Prof. Oserheimen Osunbor, former governor of Edo State; former Minister of Education, Dr Oby Ezekwesili; and Director-General of the Nigerian Institute of International Affairs, Prof. Eghosa Osaghae, on Wednesday in Ibadan, Oyo State, pledged their support towards call for the restructuring of the country.
The three personalities spoke as panelists at the just-concluded two-day Democracy Summit organised by the governor of Oyo State, ‘Seyi Makinde, at the International Conference Centre of the University of Ibadan.
As suggested on Monday, by Governor Makinde for true federalism and devolution of powers, the trio urged President Muhammadu Buhari and the leadership of the All Progressives Congress to look inward and proffer solutions to the myriads of problems across the country.
They challenged the president to be sincere with Nigerians and seek for ways to lift the country out of the scourge of poverty which they noted had resulted in the increasing waves of insecurity in the polity.
Osunbor pointed at the possibility of reviving the fiscal federalism structure as a way out of the hydra-headed problems being faced.
He said the old fiscal federalism practiced in the country “was quite robust and gave the states the opportunity to generate a lot of funds for the local government areas. I think that is the salvation for the federal system in this country.
“This is a fundamental issue to consider in a period like this, and which will strengthen democratic practice or aspirations of this country. We actually need to go back to the 1960s and adopt, in fact, revive the fiscal federal structure.
“The only way we can have a proper understanding of federalism or even begin to think of a more effective federalism is to, first, understand the nature of the state, which federalism is expected to serve.
“If we don’t understand the character of the state, all discussions will be totally out of context. The first point I want to make is, there is nothing like true federalism.”
Ezekwesili, who spoke virtually, condemned the wide gap between the rich and the poor and emphasised the need for political leaders to work towards tackling poverty in the country in a sustained manner.
Dwelling on the topic, ‘Poverty and socio-economic exclusion in Nigeria,’ she described the summit as an initiative targeted at the right direction.
Ezekwesili said, “What is important is, you cannot tackle poverty without growing, which is a necessary condition. There should be growth and the growth should happen in a sustained manner. That is why we must worry.
“What are the things that make countries grow? The soundness of policies, which will be enviable and facilitate growth. Second are the institutions, which are the cornerstones to making an environment enviable for the private sector. This will make democracy less vulnerable.
“Another thing that must also be considered is investment, public investment especially. This will provide a basis for private investments which really is the engine room for growth.
“The current poverty we see in the country will aggravate if we fail to do the needful.”
The Attorney-General of Ondo State, Sir Charles Titiloye, expressed the view that the country has been practising more of a unitary system of government than federalism.
“Yes, in a situation whereby it is the centre that dictates for the component body; in a situation where the states go cap-in-hand every month to beg for fund from the Federal Government, instead of the states to control the resources they contribute, the funding is from the centre.
“These are local issues which the state can easily handle, and for us to have true federalism, these are areas that should be permanently handed over to the states,” Titiloye said.
The Attorney-General and Commissioner for Justice of Oyo State, Oyewole Oyewo, also a lead presenter, said, “We need to go back to the fundamental of democracy. The challenge is to everybody involved.”
Dr. Rotimi Nihinlola, a United Kingdom-based financial analyst who joined the session virtually, said, “We are one of the most terrorised countries too.
“Some Nigerians don’t actually like the tag but look at the country; look at the level of insecurity and the rest. There is a strong connection between poverty and security.
“All indices you go to, we are at the top of the table; talk of lack of electricity supply, insecurity and the rest. Our leaders only talk about poverty in vague terms. They need to address some factors; some exclusion gaps.”
Other prominent faces at the event were Professor Yemisi Bamgbose SAN, Prof. Demola Popoola and Adekunle Adeyemi, Chairman, Governing Council, the Polytechnic, Ibadan.
