Restructuring: Between Soyinka, Tinubu

Let us agree that the debate on President Muhammadu Buhari’s second term is disgusting at the moment. But those stoking the fire know very well why they are doing so. It is evident the situation in the country encourages such debate.
Who would not talk about 2019 polls now in the face of a multitude of challenges? We are virtually being administered on daily policies. And these policies change as the day changes. That is where the change mantra is more pronounced.
More so, the proponents of this debate are borrowing useful leaf from the United States of America, the so-called grand custodian of democracy. Its President, Donald Trump’s policies, like ours, are encouraging calls for Vice President Mike Pence to come on board in 2021.
Just like Pence, our own Vice President Yemi Osinbajo denied similar ambition. Certainly, that would not debar the pushers to sheathe their sword. That debate would continue unabated whether Osinbajo and Pence like it or not.
We can see reason with the Nobel Laureate, Professor Wole Soyinka. He is pissed off that some weird elements are urging Buhari, even at great risk to his health, to have yet another shot at the Presidency in 2019. He is dismayed and embarrassed.
Some governors arguably led by Nasir el-Rufai of Kaduna State, are at the forefront of this show. Soyinka cannot understand their line of thinking: “Why are we talking about second term for heaven’s sake? I don’t understand this.” Yes, many of us don’t too!
He wonders: Why should anybody be doing that where there are “yawning gaps” in Buhari’s performance? Not only that, an average Nigerian is now less secure than he was few years ago:
“The past few years have been years of real internal economic disaster for the average citizen.” Yet, el-Rufai & Co would stick to second term by whatever means. Quite laughable!
In that mood, Soyinka moved to the vexed issue of restructuring. Some believed that restructuring is wearing varied faces, labels, tags, togas, et al. That it means different things to equally different people.
Some even pretended to forget its meaning entirely. That is why the All Progressives Congress (APC), is “vigorously” searching for its “true” meaning all over the country. We all know it is a white elephant exercise by pretenders, sycophants and do-gooders.
To Soyinka and the like minds, they are only trying hard to cheapen the word restructuring: “I find it very dishonest and cheap time-serving, trivialising the issue when I hear expressions like, ‘it is the mind that needs to be restructured.’ Who is arguing rot denying that? Why is it a substitute?”
Restructuring for all I care is a constant process. It is never static it changes. We can never be tired of restructuring. Soyinka aptly testifies to that:
“People go to Church and Mosque to have their minds restructured. They go to school and extramural classes to have their minds restructured. Restructuring the mind is not the issue.”
We do mind restructuring every second of our lives. That should not be substituted for the restructuring of the country. They are polls apart. The Nobel laureate couldn’t agree less:
“Anybody who indulges in self-examination is already engaging in an exercise of mental and attitudinal reconstruction. We know that. People should not try to substitute one for the other.”
And that is the serious problem we have on hand. Some see restructuring as evil or break-up of the country. They err they miss the point. Let us tap from Soyinka’s wisdom again:
“To try and suggest that the moment you say restructure, you are calling for disintegration, is for me intellectually dishonest. That is not the issue at all.” It couldn’t have been, because that is not the intention.
Almost appropriately, the APC National Leader, Asiwaju Bola Ahmed Tinubu, picked it up from there. He opted to be down-to-earth. He had been “away” for long. This time, he roared ferociously and the whole forest shook to its very foundation.
Tinubu opened up. He refused to mince or mix words. He hit the nail straight on the head. What his APC was afraid to address, he confronted it squarely.
You know what, he was tactical about it. He put his sincere words in the mouth of his close associate, Wale Edun, his Commissioner for Finance when he held sway as Governor, Lagos State.
Tinubu clearly identified “the root of our difficulties,” as the glaring imbalance in our strange and warped system of government. He strongly believed that true federalism, yet another tab for restructuring will correct the imbalance. He explained it this way:
“True federalism provides that the Federal Government should focus on those few essential things only it can provide… I say to those eager to dispense with federalism in favor of more rash and impractical remedies. Let us first truly practice federalism before we deem it a failure.”
He was not mouthing platitudes. It did not matter to him whose ox was gored. He opined that it would be far better to restructure now to attain the correct balance “between our collective purpose and our separate grassroots realities on the other. The more we repair federalism, the more we improve democracy.”
And consequently, the stronger we become as a nation. That is the spirit, and that is our conviction.
The North is moving from its position of total opposition to restructuring. It is gradually embracing dialogue though still sceptical. Chief Paul Unongo, Chairman, Northern Elders Forum (NEF), stated the North’s middle-of-the-road position:
“The North is very open to dialogue. Nobody can say we will not encourage dialogue. We love Nigeria but we will not be stampeded into carrying out someone’s agenda.” All the same, that is a step forward we will soon get there.
Now, is the APC still confused on the meaning of restructuring? Will it continue its wild search for the “true” meaning of restructuring? What else does it want to achieve with the el-Rufai Panel? Jamboree?
The “true” definition of restructuring and its meaning are right here with us. We do not need an el-Rufai panel to convince us. The earlier it is disbanded, the better. We need not waste our scarce resources and tax-payers’ money in wild goose chase. This can provoke bitterness and resistance. This is no hate speech.
We stoutly refuse to be confused. We are crystal clear in our minds what we want to make out of restructuring. It is for our good.
Let us collectively exploit the strength, wisdom and beauty of restructuring.
It will make us indestructible as a people. Yes, we are sure!