Minorities will suffer if restructuring is not ethnic-based – Prof Esu

Etim Ekpimah

Professor Peter Esuh, of Marketing Communications and Applied Rhetoric, University of Uyo, Akwa Ibom State, has said that ethnic minorities will suffer the worst marginalisation if Nigeria does not restructure based on ethnic grounds. 

Esuh added that at present, the majorities are calling for devolution of power, resource control, restoration of regionalism; he, however, urged the minority groups to ask for a representative democracy that is ethnic-based. 

Speaking during the November 2020 Edition of the Roundtable in Oron on Sunday, Esuh asked for the abrogation of the bicameral legislature, adding that Nigeria does not need a Senate. 

Esuh, who was a governorship aspirant in 2015 under the platform of the People’s Democratic Party in Akwa Ibom State, stated that what the country needs is the House of Representatives constituted based on equality by the recognised 450 ethnic groups in Nigeria. 

He noted that there is nothing like a true federalism, saying that If the system is not federalism, it cannot be anything else. 

“Minorities will suffer the highest level of marginalisation if we do not restructure. The majorities are looking for devolution of power, resource control, restoration of regionalism, and more. 

“Minorities should ask for representative democracy that is ethnic-based. Nigeria should not have a bicameral legislature. We do not need a Senate. We need just the House of Representatives constituted on the basis of equality by the recognised 450 ethnic groups in Nigeria,” he said. 

The convener of the November 2020 Edition of the Roundtable, Mr Omen Bassey, said #EndSARS protests which resulted in killings and destruction of property, revealed serious governance and structural issues about Nigeria. He added that sadly, the country seems comfortable in pretence. 

According to him, when the protests moved from Abuja to the states, governors became helpless in handling the issues because of the legal limitations placed on them. 

He added that it has become clear to everyone that the present quasi federalism is robbing the nation of progress. 

He said: “But the problem is deeper than that. Even if the nation finally embraces true federalism, how will ethnic minorities fare in the federating units? This question becomes necessary in view of the inability of most states of the Federation to give a sense of belonging to all their people, notwithstanding ethnic origin, religious beliefs, and social status. 

“Will the allocation of more powers to the states automatically solve the problems of inequitable distribution of resources, lopsided allocation of developmental projects and disproportionate spread of political appointments? The answer is NO. 

“Power corrupts. Absolute power corrupts absolutely. 

“If these timeless words of the iconic Catholic historian, politician and writer, Sir John Acton are anything to go by, then the minorities in the federating units will likely fare worse unless Nigeria is cured of certain idiosyncrasies and peculiarities. 

“It means whatever ills that are experienced in the states today will be amplified as more powers become available with the practice of true federalism.  

“Where do we go from here? What does restructuring mean for micro minorities like Oro Nation? Even within Oro there are minorities crying marginalisation. It is the same thing across Akwa Ibom State and Nigeria.”