Why I said North is not prepared for restructuring – Atiku

Former Vice President and chieftain of the All Progressives Congress, Atiku Abubakar, has explained why he said the North is not prepared for restructuring.

In a statement signed by his Media Adviser, Mazi Paul Ibe, yesterday, he quoted the former vice president as saying that restructuring was not just a northern issue, but a challenge of nationhood that cannot be swept under the carpet by any sincere Nigerian.

The former VP had said anyone who is opposed to the current clamour for restructuring of the nation is lazy.

Clarifying his position, the Waziri Adamawa said he was referring to lazy elite who were resisting restructuring because they perceived political power as a permanent source of economic advantages while the masses suffered.

“Atiku Abubakar is a Nigerian of northern origin. If he puts down the North, doesn’t he put himself down? His value as a person is irrevocably tied to that of Nigeria and the region that God chose to originate him from,” he said.

The media aide also said that there was no section of Nigeria that did not have abundance of untapped resources that cannot be put into effective and efficient use for development.

“It is a historical fact that northern Nigeria, and more specifically, the Kanem Bornu Empire and southern Nigeria, more specifically, the ancient Benin Kingdom, are the birthplace of some of the oldest civilisations on earth.

“What does that teach us? It teaches us that the North and the South have a great history which should be a stepping stone to an even greater future.

“Northern Nigeria can learn from other regions, just as other regions can learn from northern Nigeria. Northern and southern Nigeria are in symbiosis with each other, not competition,” he said.