Fayemi, reiterates call for restructuring of Nigeria

Ekiti State
Governor
Kayode
Fayemi yesterday revisited the
subsisting national question,
saying that Nigeria should be
restructured to reflect its vast
diversity as a nation-state.
He compared the challenges
of the earlier political
dispensations with the
current problems militating
against effective governance,
pointing out that the
fundamental problems which
confronted the country since
the Second Republic have not
fizzled out.
Fayemi said: "This is
principally because we have
failed as a people to confront
the fundamental structural
challenges of our national
togetherness and collective
political life. And until we do
so in a way that would
reorder the fundamentally
flawed logic on which Nigeria
has operated up till now, we
will not be able to put the
national state in the service of
the diverse people who
constitute it."
The governor spoke in Lagos
at a one-day ‘Conference on
Democracy and Prebendal
Politics in Nigeria’, which he
convened in concert with two
Nigerian scholars; Dr Wale
Adebamwi and Dr Ebenezer
Obadare.
At the brainstorming session,
which held at the Eko Hotels
and Suites, Victoria Island,
statesmen, frontline political
scientists, legal icons and
members of civil society
groups dissected the socio-
economic and political
challenges confronting the
country in its march of
democratic consolidation.
For Nigeria to survive the
challenges, they said the
country should fight
corruption with great vigour,
stem poverty through
equitable distribution of
wealth and foster good
governance and rule of law at
all the tiers of government.
Experts, including Prof.
Richard Joseph, Professor
Jane Guyer, Prof Adigun
Agbaje, Prof Ayo Olukotun and
Dr Abubakar Momoh, also
highlighted the roles of
youths, media and civil society
movement in democratic
growth and stability.
The inspiration for the
conference came from the
thoughtful and insightful
book written by the
Northwestern University,
Illinois, United States of
America don, Joseph, almost
25 years ago.
The book titled: "Democracy
and Prebendal Politics in
Nigeria: The fall of the Second
Republic", detailed the
untoward political behaviour
of the operators of the
presidential system, especially
their penchant for primitive
accumulation, which denied
citizens the benefits of good
governance, democratic
growth and political stability.
Discussants at the sessions
were unanimous that the
book still has relevance in
view of the abysmal conduct
of political office holders, who
apart from failing to find
solutions to the challenges of
social infrastructure, electoral
reforms and security, are
collaborating to cripple the
judiciary, which is the last
hope of the common man.
Governor Fayemi, in a
welcome address titled:
"Knowledge Generation and
Social Progress", lamented
that "the coalition of anti-
democratic forces, which
eventually failed to prevent the
democratisation and
humanisation of the Nigerian
space, have seized the
commanding heights of the
current democratic space".
He said pro-democratic forces
have since 1999 been battling
with the arduous task of
ensuring electoral sovereignty,
rule of law and justice.
The governor said, "while this
struggle for national survival
remains the duty of all
democratic forces, those of us
who have been given this
burden of running specific
components of the Nigerian
federation are called upon to
do our part in rebuilding the
crumbling edifice of public
administration in Nigeria".
Lagos lawyer, Femi Falana,
observed that Prof Joseph
may have to write another
edition of the book he wrote
24 years ago, stressing that
the current dispensation has
not been a wide departure
from the Second Republic
experience, which motivated
him to produce the work.
Lamenting the muscling of the
judiciary, he said the rule of
law, justice and good
governance have taken a
flight from the country as a
result of impunity in high
places.
Governor Babatunde Fashola,
who was represented by the
Special Adviser on Lagos
Central Business District, Mrs
Derin Disu, observed that
"Nigeria needs political
stability for her development
to attract foreign investment",
adding that all Nigerians must
continue to have the freedom
to choose their leaders.
The governor, who also said
that the country needed peace
to guarantee progress,
advised those in government
to find lasting solutions to the
challenges of epileptic power
generation, unemployment,
illiteracy, poverty, growing
discontentment and
insecurity.
The guest of honour, Asiwaju
Bola Tinubu, who was
represented by the former
Information and Strategy.