The Christain Association of Nigeria (CAN) has criticised President Muhammadu for the disdain he has shown towards restructuring which appears to be the only political solution to the present logjam the country has presently found itself in.
Africa Daily News, New York had earlier reported that President Buhai dismissed agitators for demanding restructuring vowing that he won’t have anything with it. Speaking through the Executive Secretary, Revenue Mobilization, Allocation, and Fiscal Commission, Alhaji Mohammed Bello Shehu, he said; ‘and again, those who are discussing restructuring, my question is, what are you going to restructure? If you ask many Nigerians what they are going to restructure, you will find out that they have nothing to talk about.
‘Some of them have not even studied the 1999 Constitution. The 1999 Constitution is almost 70 to 80 percent 1979 Constitution.
The comment did not go down well with CAN who have now taken a swipe at the President, saying his remarks bore smacks of autocracy.
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The Vice-Chairman of CAN, Northern region, Reverend John Hayab, cautioned the President against taking the rest of the country for granted.
He said, ‘This same Buhari-led government had in the past set up a committee on restructuring and which came up with a report. If the same government is now saying that there is nothing to restructure, then it is telling Nigerians never to take anything it will say in the future seriously. Indeed, it is sad to hear that our elected leaders see us, citizens, as people who have no right.
‘When a democratically elected president consider the yearning of people as the yearning of the unelected, then you can simply say we are in an ‘autocratic democracy’. By that, we are nominal democrats; but in action, autocratic. In a true democracy, the citizens’ voice is key. Their voices must be heard and respected.
‘Calling for a National Conference is never a coup or does not mean handing over power to the unelected but instead, it is about given more space for citizens’ voices in governance.
‘Nigerians are disappointed with the military posture that is being displayed in a democratic dispensation. Those in power should be careful with the foundation they are laying which will never help our democracy to grow strong’.
AFRICA DAILY NEWS, NEW YORK
