A former chairman of the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC), Attahiru Jega, has called for an urgent restructuring of Nigeria before the 2027 general elections to avert the country from falling into a failed state.
According to him, restructuring Nigeria before the next rounds of general elections in 2027 will be the best thing to have happened to the well-being of the country and its citizens.
He strongly opined that restructuring Nigeria should be embarked upon through evidence-based constitutional reforms in which objectives should be to decentralize powers and resources from the Federal tier and to spread them to those of the states and Local Governments.
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Though he dismissed the notion that Nigeria is already a failed state, he warned that this may become a reality if the nation doesn’t provide for the security, welfare, and basic needs of its citizens.
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Jega, a professor of Political Science, stated this while reaffirming his position on the state of the country’s political economy during a lecture titled, “Safeguarding Nigeria’s Future: Prioritizing Citizen’s Welfare and Security Amidst Challenges,” delivered at the maiden convocation of the Bauchi State-owned Sa’adu Zungur University, Gadau over the weekend.
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The former INEC chair said, “I don’t believe Nigeria is a failed state but we must realise that Nigeria is a failing state and if we put it in jeopardy and don’t safeguard it, then the worst can happen.”
He said: “Though things are not working well making many conclude that Nigeria has failed”, Jega opined that Nigeria has not yet failed but moving towards becoming a failed state.
According to him, Nigeria is currently facing tremendous, wide-ranging and verified challenges, which if not urgently and successfully addressed in good time, would put its future as a country, as well as the future of its citizens, in jeopardy.
The University Don further declared that “Anywhere in the continents of the world, in which a country of over 200 million is in jeopardy, the consequences would be wide-ranging and calamitous.”
He therefore said that “Safeguarding Nigeria’s future, and by extension that of Africa, therefore, requires addressing these challenges and re-prioritizing the Nigerian state’s policies and strategies towards addressing the fundamental needs and aspirations of citizens, especially socioeconomic wellbeing and human security.”
Jega also called for the reduction of the Federal Government’s powers on resources though he disagreed that Nigeria is a failed State, but rather a failing State.
The paper had a theme: ”Safeguarding Nigeria’s Future, and Prioritizing Citizen’s Welfare and Security amidst Challenges.”
He further urged Nigeria’s leaders to learn from the best practices” model Federations of Countries like India, Canada, and the USA in the areas of revenue generation as well as sharing and adapting to our local context and circumstances.
Just like the structure of the Nigerian Economy has a Colonial origin, primarily designed to meet up with and satisfy the Economic interests of the Colonial powers.
According to him, Long after the end of Colonial rule, the structure has embedded and integrated the Nigerian Economy into the Global Capitalist system such that it continues to promote primary commodity production and Export primarily to Europe and then import finished products from all parts of the World, rather than commodity production through Industrial production and Manufacturing for both the home market and export.
He said, ” No additional States and Local Governments should be created. The additional resources current states would get from the deconcentration of power and resources as recommended above would make all the 36 states and FCT financially viable and facilitative of grassroots development.
Jega advised: “The cost of governance at both the federal, state, and local tiers of governance need to be drastically cut, and measures introduced to entrench transparency and accountability and effective anti-corruption oversight.”
