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Nigeria going nowhere unless restructured—Odumakin, Afenifere spokeman

Yinka Odumakin
Yinka Odumakin

The in-coming government of Gen. Muhammadu Buhari cannot deliver on its promises to Nigerians unless it restructures the country.

This is the position of Mr. Yinka Odumakin, spokesman for Afenifere, the apex pan-Yoruba socio-cultural organisation, who also told Global Patriot Newspapers that Buhari and the All Progressives Congress (APC), are beginning to come to terms with the reality of the sad state of the federation.

According to Odumakin, who recently worked closely with the President-elect as his spokesman, “since after the election, they have been toning down on their rhetoric.”

“They have started denying some of the promises they made in the heat of the elections, faced with the reality that there is no magic wand anywhere that they can wave to actualise those promises overnight,” stressed the Afenifere chieftain.

Odumakin, who was a member of the last National Constitutional Conference (NCC), convened by President Goodluck Jonathan, said that the Buhari team and the APC have, for instance, mellowed down on their promises to bring down the exchange rate of the Naira to eradicate the Boko Haram insurgents and to return the Chibok girls, stressing that “they were not sure they would get to power when they were making those promises.”

According to the activist, “the reality has dawned on them now that power is staring them in the face,” stressing that “ Nigeria is going nowhere unless it is restructured.”

“How can you achieve what they promised without restructuring ,” he queried, wondering how the country can begin meaningful production leading to reduction in unemployment and boost in the economy, without diversification and how security can be guaranteed if the security infrastructure is not decentralised.

These, he said, were issues that the National Conference had resolved after rigorous debates and which they were sure President Jonathan would have implemented if he had returned to power.

He said, however, that Nigerians should give Buhari time to settle down, noting that only fundamental change or reconstructive surgery, not cosmetic change can take the country out of the woods where it is presently.

Stressing f further that the South East , South South and almost half of the electorate of the South West geo-political zones voted for the restructuring of the country, the Afenifere spokesman said this means that the issue cannot be waved aside but must be addressed in the interest of the country.

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