By Ola ‘Kiya, Reporting
LIKE Pastor Enoch Adeboye, the President of the African Development Bank Group, Dr Akinwumi Adesina, has proposed a change in the name of the Federal Republic of Nigeria to ‘The United States of Nigeria.’
Adesina made the suggestion during a lecture delivered as the recipient of the 2024 Obafemi Awolowo Prize for Leadership.
Map of Nigeria by structure
Stonix News recalled that Adeboye, who’s the General Overseer of the Redeemed Christian Church of God (RCCG), had, in October 2020 when Nigeria clocked 60, advised the Federal Government led by the then Muhammadu Buhari, to give Nigeria a lasting solution to secession agitations and its economic challenges by restructuring the country.
According to Pastor Adeboye, the restructuring of the country must be done “as soon as possible” to forestall a breakup of the various socio-ethnic components that make up Nigeria.
Similarly in his lecture titled: ‘Making a New Nigeria: Welfarist Policies and People-Centred Development,’ Adesina, who’s 64 year old having been born on October 1, 1960 when Nigeria gained independence, argued that renaming the country to ‘The United States of Nigeria’ would shift the relational dynamics between the states and the federal capital, Abuja.
He proposed that under this new framework, the states would serve as the fulcrum, with the centre supporting them rather than lording over them.
“We must be audacious! Instead of the Federal Government of Nigeria, we could think of the United States of Nigeria. The old would give way to the new.
President Bola Ahmed Tinubu
“We would change the relational mindset between the states and Abuja: the fulcrum would be the states, while the centre would support them, not lord over them.
“With good governance, better accountability systems, and zero tolerance for corruption, more economically stronger constituent states would emerge!
“We would unleash massive wealth across the states. A new Nigeria would arise! To do so, we will need all of us, not some of us.
“From our forgotten rural villages to our boisterous and dynamic urban areas. From the sparks of desire in the eyes of our children to the lingering hope in the hearts of our youth,
“From the yearnings of our women and mothers and our men and fathers for a better tomorrow, and the desires of the old that our end would be better than our past,
“From the hardworking street vendors and small businesses to the largest business conglomerates, we must create a movement of hope.”
“The achievement of economically viable entities and the viability of the national entity require constitutional changes to devolve more economic and fiscal powers to the states or regions.
The stronger the states or regions, the stronger the federated units,” he said.
The 82-year-old Adeboye, while speaking at a 60th Independence Day Celebration Symposium co-organised by the RCCG and the Nehemiah Leadership Institute, with the theme: ‘Where will Nigeria be in 2060?’ proposed the adoption of a merger of the British style of government and the American system of government to pave the way for Nigeria’s future.
The former lecturer at the Department of Mathematics of the University of Lagos said, “Why can’t we have a system of government that is 100 per cent Nigerian, unique to us?
“For example, we started on with the British system of government, somewhere along the line, we moved over to the American system of government.
“Can’t we have a combination of both and see whether it could help us solve our problems because in Mathematics, if you want to solve a problem, you try what we call “Real Analysis,” then if it doesn’t work, you move on to “Complex Analysis” and see whether that will help you.
“If that fails, you move on to “Vector Analysis” and so on.
“I believe that we might want to look at the problems of Nigeria in a slightly different manner.
“Some people feel that all our problems will be over if Nigeria should break up. I think that is trying to solve the problems of Nigeria as if it is a Simple Equation.
“The problems of Nigeria will require quite a bit of Simultaneous Equation and some of them are not going to be Linear either – forgive me I am talking as a Mathematician.
“Why can’t we have a system of government that will create what I will call the United States of Nigeria? Let me explain. We all know that we must restructure. It is either we restructure or we break, you don’t have to be a prophet to know that one. That is certain – restructure or we break up.
“Now, we don’t want to break up, God forbid. In restructuring, why don’t we have a Nigerian kind of democracy? At the federal level, why don’t we have a President and a Prime Minister?
“If we have a President and a Prime Minister and we share responsibilities between these two so that one is not an appendage to the other.
“For examples, if the President controls the Army and the Prime Minister controls the Police. If the President controls resources like oil and mining and the Prime Minister controls finance and inland revenue, taxes, customs etc. You just divide responsibilities between the two.
“At the state level, you have the governor and the premier, and the same way, you distribute responsibilities between these people in such a manner that one cannot really go without the other. Maybe we might begin to tackle the problems.”
Adeboye also said that the place of traditional rulers must be recognised and restored in governance if the country must move forward.
“If we are going to adopt the model, then we need to urgently restore the House of Chiefs. I have a feeling that one of our major problems is that we have pushed the traditional rulers to the background and I believe that is a great error particularly for a great country like Nigeria.
“I find it very ridiculous that one will ask a traditional ruler to inform the chairman of his local government before he travels.
“Go to any town in Nigeria, everybody in the town knows the paramount ruler in the town and they respect him (but) many of them don’t even know the name of the chairman of their local government.
“The traditional rulers are the actual landlords, they control the respect of their people. Their people will listen to them much more, I am sorry to say, than they will listen to some political figures.
“Without any doubt, we must restructure and do it as soon as possible. A United States of Nigeria is likely to survive than our present structure,” he concluded.
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