June 12; Aregbesola advocates for restructuring of Nigeria

...says Nigeria doesn't need 36 states

By Nofisat Marindoti, The Nigerian Voice, Osogbo

Osun State Governor, Mr Rauf Aregbesola has said advocated for the restructuring of Nigeria, noting that Nigeria runs an expensive system of government that should be changed.

Aregbesola made this call on Monday while speaking at the 24th year celebration and remembrance of the annulled June 12, 1993 election of Chief MKO Abiola.

According to Aregbesola, it is time Nigeria get restructured in line with the federal system of government being operated in India.

He said in India, states are created based on people who speak the same language and have same cultural values.

He said if Nigeria wants good unity, we need to restructure, adding that Nigeria should also return to a parliamentary system of government if the country does not want to die of indebtedness.

He explained that the federal system of government that operates 36 states can not work in the face of the economic realities and also that the country’s revenue can not manage the system of government it operates.

He suggested that the state in the country be pruned to six states, based on geo-political zones and that each state should have a president elected to serve a single term of six years.

He added that like the parliamentary system of government, the six presidents will elect a president that will head the country for one year and after each year a new president will be elected among the remaining ones, making it rotatory.

The guest speaker of the event, a professor of History in Osun State University (UNIOSUN), Prof. Siyan Oyeweso posited that the Nigerian system of government is an opposite of the real Federal system of government.

He said Nigeria practises a feeding bottle federalism and an exceptional federalism where the Federal government has taken responsibility of things beyond its scope.

In his speech, Prof Oyeweso noted that Nigeria is a complete antithesis to a true Federal system of government where the Centre and regions are independent but coordinated.

Oyeweso tagged June 12 election as the fairest of all the elections that has taken place in Nigeria because people trooped out in mass to vote for MKO Abiola in regardless of religion or culture.

Discussant of the event, Comrade Femi Aborisade in his speech, described the pains MKO Abiola went through when he was jailed and urged Nigerians to stand up for principle so as to live a meaningful life.

He also questioned some Nigerians quest for secession. He said, " Why secession, why restructuring? Restructuring Nigeria is not the solution we need, what we need rather is to change the philosophy of governance.

"Any government that cannot implement farewell to poverty is an enemy to June 12. The Nigerian government should increase minimal wage, fight corruption without Indiscrimination, upgrade the health systems."

In their separate address, the commissioner for special duties in the state, Mr Oguntola Toogun and the chairman of the event, Senator Babajide Omoworare commended Aregbesola for organizing the event.