Former Head of State, retired Gen. Yakubu
Gowon, says there is nothing wrong with restructuring the country provided it
is done within one Nigeria context.
Gowon stated this when Sen. Shehu Sani, the
Vice-Chairman, Senate Committee on Foreign Affairs, paid him a courtesy visit
in Abuja on Wednesday.
Reacting to calls by some Nigerians to
restructure the country, Gowon said there was nothing wrong with restructuring.
He recalled that Nigeria was restructured
under his leadership as the head of state with the creation of states in 1967.
``We can restructure within one Nigeria
context. I did it in 1967; we created states to stop eastern Nigeria from
seceding.
``We had to do something to ensure the fear
of their seceding did not exist; a serious issue of a part of the country
wanting to breakaway when we already lost a part to Cameroon.
``If we had allowed the eastern region to go
away, the map of Nigeria would have looked funny; it would have been tilted one
way.
``So, we decided overnight to break the fear
through the creation of states. If we had to save the country that was the only
way to do it.
``We also ensured that no state was too big
or too small to threaten the unity of the country,’’ he said.
The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) recalls that
Gowon, through a broadcast in 1967, announced the creation of 12 states; which
are, North-Western, North-Eastern, Kano and North-Central states.
Others are, Benue-Plateau, Kwara, Western,
Lagos, Mid-Western, Rivers (a South-Eastern state), East-Central and
East-Central states.
The former head of state added that the call
for true federalism by some Nigerians was also not a bad idea, as long as it
was done within the context of the nation’s unity.
``What is true federalism? As long as it
means respect for oneness of our country, it is alright, but if it means to
breakaway, it is not my way of thinking’’, he said.
NAN
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