A Lagos-based lawyer, Mr Femi Falana, and the 14th Emir of Kano, Muhammad Sanusi II, on Wednesday cautioned against perceiving agitations for restructuring as secession.

They said the agitations should rather be seen as a bid for equitable distribution of wealth and resources between the federal and state governments and building of strong systems through strong moral values.

The duo, who spoke at the Ekiti State University, Ado Ekiti, during the 24th Convocation Lecture of the institution, also asked Nigerians to resist anyone deploying the restructuring agitation to divide Nigeria.

Falana, who delivered the lecture, titled, ‘Restructuring and the liberation of Nigeria,’ said, “The apparent defects in the federal system form the legitimate demand for urgent restructuring in order to liberate the country.

“It is indisputable that the prolonged years of military dictatorship aided the usurpation of residual powers of state governments by the Federal Government.

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“The National Assembly has continued to consolidate and expand the powers of the Federal Government to the detriment of federalism, while the courts have interpreted the constitution to justify the control of the judiciary by the Federal Government through the National Judicial Council.

“The way forward is that the struggle for restructuring and liberation of the poor people of Nigeria from the bondage of poverty and inequality requires the adoption of vertical and horizontal measures to build a peaceful and united Nigeria rooted in social justice, equity and genuine freedom.”

Sanusi, who is the EKSU chancellor, in his remark, said, “There is a difference between restructuring and secession. There is a difference between restructuring and division. There is a difference between restructuring and civil war. Some are using ethnic profiling to divide us. Ethnicity and religion are mere identities; they don’t really represent our values and who we truly are.

The EKSU Vice Chancellor, Prof. Edward Olanipekun, said, “The Nigerian nation, perhaps because of the colonial mode of evolution still remains contentious, leading to continuous agitations for restructuring even in the extreme the dissolution of the union 60 years after independence.”