The Niger Delta Vindicators, one of the agitating militant groups, on Sunday declared Nigeria a failed state, warning that the country would face disintegration unless it implements the principles of true federalism and restructuring.

Mr. Oyege Nimi Brown, National Coordinator of the group, made the submission in an interview session with newsmen in Yenagoa, capital of Bayelsa State.

Brown described calls for restructuring the country as an opportunity for the federating units to review ways of strengthening the unity of the Nigerian nation.

He likened the federation to a ‘marriage’ and the federating units as ‘wives’, noting that some wives want a rejuvenation of the marriage in the form of restructuring as well as implementation of the 2014 National Confab Report.

Brown described continued dialogue and communication amongst the federating unions as necessary and urged the Federal Government to encourage discussions to strengthen the union.

He said: “Nigeria is a failed state that must be totally overhauled. Those against restructuring are selfish and anti Nigerian unity. There can be no one Nigeria without restructuring.

“The term structuring means different things to different people. However, in a political setting, restructuring ideally means to change the structure of a government or administration.

“It is only where one has a structure that a restructure can be possible. There is a need to review the system to make the federating units to enjoy more economic autonomy and freedom to develop at its natural pace and engender healthy competition amongst the regions.

“We need to reorganise ourselves and make the federating units wield more powers and benefit more from the exploration of natural resources found at the regions as was done in the first republic.

“Nigeria is a country that has strong men without strong institutions and structures; we need to collectively build our institutions to make them resilient and stand the test of time, it is a task we need to accomplish collectively.”

Brown called on the present administration to look at the report of the 2014 National Conference and seek its implementation rather than confine it to the archives.

He expressed optimism that the Nigerian federation would witness economic growth and progress if the regions were encouraged to contribute to the centre from the proceeds derived from the regions and reverse the current over-dependence on the Federal Government.

The activist described a return to fiscal federalism as a necessary catalyst to drive economic growths that would see the country come out of the current economic recession. He urged all stakeholders to close ranks and show commitment to making Nigeria great.

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