Nigeria needs and must have a modern constitutional settlement to address the ugly issue of abuse of power, autocratic government, ‘’arrogant executive discretion’’, centralisation of power and the lack of citizen engagement. The time is now as the current system is no longer sustainable. The population is booming and will go on growing, mass unemployment are alarming, persistence of poverty, insecurity, low wages, income inequality and wasted talents are widespread and will continue to widen, unless we restructure the country. The unitary centralised system of government in Nigeria must be overhauled to empower people. The choice before us is very clear. The sad lessons of the mistake of destiny; 'brutish authoritarianism' and 'medieval fantasies' is a constant reminder of inaction. People should not let themselves become the 'useful idiots' of a government that is yet to realise that the world has changed. Restructuring Nigeria is about satisfying citizens aspirations for full integration into governance- a proper constitution, a proper democratic governance. Restructuring Nigeria is a development intervention whose time has come. In the modern era, all forms of exploitative abuse must cease. We must seek a political system that is fair and equitable. Restructuring Nigeria is the biggest challenge we face, as the country sits on a time bomb if ignored so restructuring is the 'bold change' we collectively deserve. In a rapidily changing world , it's up to the Nigerian people to decide the future they want, whether to move forward to a brighter future or continue with persistence of poverty and stagnation, more divisions, discrimination, abuse of power, income inequality, wastes on white elephant projects, insecurity, instability and uncertainty. The pace of change will continue to widen up, unfortunately it does not care about those societies who willingly choose to be left behind. We need to wake-up to the realities and reject dishonesty and manipulations of politicians who have lived their lives, only driving us to sleepwalk into a miserable future. Restructuring Nigeria is about responding to the needs of the future and contributing to building a flourishing and sustainable society.
Find out more soon as we continue to look at the the big political question of our time; restructuring Nigeria through the lens of Political Economy.
Sixtus Uche Okeke is a Statistician , Social Entrepreneur, Political Economist; the Founder of The LEAD Project Foundation. He lives in London.
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