Victor Ezeja
AdminIn order for Nigeria not to become a failed state, former chairman of the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC), Prof. Attahiru Jega has called for the restructuring of the country before 2027 when the current tenure of President Bola Tinubu would be up.
While delivering a lecture titled ‘Safeguarding Nigeria’s Future: Prioritizing Citizen’s Welfare and Security Amidst Challenges’ at the maiden convocation of the Bauchi State University, he warned that Nigeria would be considered a failed state if it cannot cater for the security, welfare, and basic needs of its citizens.
The former electoral chief said at the weekend, “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.”
His words, “The profound challenges, which currently bedevil Nigeria can be said to be structural, systemic and also related to value orientation”.
“Before 2027, some restructuring of the Nigerian federation should be embarked upon through evidence-based constitutional reforms, the objectives of which should be to deconcentrate powers and resources from the federal tier and to spread them to those of the state and local governments.
“In doing this, best practices could be learnt from model federations, such as India, Canada, and the USA in the areas of revenue generation and sharing and adapted to our local context and circumstances.”
Jega pointed out that there is no need for the creation of additional states and believes decentralizing resources will reduce the cost of governance.
To address the systemic and governance challenges, Jega recommends the amendment of the Electoral Act.
“Amend the Electoral Act 2022, so as to remarkably improve upon the legal framework for future elections with integrity. In particular, pay attention to reforming the role of political parties in the leadership recruitment and candidate selection processes,” he said.
According to him, reforms should be pursued to improve and protect the integrity of the judiciary, and there must be a way of insulating it from the corruptive politics of electoral dispute resolution through litigation.
Jega also called for an improvement in the appointment process of the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC). This, he argued, will protect it from capture by crooked politicians and partisan pressures and influences.
The former INEC boss equally advocated a constitutional amendment to recognize equal rights of citizens irrespective of ethnicity while recommending solutions to the state’s role in safeguarding the citizens.
Apart from this, Jega also reiterated calls for efficient policing to enhance the country’s security architecture.
He harped on the need for a comprehensive review and reform of the security architecture in Nigeria with targeted priority on policing reforms and repositioning, in terms of recruitment, training, motivating and equipping them for internal maintenance of law and order.
This is in addition to: “A focus on training and retraining the armed forces for their core role of protection and defense of the territorial integrity of the country.”
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