Solutions to banditry, poor economy, others can’t be found under present arrangement —Afenifere

Pan-Yoruba sociopolitical group, Afenifere, has said that solutions to banditry, kidnapping, poor economy, unemployment, power problem, among others bedeviling the country cannot be found under the present arrangement in the country, urging that the Federal Government needs to concentrate on devolving powers to the federating units for a lasting solution.

Afenifere gave this position through its spokesperson, Mr. Yinka Odumakin, who spoke with Sunday Tribune in a telephone interview, saying once this was done, the initiatives to find solutions to all the problems facing the country would come from the six zones of Nigeria.

Odumakin, who noted that it would be difficult to generate serious employment in an economy built around sharing oil proceeds and Value Added Tax (VAT), maintained that there couldn’t be solution to any of these issues under the present structure, as all of them seemed to have vertical links with the unitary system of government currently being operated in Nigeria.

“There can’t be solution to any of these issues under the present structure. All of them seem at the peripheral having vertical links with the unitary problem of Nigeria.

“You cannot resolve banditry and kidnapping with a centralised policing. A policeman who is from Oyo and posted to Sokoto is useless in gathering necessary intelligence to battle such crimes as he cannot speak the language and does not know the terrain,” the Afenifere chieftain said.

“You cannot generate serious employment in an economy built around sharing oil proceeds and VAT. You can also not solve power problems from Abuja,” he added.

Odumakin, however, said solution to power problem would come if the six zones of the country were allowed to tackle it separately, contending that “some zones would get theirs right, but once central planning fails, the whole country is in darkness.

“The Federal Government should concentrate on devolving powers and initiatives would come from the zones that would solve most of the problems,” he added.