Retired General Zamani Lekwot, Chairman of the Middle-Belt Council of Elders, has called for urgent national restructuring, warning that Nigeria’s leadership crisis can no longer be ignored if the country is to survive and thrive.
Speaking at the service of songs held in honour of the late elder statesman, Chief Edwin Clark, Lekwot used the solemn occasion to deliver a sobering reflection on Nigeria’s political structure.
He argued that the current centralised system has failed to deliver meaningful governance and must be replaced with a true federal arrangement.
“Our country is facing a serious leadership crisis,” Lekwot said. “Despite Nigeria’s vast human and material resources, they are not properly distributed to meet the needs of the people. The centralised structure we operate today cannot serve a country of this size, complexity, and growing population.”
He pointed to the model of governance Nigeria practised before the January 15th, 1966 coup, when the country was divided into four regions, each retaining 50% of its revenues and contributing the remaining 50% to the central government.
According to Lekwot, that system encouraged accountability, development, and healthy competition among regions.
“That was the foundation of resource control. It allowed leadership to emerge from within, with each region working to meet its own needs,” he said. “Every state in Nigeria is blessed. There is no reason anyone should fear a return to regionalism.”
Lekwot supported his argument by referencing the 2014 National Conference, which recommended that Nigeria adopt states as federating units, mirroring the models used in the United States and India. These countries, he noted, have allowed their subnational units to function as allies, not rivals, within a united federation.
“If we continue doing the same things, we’ll keep getting the same poor results,” he warned. “The sooner we embrace restructuring and allow each region or state to grow at its own pace, the better for all of us.”
The retired general said that the late Clark shared this vision for a restructured Nigeria. Known for his fearless views and unwavering patriotism, Clark hosted numerous strategy sessions in his home for the Middle-Belt and Southern Elders Forum and remained a vocal advocate for equity and justice until his passing.
“In 2015, under his guidance, we interviewed 18 presidential candidates to assess their readiness to lead. He believed in inclusion and transparency,” Lekwot recalled.
He concluded by urging Nigerians to honour Clark’s legacy not just in words, but in action.
He added, “We must continue from where he stopped. May his soul rest in peace, and may we find the courage to build the Nigeria he envisioned—a fair, just, and truly federal nation.”
Lekwot’s remarks stood out as both a tribute and a timely political intervention, reigniting the national conversation on restructuring in the presence of leaders from across Nigeria’s political and civic spectrum.