PRESS RELEASE #
Mr. Okechukwu Theodore Ezeh, a chieftain of the All Progressives Grand Alliance (APGA) in Imo State has sent a message of congratulations to the President of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, Muhammadu Buhari, and all Nigerians on the celebration of Nigeria’s 57 independence anniversary.
In a release made available to newsmen on Friday, Mr. Okey Ezeh noted that Nigeria has come a long way, adding that a 57 year old man is no longer a child.
Buttressing his argument, Ezeh said that at 57 a man was supposed to have acquired wisdom with which he dealt with the challenges in his house, even as he noted that a 57 year old man should be able to take good care of his family so that all members of the family will live in harmony and gladly contribute their quota in the overall interest of the family.
He also commended Nigerians for their resilience and faith in the country in the face of daunting challenges.
Mr. Okey Ezeh, a financial and investment expert called the attention of Mr. President and other leaders across the country to the yearnings of the people and counseled pragmatism in addressing issues bothering the people. He said that the attitude of some leaders to some nagging issues in the polity could be discouraging, especially on the demand by Nigerians for restructuring the country.
He pointed out that it was not in the character of good leaders to hold back on their words, noting that there currently existed a perfect vista of opportunity to restructure the country, in line with the manifesto of the ruling party and extant realities in the country.
He noted that the current approach of going to Abuja every month to share revenue was unproductive and a serious inhibition to real development.
He called on the President and the ruling party not to forget that in few years to come crude oil will cease to be major revenue earner for any oil producing country, because the world economy was rapidly embracing clean energy technology forcing diversification into agriculture, tourism and ICT as alternative revenue drivers. He also reminded Mr. President that India, China and OECD countries have rolled out plans to phase out fossil fuel driven automobiles. He noted that Nigeria’s problem was further compounded by the production of shale oil by the United States of America (USA) and rapid improvement in battery technology all of which made it imperative for Nigeria to use the occasion of her 57th independence anniversary as the best time to replicate the bold and courageous steps of our leaders towards achieving independence for Nigeria 57 years ago, by embracing the necessity of restructuring the country.
He said that the best way for Nigeria to survive the onslaught of technology driven economy is to restructure the country so that every federating unit will look inwards and develop itself, instead of the current quasi-federal system that concentrates too much power in the center and gathers the federating units to a monthly revenue sharing table.
He said that when the country is restructured it would knock off indolence from the leaders and force them to pick up the challenges of the current global market and ensure that they keyed into current world economic conditions.
He said that the idea of restructuring the country should not evoke fear in any section of the country, adding that under such an arrangement Kebbi State could feed so many federating units with their rice program the same way an Imo State could nurture an oil palm economy that would place it on the industrial and development map of the country. He expressed optimism that a restructured Nigeria would also address the myriad of agitations across the country and usher in true peace and unity across the length and breadth of the land.
