Atiku clarifies position on restructuring

From Romanus Ugwu, Abuja

Former Vice President and chieftain of the All Progressives Congress, Atiku Abubakar, has clarified his position in a report which quoted him as saying that the North is not prepared for restructuring.

In a statement signed by his Media Adviser, Mazi Paul Ibe, yesterday, he quoted the former vice president as saying that restructuring is not just a northern issue, but a challenge of nationhood that cannot be swept under the carpet by any sincere Nigerian.

While clarifying reports that Atiku called opponents of restructuring “lazy,” Ibe said the context of arguments by the former vice president was lost because his opponents were looking for an opportunity to bring him down.

According to Ibe, the Waziri Adamawa couldn’t have called his own people lazy, especially hard working people, and added that Atiku was referring to lazy elite who are resisting restructuring because they perceive political power as a permanent source of economic advantages while the masses suffer.

“Atiku Abubakar is a Nigerian of northern origin. If he puts down the North, doesn’t he put himself down? His value as a person is irrevocably tied to that of Nigeria and the region that God chose to originate him from,” he said.

Ibe further explained that northern Nigeria is endowed with vast, natural and human resources, and therefore, it should not be scared of competition which restructuring entails.

The media aide also said that there is no section of Nigeria that does not have abundance of untapped resources that cannot be put into effective and efficient use for development.

He added that agriculture and solid minerals are sources of economic power and influence if properly developed.

Atiku also said  that the North should be proud of what it has, and that the food basket of Nigeria, the North, can develop its agricultural resources into exportable economic advantage.

“It is a historical fact that northern Nigeria, and more specifically, the Kanem Bornu Empire and southern Nigeria, more specifically, the ancient Benin Kingdom, are the birthplace of some of the oldest civilisations on earth.

“What does that teach us? It teaches us that the North and the South have a great history which should be a stepping stone to an even greater future. 

“Northern Nigeria can learn from other regions, just as other regions can learn from northern Nigeria. Northern and southern Nigeria are in symbiosis with each other, not competition,” he said.

Ibe maintained that the former vice president could not have called hardworking northern farmers lazy and reiterated that those afraid of restructuring are lazy elites feeding fat on the country’s resources.