A Benin-based group, “God and People Prayer Parliament”, has advocated for the restructuring of Nigeria to eight regional parliamentary system of government.
The National Chairman of the group, Dr Dele Oluwatade, while presenting the group’s proposal at the weekend in Benin City, Edo State capital, explained that in the proposed arrangement, President Bola Tinubu would transmutate to a Prime Minister as Head of Premiers of 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 start without further delay.
The group, which admitted the existence of very significant intentional democratic mistakes/omissions in the parliamentary system of the First Republic, listed the omissions as 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.
“The absence of necessary democracy stabilisers led to the mismanagement of the “crisis in the West. It was a regional internal affair that would have resolved the issue without declaring a state of emergency which whirlwind to where we are today. Therefore for stable polity in Nigeria, there must be at least five democratic provisions in the constitution”, Dr. Oluwatade said.
He listed the five clauses as Referendum CLAUSE for the public opinion/ decision on critical issues.
Others he added to include: Secession or Exit Clause to enable any region to withdraw seamlessly from the federation, Regional Integrity Clause, Expulsion Clause and Intervention Clause.
Dr 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 had no business running such an expensive system of government, even as he stated that the advantages of parliamentary system practice was closest to the definition of democracy.
“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 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.
“Unification of spitted Ethnic Nationalities 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 an 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”.
He further stated that 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 noted, would experience a new lease of life as they would focus on the professional duties and have their lost respect and
professional dignity restored.
and then