure for governing, for living together in peace, is federalism.
“Therefore, our founding fathers devised excellently. If they had chosen any other form of association, the difficulties would have even been greater than this. So, federalism is the way forward; it is really the nature of that federal structure that we are now searching to make sure it works. Source

Deputy Senate president, Ike Ekweremadu – “Unless we reform the nation’s federalism, Nigeria might never recover again because the current arrangement results in underdevelopment, inequity, bad blood, corruption, maladministration, incompetence, ineptitude and indolence. Many things have gone wrong with our brand of federalism. “I am a staunch disciple of self-determination. However, at the risk of sounding contradictory, we must be frank enough to admit that the number of states we have today, or plan to create, is simply not sustainable. Source

Lt. General Alani Akinrinade – First, the APC must be told, in no uncertain terms that it is fraudulent. They led us down the garden part, lying to us about what is in the end of the tunnel. What was in the end of the tunnel was restructuring and each one of them, the party chairman, the president, his vice, and in that order, are all talking from the other side of their mouths now. In other words, they lied to us in 2015 before the election. My message to them is, they should embark on a very major exercise now to restructure the country, otherwise, how do they propose to settle the crisis in the South-South because it is becoming embarrassing. Source

Prof Jerry Gana – “Release Nnamdi Kanu and restructure Nigeria which is the only solution” he said while responding to questions. He was filled with smile and expressed satisfaction that despite being in prison, Nnamdi still command respect. He was one of those that clapped and smiled when Nnamdi Kanu’s award was announced. Source

The Arewa Consultative Forum (ACF) – ACF warned those calling for the restructuring of Nigeria to have a rethink, insisting that the nation should preserve the present federal structure of governance. Source

The Minority Interest Rights Advocates in Nigeria (MIRAN) – The Leader of the civil society coalition comrade Iyah Iyah in response to the reported position suggested that restructuring  will no doubt unlock forever the latent potentials of the nation’s ethnic minorities. An immeasurable  asset caged by decades of hegemonic rule in Nigeria . Source

APC Leader, Bola Ahmed Tinubu – Even though the nation, before, stood half in the light of progress and half in the darkness of injustice, there is much hope because we now have a government committed to a new era of discipline and prosperity. The journey we have embarked upon will not be easy. It requires us all to make sacrifices and persevere until we achieve. Nigeria needs some fundamental restructuring, both politically and economically. Not the constant tinkering and patching we often resort to. We must therefore begin with fundamentally restructuring the economy if we are to rid ourselves of joblessness. Source

Nationwide coalition of civil society groups (NNSG) – The group embarked on peaceful protests to Foreign Embassies and High Commissions in the country to seek their interventions in urging the Federal Government to restructure the country and obey the rule of law. Source