{"id":392,"date":"2022-05-22T07:54:51","date_gmt":"2022-05-22T07:54:51","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/citywatch.ng\/looming-dangers-of-political-class-refusal-to-restructure-nigeria-punch-newspapers\/"},"modified":"2022-05-22T07:54:51","modified_gmt":"2022-05-22T07:54:51","slug":"looming-dangers-of-political-class-refusal-to-restructure-nigeria-punch-newspapers","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/citywatch.ng\/?p=392","title":{"rendered":"Looming dangers of political class\u2019 refusal to restructure Nigeria – Punch Newspapers"},"content":{"rendered":"

Punch Newspapers<\/a>
punchng.com \u00a9 1971-2020 The Punch newspaper
A major requirement for sustaining a democratic order in any given environment is that elections are to be held periodically for the people in that space to be able to make informed choices from an array of gladiators presenting themselves to occupy political offices.
This is one of the numerous achievements of Nigeria since the advent of democratic rule in 1999. This feat has been achieved despite the numerous challenges that have\/are plaguing the country.
Unfortunately, other dividends of democracy such as respect for fundamental human rights, clear political ideology from the political class and economic prosperity to all via even and equitable distribution of resources are clearly missing.
When properly situated, it won\u2019t be out of place to give a verdict that the current democratic experiments that we are practising has not fared well to cater to the needs and aspirations of the teeming Nigerians who had expected that the return to democratic rule would engender individual prosperity for all, though I concede that the prevailing political environment is better than military rule.<\/p>\n

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When viewed properly, the country is moving at a relatively slow pace and this should be of serious concern to stakeholders in the Nigerian project but rather than despair, Nigeria has what it takes to turn the situation around positively.
One singular factor for these (underdevelopment) is the quality of the elite ruling the country. The structure in place today has been deliberately erected by the elite to serve their whims and caprices. No doubt, the prevailing political structure is indeed a very challenging one. To be sincere, there is no society that operates this current system in Nigeria that witnesses any iota progress.
The federal presidential structure that we practice was copied from the United States of America, which is almost a single racial entity being predominantly Caucasian. A situation whereby power is concentrated on one individual is not suitable for Nigeria. <\/p>\n

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Nigeria is a multi-lingua, multi-religious entity and the current structure is not suited for it if the country aspires for progress and development. There is nobody in Nigeria today who will tell you that what we have as a political and administrative arrangement has worked well for the good of all.
In Nigeria today, the Federal Government is practically in charge of our lives because it controls everything that is needed by individuals. The government at the centre has taken up responsibilities that can be performed by other tiers of government.
Imagine the Federal Government embarking on mundane projects: firefight, primary education and primary healthcare, which local governments ought to handle. The situation is so bad that state governments can\u2019t undertake some life-changing projects in the railway, extractive industries until they get approvals from federal authorities.
All these impede development because of too much concentration of powers on an individual who has the power over life and death. The danger in this kind of arrangement is that whenever a president emerges through whatever means, he is seen as representing the interest of his ethnic or religious group, not as a Nigerian leader.
His (the leader\u2019s) policies and programmes are interpreted as tailored towards the advancement of his people and not those of Nigerians whom he had voted in to serve as their president.
Unfortunately, rather than change the structure for the common good of all, the political elite usually improvise from time to time to nurture their class selfishness and greed to the detriment of teeming Nigerians.<\/p>\n

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Read Also<\/h5>\n
  • Restructuring must be adopted in Nigeria – Akeredolu<\/a><\/li>\n
  • Reset Nigeria, devolve powers, Fayemi urges<\/a><\/li>\n
  • As president, restructuring will be my first task \u2013 Atiku<\/a><\/li><\/div>\n

    For convenience, schemes such as power rotation, federal character, national spread, derivation and other selfish palliative measures to give a fa\u00e7ade those efforts are being geared towards progress and prosperity but rather when viewed critically, these measures are class concessions that the ruling elite use to concede resources to one another.<\/p>\n

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