Restructure the Polity of Nigeria to save it, says Nwabueze

Constitutional lawyer and elder statesman, Prof. Ben Nwabueze (SAN) has de­clared that only the restructuring of the polity will save Nigeria from its recurring socio-economic and political challenges.
As a first step towards realis­ing the goal, Nwabueze has called on President Muhammadu Buha­ri to immediately convene a fresh National Conference.

He said that the 2014 Nation­al Conference organised by the administration of former Presi­dent Goodluck Jonathan was not the kind that Nigeria needs.
Nwabueze’s revisit of his clamour for the restructuring of Nigeria came a few days after for­mer Vice President Atiku Abuba­kar made the same request.
Atiku had at a launch of a book on Biafra in Abuja recent­ly, said that Nigeria will not work well unless it is restructured.
In a speech he delivered on Thursday during the occasion to mark his 85th birthday at his residence in Atani, Ogbaru Lo­cal Government Area of Anam­bra State, Nwabueze said that the kind of confab he is advocating for will involve ethnic nationalities in Nigeria.
The renowned author stressed that Nigerians from var­ious ethnic groups need to gath­er together and tell themselves the truth with a view to finding suita­ble solutions to the challenges fac­ing the country.
He said: “One journalist came here to interview me and I told him that my major regret at 85 is the failure of Nigeria to transform into a powerful nation and stand out as Africa’s leading light. But I believe that a national conference will go a long way in helping us to restructure the country with the aim of finding enduring solutions to our numerous challenges. So, I insist that there is the imperative for a fresh confab where all of us will come together from various ethnic backgrounds to discuss the way forward for our country.”
Declaring that the 2014 Na­tional Confab was not ideal for the country, Nwabueze observed that there is total lack of truth in the af­fairs of the country and until peo­ple learn how to say the truth, Ni­geria will continue to suffer and unable to overcome the myriad of problems militating against its de­velopment.

He continued: “We have to learn how to say the truth; peo­ple of other countries in Europe, America and Asia told them­selves the truth and that was why they were able to build their countries to the level they are to­day. So, we need a fresh national conference where the people can come together and tell themselves the truth.”
On Ndigbo, the eminent law­yer who used the occasion to pre­sent his latest book to the public, said that he regrets that the people of the South East have continued to face endless marginalisation in the scheme of things in Nigeria.
He lamented that as it stands, Ndigbo have no chance to pro­duce the leader of the country which they have contributed so much to develop.
In their goodwill messages and felicitations, dignitaries ex­tolled the virtue of the celebrant.
They recalled some of Nwabueze’s major contribution to the development of the country.
The host governor, Chief Willie Obiano, described the cel­ebrant as one of Nigeria’s leading lights whose reputation and leg­acies in the legal profession, po­litical activism and advocacy can never be overemphasised.
Obiano said that the good people of Anambra State are very proud of him.
Prominent Nigerians who graced the event included for­mer Chief of General Staff (CGS), Commodore Ebitu Ukiwe, for­mer Anambra State Governor Pe­ter Obi, Minister of Science and Technology, Dr Ogbonnaya Onu, who chaired the book presenta­tion, Senator Ben Obi and Prof. George Obiozor, among others.