by Alexander O. Onukwue

Former Vice President, Atiku Abubakar, is gradually becoming one of the potential candidates for the Presidency in 2019.

There has been no formal declaration of interest by him, but a good number of his opinions on national issues have been expressed with the forthrightness of a man making a pitch. One of such issues has been about Restructuring, which he addressed in a lecture at the University of Nigeria Nsukka.

Here are five points from the speech that revealed Atiku’s ideas on Restructuring:

1. “My Vision” yes, he actually personalised it “of Restructuring, will not make some States richer and other poorer. Restructuring is a win-win for all Nigerian states”.

Okay, but what exactly is the definition of Restructuring in this vision of Atiku’s?

2. “To me, Restructuring means making changes to our current federal structure so it comes closer to the vision of our founding fathers/Restructuring the very issues and challenges that led our founding fathers to opt for a less centralised system”

Apparently, Atiku has in mind to amend the current ultra-unitary nature of Nigeria towards a more devolved system, as had been done in the Awo-Zik-Sardauna days. Speaking of founding fathers, he was one of the founding fathers of the PDP. Just saying

But will Restructuring solve all the problems the country currently faces? Listen to Atiku:

3. “Let me caution that restructuring is not a magic bullet that would resolve all of Nigeria’s challenges but is a necessary first step/Those who seek to dismember the country think that once their dream is achieved their part of the country will become paradise. Not so”

Directly, Atiku speaks to IPOB and Nnamdi Kanu here. It’s Atiku’s belief that Biafra will not become an automatic choice destination because it pulls out of Nigeria. We can safely assume too that he is not with the now quiet Arewa declaration.

Now, an important question: Who will do the restructuring? Does Atiku fancy taking it up? His answer is cryptic on this one:

4. “The Restructuring I want to see happen is to bring the benefits of the change that our people were promised in the last general elections”

The buzz word here, of course, is “change”. The “I want to see happen” really does read like “I want to make happen” but you cannot be sure here.

Atiku was not explicit about whether he would run or not, but what he is sure about is that Restructuring is inevitable:

5. “Only be restructuring can we guarantee Unity, Equity and Security for our nation”.