Nothing will work unless Nigeria is restructured, say Mimiko, Ozekhome, PFN chieftain

A Senior Advocate of Nigeria (SAN), Prof. Mike Ozekhome; former Governor Olusegun Mimiko of Ondo State; and a chieftain of the Pentecostal Fellowship of Nigeria (PFN), Pastor Femi Emmanuel, on Friday, said that nothing will work in Nigeria unless the country is restructured along federal principles.

They, therefore, called on the Federal Government to take bold steps to correct the hindrances hampering Nigeria’s progress.

They made the call during the 70th birthday ceremony of the General Overseer of Gethsemane Prayer Ministries International, Ibadan, Dr Moses Aransiola and his wife, Pastor Funmi, which was held at the International Conference Centre, University of Ibadan.

The event was graced by Governor Seyi Makinde of Oyo State; the General Overseer of Four Square Bible Church, Rev. Sam Aboyeji; the Vice Chancellor of the University of Ibadan (UI), Prof. Kayode Adebowale; and Governor Abiodun Oyebanji of Ekiti State, who was represented by Folakemi Awojobi, and others.

In his lecture, Ozekhome pointed out that Nigerians did not contribute to the current Constitution. The senior advocate lamented that the Constitution foisted a unitary system on a pluralistic society. He said the Constitution is the reason nothing is working in Nigeria, emphasising that ”Nothing will work unless we do something.”

He said Nigeria must sit down to discuss and ask questions if the federation is working.

”We need to call a national conference to discuss. All is not well. We are papering all over our problems. We need state police urgently. We must restructure our federation to birth a new Nigeria,” he said.

He also called on the Federal Government to revisit the report of the 2014 Confab, saying any serious government should look into the report. The SAN also expressed his opposition to a one-party political system, saying, ”It is dangerous; it will lead to dictatorship and corruption, it is non-inclusive, it is against the freedom of choice, it will lead to civil unrest.”

In his submission, Mimiko stated that he agreed with Ozekhome’s thoughts on the need to restructure the country.

”The military intervention was a double jeopardy for the country. We cannot move forward with the current Constitution. The unitary Constitution and unbridled capitalism have brought us to this level. We have to address these to move forward,” the former governor added.

Pastor Emmanuel, a former Deputy Speaker of the Oyo State House of Assembly, toed the same line. The Director of Politics and Governance of PFN said: ”Nigeria is a lie; unfair and unjust. Nigeria is a country of many nations. Nigeria must go back to true federalism. We need to go back to the 2014 Confab Report. The best president in the world cannot survive with the present structure we have now.”

In his remarks, Governor Makinde asserted that Nigeria’s problem is not how to share revenue but how to be productive. According to him, natural resources cannot give us economic prosperity, but entrepreneurship can.