The General Overseer, The Redeemed Christian Church of God (RCCG), Pastor Enoch Adeboye has called on President Muhammadu Buhari to immediately commence the process of restructuring the Nigerian federation.
He said that restructuring would stop the agitation for secession and promote the nation’s economic development.
The respected cleric stated this while speaking at the 60th Independence Day Celebration Symposium organised by RCCG and the Nehemiah Leadership Institute on Saturday.
He spoke on the theme: “Where will Nigeria be in 2060?”
Other guests at the symposium were the Ooni of Ife, Oba Adeyeye Ogunwusi; former Governor of Cross River State and former presidential aspirant, Donald Duke and a former Minister of Education, Mrs. Oby Ezekwesili.
Adeboye, 78, said that Nigeria would break up if not restructured, adding that “you don’t have to be a prophet to know that one.”
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He proffered the adoption of a hybrid of the British and American political systems.
Adeboye’s statement is expected to put more pressure on the Buhari administration as various socio-cultural groups across the nation have continued to demand the restructuring of the federation.
So loud have the agitations become that some groups in the South-East geopolitical zone are demanding secession from Nigeria.
Before coming to power in 2015, the All Progressives Congress (APC)-led Federal Government had promised to restructure the country.
The party subsequently set up a panel led by Kaduna State Governor, Mallam Nasir el-Rufai to examine the idea and come up with a position.
However, the recommendations have yet to be implemented months after the panel submitted its report.
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Adeboye, who is a PhD holder and former Mathematics lecturer, said, “Why can’t we have a system of government that is 100 per cent Nigerian and is unique to us? For example, we started with the British system of government, somewhere along the line, we moved over to the American system of government.
“Can’t we have a combination of both and see whether it could help us solve our problems, because in Mathematics if you want to solve a problem, you try what we call Real Analysis, then if it doesn’t work, then you move on to Complex Analysis and see whether that will help you. If that fails, you move on to Vector Analysis and so on.
“I believe we might want to look at the problems of Nigeria in a slightly different manner. Some people feel that all our problems will be over if Nigeria should break up. I think that is trying to solve the problems of Nigeria as if it is a simple equation. The problems of Nigeria will require quite a bit of simultaneous equation and some of them are not going to be linear either – forgive me I am talking as a mathematician.
“Why can’t we have a system of government that will create what I will call the United States of Nigeria? Let me explain. We all know that we must restructure. It is either we restructure or we break-up, you don’t have to be a prophet to know that one. That is certain – restructure or we break up.
“Now, we don’t want to break up, God forbid. In restructuring, why don’t we have a Nigerian kind of democracy? At the federal level, why don’t we have a president and a prime minister?”
He said that the two would share the responsibilities of running a complex nation like Nigeria.
Adeboye proposed that neither should be superior to the other.
On power sharing, he said that the president could control the Army while the prime minister controls the police.
He added that if the president controls resources likes oil and mining, the prime minister could control finance, internal revenue, taxes, customs, among others.
Adeboye said, “If we have a President and a Prime Minister and we share responsibilities between these two so that one is not an appendage to the other. For examples, if the President controls the Army and the Prime Minister controls the Police. If the President controls resources like oil and mining and the Prime Minister controls finance and inland revenue, taxes, customs etc. You just divide responsibilities between the two.
“At the state level, you have the governor and the premier, and the same way, you distribute responsibilities to these people in such a manner that one cannot really go without the other. Maybe we might begin to tackle the problems.
“If we are going to adopt the model, then we need to urgently restore the House of Chiefs. I have a feeling that one of our major problems is that we have pushed the traditional rulers to the background and I believe that is a grave error.
“Without any doubt, we must restructure and do it as soon as possible. A United States of Nigeria is likely to survive than our present structure.”