TELL Magazine

…Advocate Return to Parliamentary System with Buhari as PM.

As scepticism continue to trail the 2023 general elections, a group known as City Gate Elders of Nigeria, Benin City, Edo State, has canvassed the restructuring of Nigeria into twelve or eight regions with premiers as heads of each region for easy administration and reduction in the cost of governance.

The group also suggested that President Muhammad Buhari should constitute a committee to transmute to a prime minister, urging him to redeem his public image by restructuring Nigeria and thereby kill many birds with one wise political stone.

Addressing journalists on Thursday, the chairman of the group, Dele Oluwatade, a prominent medical doctor, noted in a paper titled “Re-engineering Nigeria for a Stable Political Equilibrium”, that a borrowing nation like Nigeria cannot afford the extravagance of the presidential system of government.

Accordingto Dr. Oluwatade, “The strength of the American presidential system is the federating states. The weakness of Nigeria’s presidential system is in the unitary federalism State, causing political emasculation of economic activities of the nation.

“America is ruled by 51 heads; but Nigeria is ruled by one head. California is about half of Nigeria, under one governor; equivalent of 18 governors in Nigeria, run on political extravagance.

“By American standard, Nigeria should not have more than 12 states. A 12-region arrangement is good for Nigeria, saving the 24 insolvent states and waste”.

The chairman was miffed that “A massively borrowing nation is warming up for awareness on Presidential style of campaigns and elections, meanwhile, our youths are out of school due to ASUU strike, and JAMB is conducting another exam to admit another set of youths into a locked system; and government is sourcing for four trillion. Functional confusion per excellence!

“A nation on borrowing spree! Even to pay for ‘fuel subsidy’, we ‘re borrowing. A compulsorily consumption economy with about 3.2% to tip over
insolvency is organising an electoral process to waste human and material resources; organising an election for a knocked nation.”

Oluwatade expressed awe that Nigerian politicians are living larger than the Nigerian economy, while the masses are suffering.