Restructuring/resource control: Prominent Nigerians renew call

Agitations for the country to adopt resource control and devolution of powers from the centre to states has continued to attract the attention of notable Nigerians.
Indeed,Lagos state governor,Babajide Sanwoolu,through his deputy, Demi Hamzat who spoke at the 3rd Annual lecture organized by Freedom on line, observed that unless states are allowed to control their resources,the country development will be arrested and poverty increased.
Sanwoolu wondered why the need for the federal government to continue to control roads in States which are closer to the people while he also queried the wisdom in making business registration a federal government affairs.
As for him,states should be able to control its resources,generate power for it’d various development needs while it should also be allowed to collaborate on construction of roads,rails in order for the country to solve its problems for future development challenges.
He remarked that all the 22 states in Nigeria have lands that can grow cocoa yet could not produce chocolate while India which doesn’t grow produce chocolate for its teeming masses.
Sanwoolu called for the teaching of history in schools to enable the country rediscover ts past adding that various leaders have used ethnicity and religion to divide the people.
Speaking in the same vein,former deputy national chairman of Peoples Democratic Party(PDP),Chief olabode George who deliver a keynote address on Nigeria:Foundation,Fundamentals and Future said for the country to progress and realise its potentials,”power must be devolved to the states.”
He observed that running a country like Nigeria like charity organisation is akin to cultivating laziness by the states and contended that states should be made to look within their environment and be creative in their development strides.
In his own remark,Garbage Shehu,senior special assistant to the President on media,urged the media to avoid generalisation of one ethnic group as the source of crime and the various problems in the country.
“There are rogues and rascals all over Nigeria” he said.
Speaking at the occasion,former Governor of Ogun state,otunba gbenga Daniel praised the federal government for closing the nations border adding that for the country to be great, it has to produce its needs locally.
He called on the federal government to create employment for the teeming youths while he appealed to rich people to use their wealth locally in order to avoid capital flight.
“Let the money stay here.Let us compel our politicians who have money to invest it here to generate jobs for our youths. In his remark ,Professor Akinyemi Onigbinde observed that by now,the country which he described as,” a fraudulent architecture should be tired of talking about restructuring saying that the option left for the country is either to restructure or dissolve.
In his contribution,Tola Adeniyi,veteran journalist said the security of the people should be placed in the hands of the community and state.
“Let the local people and state police their area,don’t bring an Okiro to Akure as Divisional Police Officer(DPO) or a Fulani to be DPO in Abeokuta.let the people police their community” he declared.