News Investigators/ Maxwell Gidado, Senior Advocate of Nigeria (SAN) and Professor of Constitutional Law, says that restructuring Nigeria will make sense if properly understood and implemented.
Prof. Gidado said this in an interview with the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) on Friday in Abuja.
The legal expert was reacting to his recent lecture at the Nasarawa State University 53rd lecture titled: “ Nigeria’s Unitary- Federalism and the Restructuring Debate: Perspectives from the Jurisprudence of Constitutionalism.
He disclosed that the Nigerian system of government currently in practice is a centralised system, but not a federal system as contained in the constitution.
According to him, this is different from the federal system that is being practiced in other climes such as the U.S, India and Canada.
“In this system of government in Nigeria, we have a big powerful central government which controls virtually all the affairs of the state.
“Example, the amount of resources given to state government, approves the amenities to be put in place by the state, as well as the ability of the state to generate power among others,’’ he said.
Prof. Gidado said that the state government requires the approval of the Federal Government to carry out any project, and may not go ahead with any project if denied by it.
He said this is usually the case even if the project is much needed by the state, which is not supposed to be so.
“But now Nigerians think that the government might be run in a different way, which is smoother and more transparent than the present system.
“There is urgent need to decentralise this present federal system and vest more powers on the state government,’’ he said.
The Senior Advocate of Nigeria stated that the state governments should control all the internal affairs of the country, like power generation, education sector, roads construction and maintenance.
He further mentioned internal securities, such as state police, resource control, internal revenue generation among others, while the federal government deal with other things of international interest.
Prof. Gidado said the federal government should focus on foreign policy, defence and economy.
“A Nigeria beyond oil, once considered as a myth, is fast becoming a reality. The current reality in the global demand for and price of oil give credence to this fact,’’he said.
He said that experts across the globe have predicted the imminent end of the glorious era of fossil fuel as the main stay of national economies.
He said as the United Kingdom and France plan to ban diesel and petrol cars by 2040, analysts predicted that oil demand will drop significantly post 2025, when battery powered cars will go mainstream.
The legal luminary disclosed that according to International Energy Agency (IEA), China, the world’s biggest car market is contemplating a similar move, which would have a significant impact on oil demand.
“Other countries considering the ban are India, which is looking at 2030, Norway, 2025 and at least ten other countries.
Prof. Gidado noted that analysis points to the frightening fact the future of nations whose economies are predominantly run on oil revenues is bleak, except they diversify and engage aggressively on non-oil ventures.
“Unfortunately, Nigeria habitually depends on oil as a major source of revenue for her economy.
“Nigeria is most endowed agriculturally. Its tomatoes, carrots, cabbages, cucumbers, tubers, grains, livestock and dairy, feed the majority of Nigerians in spite of its huge reserves of unexploited export potentials.
“In a restructured Nigeria, with the right agricultural policies, it will be one of the richest countries in the world,’’ Gidado said.
NAN
