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Former Nigerian President Goodluck Jonathan on Thursday said restructuring the country had its benefits but the elites must de-emphasize issues that polarised the people first if any positive result is expected.
The president believes that restructuring would not be possible if National cohesion is not pursued first.
He said, ‘We cannot restructure without solving issues that polarize us which are nepotism, ethnic and religious differences, and lack of patriotism.
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‘Also, discussion on restructuring will not help except we restructure our minds. Some of the challenges faced at the national level are still there at the state and local government levels, and sometimes even in our communities.
‘From Independence, the struggle was that politics was based on regions and there was this tension. It’s a dynamic blow between the regions who will produce the national leaders and that is still hunting us till today.’
Drawing morals lessons from the story of ‘Baby Frog and Baby Snake’ who related as friends until their mothers told them separately that one was food for the other, Jonathan warned, ‘Our conversation in this country is taking the dimension of baby frog and baby snake. We are making our children hate themselves.’
Nonetheless, he rejected the twin ideas of the one-party system and unitary system of government as a panacea to the current state of political polarisation in the country.
‘Let me state for the records that I strongly oppose both the philosophy and the idea of a one-party system as well as the unitary system of government as a solution to ethnic and cultural diversity. That cannot solve the problem,’ he stated.
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