Nigeria, a country of over 350 ethnic groups with diverse beliefs and ideologies where every group is claiming to be marginalized and ready to go on its own way cannot make any progress under the present constitutional arrangement, a former National Commissioner of INEC in charge of Oyo, Ogun and Ekiti States, Professor Lai Olurode, has said.
Olurode, a former Dean of Faculty of Social Sciences, who teaches Sociology at University of Lagos, stated this on Sunday in Ibadan, the Oyo state capital while delivering a Keynote Address at the 3rd General Assembly of Muslim Ummah of South West Nigeria (MUSWEN).
Speaking on the topic “Good Governance”, Olurode informed that Nigeria cannot make any progress under the present constitutional arrangement that make the centre to be too powerful and concentrates powers at the centre, instead, he suggested that “We need to craft a constitution that is based on social justice.
“There is need for the powers to go back to the regions, we have only one region here in the Southwest, now we have 6 states, we have 6 commissioners of education in the six states, houses of assemblies with many offices, we are creating offices to satisfy people.
“If you look at the civil war, it is the agitation that caused it, the agitation for civil war if you look at it has not ceased, because people beliefs that it is better they go on their own way.
“I don’t know the number of agencies we have in education apart from ministry of education. I am not sure there is any state out of the 36 state apart from the FCT that has conducted local government election that is competitive, they are either selected or appointed because the governors are too powerful, the election that you already know the winner because the party in power wins everything. This is not an election but selection. There is a need for proportional representation because now a party that wins with only one vote takes it all. That is why the ruling party will not want the party that has 35 percent in the vote to survive.
“This requires a lot of constitutional reforms. We need to craft a constitution that is based on social justice, because Nigeria cannot make any progress with the present constitutional arrangement. We all need to join hands for the project to be sustained.
While speaking on the way out of the present situation which he described as “very tense”, Olurode maintained that “ We are 152 out of 188 countries in talking about good governance, the situation of this country is very tense, to change for better, people should change the situation by their hands, tongue or their minds. We know the good and the bad, when we know the good, then continue to follow it.
Speaking further, Olurode declared that Nigerian politicians deploy more strength in politics than in governance due to array of reasons such as factionalization of political parties, politics of commissioning and the love for and desire for money, the power of incumbent among other reasons.
He said most politicians start campaigning immediately after an election has been held without paying attention to governance as he said the politics of commissioning of a borehole for example where politicians spend more money in commissioning of a borehole is even more than the money spend on sinking the borehole.
“The desire for money, the value of what you buy is not important now but the value of the money. People are no more interested in the quality but the value of the money you use top buy the cloth”.
The don therefore called on stakeholders to support the restructuring of the country in order to make life better and easier for the citizens. “The restructuring is to make life better for the people”.
Minister for Communications, Abdulraheem Adebayo Shittu while congratulating the organization informed that the administration of President Muhammadu Buhari has taken a lot of steps in tackling Boko Haram insurgency, Niger Delta crisis, corruption and has embarked on efforts to improve electricity.
MUSWEN Executive Secretary, Professor Daud Noibi noted that parts of activities of the organization to improve the life of the people of the region is the cervical cancer screening for 1,000 women to be held in Ibadan and Osogbo which will cost the organization N2, million naira before the month of Ramadan.
Others include the award of scholarships at the event to 5 indigent female medical students of southwest origin who are currently in their clinical years.
At the event were representatives of Governor Abiola Ajimobi of Oyo and Ibikunle Amosun of Ogun state, Muslim organizations, professionals, academia among others.
