When a nation finally reaches the point that its primary aim is to preserve the status quo, it is approaching old age. When it reaches the point where it is unwilling to sacrifice part of its status quo, it is going beyond being old, it is dying. That is the state Nigeria has reached now.

The North has become the excess baggage that impedes movement to the Promised Land. The obstinate refusal to restructure Nigeria amounts to unwillingness to sacrifice part of the status quo and move the country from poverty to a prosperous society.

The Minister of Interior, Rauf Aregbesola, eloquently declared that, the current arrangement is hindering the country from moving forward and that there is a need to adjust the current structure, both politically and economically to ensure maximum exploration and the use of resources with a view to encouraging healthy competition and create a

Nigeria where individuals can find fulfilment in life, even as they tread the narrow path of honesty, hard work and sincerity.”

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The above comments, paraphrased, coming from a “true Omoluwabi” carry enough charm that ought to make the snails down North crawl out of their shells to race the hares down South who are getting impatient with underdevelopment. A Scandinavian proverb says, the apple does not fall far from the tree.

The position of Aregbesola is the position of his roots – the Yoruba people. Show me a man with Chief Obafemi Awolowo’s “gravitas” and I will tell you it’s Aregbesola. For Nigeria now, it is either “Boom”- restructuring or “Bust” – dismemberment.