Afenifere leader, Chief Reuben Fasoranti is concerned that the national is at crossroads. In this interview with NIYI BELLO, he offers solution on how to overcome insecurity and other challenges. There is a lot of despondency in the land. The ship of the nation appears adrift as the country faces a myriad of. How do we get out of this state'NIGERIA is at a crossroads and there are only two ways to follow. It is either we sit down and look at the structure of this country and address the issues that are causing the weakness of our structure through a national conference or we continue to pretend as if everything is all right and let the status quo remain.We have been saying it. Afenifere has been saying it that the only way out of this mess is to sit down and talk over this matter. There are many things wrong with the Nigerian federation as it is presently constituted and we can only identify these things by tackling the issues from the perspectives of individual nationalities. Let the National Assembly, which is already in place, convoke a sovereign national conference and a new Nigeria will be born, where all the identified defects would be removed in a mutually arranged manner with all the stakeholders.Can you be specific sir, in what particular areas we need to restructure'There are many areas, but an area that readily comes to mind and which will help in resolving most of these problems is the area of the structure of the federation. The present structure of an unwieldy centre that we inherited from the military is not good for the composition of this country. We should go back to true federalism and that will also solve the problems of agitation for resource control and its effect on the economy.But the Boko Haram insurgency is a security issue. How do you want government to tackle this menace'The only solution to the Boko Haram menace is for the Federal Government to clampdown on the sect and bring those wasting innocent lives to book. Government must take the issue of security very seriously and increase surveillance and strengthen the process of intelligence gathering, so that most of these attacks could be nipped in the bud. Although many of them are dying with their victims, those who are caught should be prosecuted and made to face the wrath of the law. I heard that some of those who perpetrated the Okene Church shootings have been apprehended. Let government waste no time in taking them to court to answer to charges of terrorism.Some people are calling for dialogue with this group.Do you know them' How do you dialogue with somebody that you don't see' How do you speak with somebody whose identity you don't know' As far as Nigerians know, these people are faceless or maybe those calling for dialogue know their identities. But if a national conference is convoked, they can come there and they will tell the Nigerian state what they desire from the rest of us. If it is something we can give them, we give for peace to reign. But for some people to hide and be causing panic in the country, they should be made to bear the full weight of the law and the government must possess the political will to ensure security in this country.The insurgency has been linked to the determination of the North to get back political power. What do you say to this'Every part of the country has a right to political power but the request must be channeled through the legal and appropriate course. This is a democracy and there are ways of seeking power. The linkage that you just mentioned now has further underscored the desirability of a conference. Maybe some people cannot survive without political power but we need to talk over it.
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