Acting President Yemi Osinbajo has said that the Federal Government will soon come out with policies to address the clamour by Nigerians for restructuring of the country.

Osinbajo made the disclosure at the presentation and launch of a book titled: “Nigeria: The Restructuring Controversy,” in Abuja Thursday.

Osinbajo, who was represented by his Special Adviser on Political Matters, Babafemi Ojudu, said the debate for the restructuring of the country by Nigerians had been noted by the government.

“We are looking at all contributions made by Nigerians across the country. Very soon we will come out with policies to address the call for the restructuring of the country.

“We are watching and looking and taking notes. The beauty of Nigeria is that we don’t take up our guns to fight, we love to talk, we love to debate, and this is what we know,” he said.

He recalled that even though tension was high during June 12 crisis, “Nigerians never took their guns to fight”.

“It is a beautiful thing that we are looking at the issue of restructuring, but what we are against is to rise up and take up guns against other persons.

“But what we can assure you is that we are all looking at the contributions being made across the country, whether, from the North, South-south, South-east, North-central and South-west, the government of President Muhammadu Buhari is taking notes of all the contributions.

“Very soon we are going to come out with policies that will take care of some of the issues around restructuring,” Osinbajo stated.

While citing South Sudan, Afghanistan, Iraq and Syria as countries that sought for separation that eventually plunged their nations into endless warfare, Osinbajo asked Nigerians to discard agendas that promote division and separation and focus on the unity of the country, as the federal government was already making plans to prioritise the issue of restructuring.

The acting president warned that the federal government would not tolerate any act capable of causing disaffection among the various ethnic groups in the country.

He urged Nigerians to be committed and loyal to the cause of the country, stressing that separation was not the answer to the country’s challenges.

“It is in our interest as a nation to continue to dialogue for the unity and peace of the country. Equity, fairness and justice can only be achieved under a peaceful atmosphere. We must not do those things that will turn us against each other,” he cautioned.

Osinbajo said the government was working assiduously to ensure that all Nigerians, irrespective of their tribes lived better lives.

The chairman of the occasion and former military Head of State, General Abdulsalami Abubakar, who was represented by his erstwhile Minister of Information and Culture and current President of Ohaneze Ndigbo, Nnia Nwodo, concurred with Osinbajo, stating that with the current quagmire regarding the structure of the country, restructuring Nigeria had become inevitable.

Abubakar contended that the peaceful co-existence between the various ethnic groups “has been bastardised and turned round into where you come from and not what you can give Nigeria”.

“That is why restructuring has become an inevitable sine qua non for the continuous being of the Federal Republic of Nigeria. The reason we are in this jinx is because we found oil.

“But those who found oil and the formula for its allocation divided Nigeria into states that are dependent on oil and nothing else.

“When we found oil, we all forgot about production, we all forgot about agriculture, the government became about sharing oil wealth.

“Very soon, our oil will mean nothing if this structure persists. The essence of restructuring is to enthrone a new scheme of development, a scheme for the exploration of our human and natural resources,” he said.

Abubakar advised the federal government to adopt modern technology to move the nation forward, as oil was no longer lucrative in the international market.

Earlier, Mike Okiro, a former Inspector-General of Police (IG) and author of the book, said the country currently demands true patriotism from all citizens.

“Presently, our country demands from all citizens a strong display of true patriotism in whatever we are doing or saying,” Okiro said.

He blamed Nigeria’s ruling elite for systematically deploying ethnicity and religion as tools to create divisions for their self-promotion and enrichment.

“My strong conviction is that Nigeria will emerge an unstoppable giant on the path of peace, rapid development and progress, not by dissolving into mushroom republics along ethno-religious lines, but by a leadership-led reconstructing that accords iron-cast deference and reverence to justice, equity and fair play even in the face of the worst of odds,” Okiro submitted.

The reviewer of the book, Sam Omatseye, who is also the Chairman of the Editorial Board of The Nation Newspaper, said the book was about the cry for justice and a denial of the cry for justice.

He said that the book was about believing and those who hated believing.

In attendance were five former IGs, traditional rulers and National Assembly members, among others.