An elder statesman and former Commonwealth
Secretary-General, Chief Emeka Anyaoku, has stated that current political
arrangements cannot develop Nigeria.
According to Anyaoku, who spoke in Abuja on Saturday, only
the restructuring of the federation would ensure the rapid growth of the
country.
The elder statesman spoke in an interview with journalists
during the public presentation of a book, ‘Nigeria: The Forsaken Road to
Nationhood and Development’, written by a retired diplomat and Nigeria’s former
Ambassador to Switzerland, Dr. Humphrey Orjiako.
He observed that Nigeria was underdeveloped due to its present
36-states structure, where all the states were dependent on the central
government for survival.
Anyaoku believed it was time the country reverted to
regional governments.
He stated, “I think the Nigeria we have, of 36 federating
units now, is not working. The country continues to underperform because of the
36 states we have now. About 27 of the states cannot pay the salaries of their
workers.”
Also speaking on the same vein, a former Governor of the
Central Bank of Nigeria, Prof. Charles Soludo, said the present structure of
the country was outdated and would not enhance its development, describing the
Federal Government as a major constraint to the states.
Soludo, who spoke to some Nigerian journalists on the
sidelines of the annual meetings of the World Bank/International Monetary Fund
in Washington DC, United States of America, said the present structure had
outlived its usefulness.
The ex-CBN governor added, “The Federal Government in
Nigeria is a major constraint to the states and that is why some of us believe
that the current structure that we have is for a time we no longer live in.
“The current structure was designed to share and consume the
oil rent, and I have argued that the structure that is designed for consumption
cannot be efficient for production. So, we know that it will have its own
ripple effects.”
No comments:
Post a Comment
All rights reserved. This material and any other material on this site may not be reproduced, published, broadcast, written or distributed in full or in part, without written permission from WISEMEN
<===============================================>
WISEMEN is highly honoured to have you as our esteemed reader.
You are encouraged to make comments to any post herein.
However, we shall not be responsible for use of foul language, it is against our professional ethics.
Help build a better Society!