The Coalition of Indigenous Ethnic Nationalities (CIEN) has called for urgent restructuring of the country.
The group made the call in a press statement after a brief meeting today to commemorate this year’s democracy Day .
In the statement signed by group’s Chairman, Prof. Ben Okaba, co-chairman, Timothy B. Gandu and secretary, Mr. Nubari Saatah, CIEN said Nigeria’s faulty socio-political and socio-economic problems are traceable to the 1999 Nigeria constitution.
The coalition therefore suggested that the adoption of true federalism (restructuring) will set the country on the right path.
CIEN, which is a socio-political organization with the mandate of uniting Nigeria’s indigenous ethnic nationalities as a means towards fostering mutual understanding and cooperation stated that it has put together recommendations which it believes if and when implemented will serve to steer Nigeria away from a more tumultuous immediate future.
It revealed that it has forwarded the recommendations to President Bola Tinubu, the National Assembly as well as the media to communicate to the Nigerian people.
The group further called on lawmakers at all levels “to rise to the occasion at this pivotal point in our history and take the necessary actions that’ll give Nigeria’s over 450 ethnic nationalities a voice and a renewed hope in Nigeria’s future.”
The full statement reads thus:
“We, the Coalition of Indigenous Ethnic Nationalities (CIEN), congratulate Nigerians and
the Nigerian state on this auspicious day, as we commemorate our silver jubilee of unbroken
democratic rule.
“This year’s Democracy Day, more than any other, calls for sober reflection and introspection by Nigerians, and most especially its political leadership.
“Twenty five (25) years after Nigeria’s political trajectory changed from the path of guns,khakis and jackboots in a military dictatorship, to political parties and a voting public in a civilian democracy, the hope that this change first rekindled and inspired in Nigerians on May29th 1999, has slowly but steadily degenerated into palpable despair as a result of Nigeria’s visible socioeconomic and sociopolitical decay.
“This slow degeneration of the Nigerian Federation is manifested in more ways than one but encapsulated in the following: the budding secessionist movements that have sprang up in different sections of the country over the years and now threatens its unity; the rise in religious and ethnic intolerance, insurgency and terrorism which has ravaged and continues to ravage different parts of the country; a gradual socioeconomic decline with a ripple effect of impoverishing a larger percentage of the Nigerian population, with a grossly skewed graph of
the distribution of the common wealth; and last but not the least, a decline in Nigeria’ssociopolitical status within the comity of nations on the continent and the international stage. These and many more have brought us to a head as a people.
“Today, more than at any point in Nigeria’s history, calls for the urgent restructuring of the
country have been at its loudest, and continues to reverberate.
“While we believe that Nigeria has grappled with poor leadership for most of its history, and that this has contributed immensely to our current state, the Coalition of Indigenous Ethnic Nationalities has taken cognizance of the fact that our faulty socio-political and socio-economic structures are traceable to the 1999 Nigeria Constitution.
“We therefore believe that the calls for the restructuring of the Nigerian Federation is germane and an idea whose time has come.
“Mindful of the above, CIEN, in living up to its founding mandate of uniting Nigeria’s indigenous ethnic nationalities as a means towards fostering mutual understanding and cooperation, the protection of our various and collective interests, self-determination, and the advancement of the Nigerian state in general, have since its founding, been engaging with the
indigenous peoples on the way forward for our people and we have been largely successful in
this regard.
“It is on this note that CIEN would like to inform the Nigerian public and its political leadership, that after due deliberations and consultation on the restructuring of the Nigerian Federation, we have put together recommendations and templates which we strongly believe if and when implemented will serve to steer Nigeria away from a more tumultuous immediate future, and towards a more prosperous future where the hopes and aspirations of the
indigenous ethnic nationalities will be actualized.
“In furtherance of this, and conscious of the times, CIEN has forwarded a letter and an accompanying recommendation to the President and Commander in Chief of the Armed Forces, His Excellency, Bola Ahmed Tinubu GCFR, as we move towards deepening the conversations on the restructuring of the Nigerian Federation.
“CIEN has also forwarded this recommendation to the leaderships of the Nigerian Senate, and the House of Representatives respectively.
“The Nigerian public has not been left out, as the recommendation has been forwarded to members of the press for onward communication and reportage to the people.
“We would like to use this opportunity, to call on the political representatives of our people as comprised in the various State Houses of Assembly, House of Representatives and the Nigerian Senate, to rise to the occasion at this pivotal point in our history and take the necessary actions that’ll give Nigeria’s over 450 ethnic nationalities a voice and a renewed hope in Nigeria’s future.
“In conclusion, CIEN is committed to its engagement with the different nationalities,influencers, labour and trade unions, professional bodies, religious bodies, traditional rulers,political leaders, and all relevant stakeholders in our quest to arrive at the restructuring of the Nigerian Federation to the benefit of all. It is our wish that Nigeria and all its indigenous ethnic nationalities, succeed.
“May God grant us the courage and wisdom to do the needful.
“Happy Democracy Day, and may God bless the Federal Republic of Nigeria.
“Thank you and God bless you.”
