A Benin-based group, God and People Prayer Parliament has advocated for the restructuring of Nigeria into eight regional parliamentary systems of government.
National Chairman of the group, Dr Dele Oluwatade, while presenting the group’s proposal in Benin City, explained that in the proposed arrangement, President Bola Ahmed Tinubu would transmute to a Prime Minister as head of Premiers of the proposed eight regions to birth a new stable Nigeria federation.
The group, therefore, appealed to the President and the National Assembly to hasten the provision of structures for the debate of restructuring the country to commence.
Noting that at independence, there were very significant intentional democratic mistakes/omissions in the parliamentary system of the First Republic, which led to its failure, the group listed the omissions as including the absence of provision for a referendum clause, lack of provision for an exit clause from the federal union, and the missing third clause: the definition of the territorial integrity of the federating regions in the constitution of the country at the time.
Oluwatade said, “The absence of necessary democracy stabilizers led to the mismanagement of the ‘crisis in the West.’ It was a regional internal affair that would have been resolved without declaring a state of emergency, which led us to where we are today. Therefore, for stable polity in Nigeria, there must be at least five democratic provisions in the Constitution.”
He listed the five clauses as a referendum clause for public opinion/decision on critical issues, secession or exit clause, to enable any region to withdraw seamlessly from the federation, regional integrity clause, expulsion clause, and intervention clause.
Oluwatade described the presidential system of government as “a drain-pipe democracy” and the cause of the bottomless fiscal corruption in the country, saying that a non-productive country has no business running such an expensive system of government, even as he stated that the advantages of the parliamentary system are closest to the definition of democracy.
He added, “There is minimum courtroom appearance and the political processes of election are inexpensive, fair, and smoother, compared to the money bags, slave trading ballot buying, ballot box snatching presidential election.
“The second advantage of the parliamentary system now is that separatist agitations will calm down to embrace the new dawn and join hands and hearts together to build their respective new regions.
“All marauding terrorists will stop or relocate to their regions as there will be no more cover, as each region will tackle its security problems headlong without external interference.
“Split ethnic nationalities would be unified for cultural harmony and freedom from oppression. This is a major benefit of restructuring.
“Another advantage of restructuring is restoration and preservation of minority ethnic nationalities of Nigeria because they will be free from presidency cabals or autocratic president, ambitious and predatory colonist nationalities disturbing others, It becomes necessary to adopt parliamentary system to secure all nationalities in Nigeria, or it might lead to a state of anarchy, and only God knows what will remain of Nigeria.”
Oluwatade further stated that the parliamentary system promotes peaceful polity as regional government helps politicians to work together in a more peaceful political climate, compared to the presidential system.
The armed forces and police, he said, would experience a new lease of life, as they would now focus on their professional duties and have their lost respect and professional dignity restored.
