Former Commonwealth Secretary-General, Chief Emeka Anyaoku, has stated that current political arrangements cannot develop Nigeria. Anyaoku, who spoke in Abuja on Saturday, believed that only the restructuring of the federation would ensure the rapid growth of the country.
Chief Anyaoku made the comments while speaking with journalists during the public presentation of a book, ‘Nigeria: The Forsaken Road to Nationhood and Development’, written by a retired diplomat and Nigeria’s former Ambassador to Switzerland, Dr. Humphrey Orjiako.
He observed that Nigeria was underdeveloped due to its present 36-states structure, where all the states were dependent on the central government for survival.
Anyaoku believed it was time the country reverted to regional governments.
According to Anyaouku, “I think the Nigeria we have, of 36 federating units now, is not working. The country continues to underperform because of the 36 states we have now. About 27 of the states cannot pay the salaries of their workers.”
Also speaking on the same matter, outspoken former Governor of the Central Bank of Nigeria, Prof. Charles Soludo, said the present structure of the country was outdated and would not enhance its development, describing the Federal Government as a major constraint to the states.
“The current structure was designed to share and consume the oil rent, and I have argued that the structure that is designed for consumption cannot be efficient for production. So, we know that it will have its own ripple effects.” – Prof. Charles Soludo
Soludo, who spoke to some Nigerian journalists on the sidelines of the annual meetings of the World Bank/International Monetary Fund in Washington DC, United States of America, said the present structure had outlived its usefulness.
The ex-CBN governor added, “The Federal Government in Nigeria is a major constraint to the states and that is why some of us believe that the current structure that we have is for a time we no longer live in.
“The current structure was designed to share and consume the oil rent, and I have argued that the structure that is designed for consumption cannot be efficient for production. So, we know that it will have its own ripple effects.”
