Former Nigerian Ambassador to Germany, Prof Akinjide Osuntokun, has called on the Federal Government to restructure the country by collapsing the current 36-state structure into viable zones.
According to him, this move will enhance cultural cohesion, promote national unity, and enable more efficient governance.
The academic said this on Tuesday in Lagos during the inaugural lecture in honour of his late brother and former Regional Minister, Oduola Osuntokun.
Osuntokun proposed a modified zonal arrangement that would group states and ethnic nationalities along lines of cultural and historical similarities.
He argued that this would dismantle the colonial-era North-South divide, which he described as an artificial and divisive construct.
In his proposal, the former envoy recommended expanding the South-West zone to include Kwara State up to Jebba, as well as the Kabba and Igala regions of present-day Kogi State.
He stated that such a realignment would foster cultural unity and reinforce regional identity.
He further suggested that the South-East zone should be reconstituted to include Akwa Ibom, Cross River, Rivers State, and the Idoma-speaking areas of Benue State.
A new South Central zone would comprise Edo, Delta, Bayelsa, and the Ebira-speaking parts of Kogi.
For the North, Osuntokun proposed that the North Central zone be made up of Niger, Kaduna, Nasarawa, Plateau, and Tiv areas of Benue State. Kano, on the other hand, should be merged with Jigawa, Katsina, Zamfara, Kebbi, and Sokoto to form a coherent North-West region, while the North-East would include Yobe, Gombe, Bauchi, Adamawa, Taraba, and Borno.
He said, “This suggestions are rooted in cultural consanguinity but open to negotiation but the measure will remove the Berlin Wall dividing Nigeria into North and South because the current notion of North and South is a colonial imposition and we must break away from it once and for all, this will have to be presented at national conference to break the logjam against cohesion and lack of national feeling.
“If there is an agreement, we will have six constituent states big enough to be self-sustaining, and we would then have a proper federation with a federal legislature of a House of Representatives and a part-time Senate elected by the members of state legislators on an equal basis. We should also have a parliamentary democracy.”
Osuntokun emphasised the need for appointments into federal and state agencies to be based on open competition and merit.
He cited India as a country that has progressed significantly through meritocracy and argued that Nigeria should follow suit, as no region lacks capable individuals.
“Appointments into all agencies of the state and federal governments shall be based on competition anchored on careers open to talent. This is how India got to where it is today and I dare say there is no part of Nigeria where there are no excellent people who will fall short of the measure of meritocracy,” he added.
He proposed mandatory national service for all young Nigerians, both male and female, in the military or other uniformed services for one year after graduation.
“The military, police, and all other armed and uniformed agencies or forces of government shall be recruited based on equality to eliminate the fear of dominance and domination by any ethnic group, and all young people –boys and girls – shall serve in the nation’s military for a year on graduation, as it’s done in the National Youth Service Corps.
“This is the skeleton of the constitutional organogram I am recommending to ensure stability and a safe landing when we run into turbulence,” he proposed.
By Olasunkanmi Akinlotan
