Deposed emir of Kano, Muhammad Sanusi II, has warned against misconstruing agitation for restructuring as a call for secession, civil war, and division that will further divide Nigeria.
Sanusi said inspite of the importance of restructuring, some of Nigeria’s problems are beyond implementing that concept.
He spoke on Wednesday during the 24th Convocation Lecture of the Ekiti State University, Ado-Ekiti.
Sanusi, who is the chancellor of the university, said in his remarks, “There is a difference between restructuring and secession. There is a difference between restructuring and division. There is a difference between restructuring and civil war. Some are using ethnic profiling to divide us. Ethnicity and religion are mere identities, they don’t really represent our values and who we truly are.
“Nigeria has problems that are far more beyond restructuring, though restructuring is important, but let us follow the rules and build a strong system through our strong moral values and approaches to issues.”
A Senior Advocate of Nigeria, Femi Falana, who delivered the convocation lecture entitled, ‘Restructuring and the liberation of Nigeria,’ said, “The way forward is that the struggle for restructuring and liberation of the poor people of Nigeria from the bondage of poverty and inequality requires the adoption of vertical and horizontal measures to build a peaceful and united Nigeria rooted in social justice, equity, and genuine freedom.”
Falana charged governors genuinely interested in restructuring to “democratise the powers that have devolved to state governments from the centre through litigation.”
EKSU Vice-Chancellor, Prof Edward Olanipekun, said, “The Nigerian nation, perhaps because of the colonial mode of evolution still remains contentious leading to continuous agitation for restructuring even in the extreme the dissolution of the union 60 years after independence.”