Against the backdrop of the economic stress and political uncertainty in Nigeria, the President-General of the apex Igbo socio-cultural, Ohanaeze Ndigbo, Chief Nnia Nwodo, is billed to speak Wednesday, September 27, 2017, at Chatham House, the United-Kingdom based Independent Policy Institute.
Being the second of a series of meetings at Chatham House, on the Restructuring Debate in Nigeria, Chief Nwodo will be examining Nigeria’s efforts at nation-building, the reality of citizenship, as well as power-sharing and devolution as strategies for strengthening democracy and accountability, says a statement by Katherine Lawson, Events and Paliarmentary Assistant, Chatham House.
The session which will be chaired by Lanre Akinola, Editor African Business Magazine, is tagged, “Next Generation Nigeria: Participation, Accountability and National Cohesion.”
The statement read: “The economic stress and political uncertainty in Nigeria, together with multiple localised violent conflicts and the rise of divisive rhetoric, have reignited debate in the country on how power and resources are shared and managed across the federation of 36 states and the Federal Capital Territory of Abuja.
“Regardless of ethnicity, religion or socioeconomic status, some citizens are calling for a comprehensive rethink of Nigeria’s governance architecture, and are demanding that a process of ‘restructuring’ takes place.
“Others argue that improving the current model is crucial before pursuing anything new. It remains unclear exactly what restructuring would involve, what the consequences could be, and how it could be properly and peacefully implemented. Fractious politics and competing interests risk muddying the waters of the current debate.
“In the second of a series of meetings at Chatham House, Chief John Nnia Nwodo, President-General of the Ohanaeze Ndigbo, will examine Nigeria’s efforts at nation-building, the reality of citizenship, as well as power-sharing and devolution as strategies for strengthening democracy and accountability.
“He will discuss how these questions are being framed in the ongoing ‘restructuring’ debate, and propose how best to foster a sense of equal belonging in Nigeria.”
The statement disclosed that the event will be livestreamed from 12.00 BST.
Recall that in the first event of this series, at Chatham House, Governor Nasir el-Rufai of Kaduna State, discussed What Is Restructuring and Does Nigeria Need It?.
