Eminent Nigerians such as Oby Ezekwesili, Frank Nweke Junior, Remi Sonaiya, Aisha Yesufu, among others yesterday warned that Nigeria must urgently restructure, institute electoral and constitutional reforms to save it from imminent collapse.
The leaders bemoaned failure of governance across Nigeria, saying only a holistic overhaul of the nation’s democracy could guarantee the needed change.
They stated this at a webinar organised to unveil the #FixPolitics Initiative to the media.
In her research presentation, a candidate in the 2019 presidential election, Ezekwesili said the nation’s democracy was faulty and could not deliver on expectations of Nigerians, saying that the current electoral and political system were tailored to favour a few who are self-serving.
The former Minister further said for democracy to work in Nigeria, there must be good politics, strong institutions, and effective priority, adding that current leaders place individual gains above the interest of the nation.
According to her, “Nothing in Nigeria can change until the transformation of our politics. The long suffering people that need good governance are the one to change this narrative to deliver good governance.
“Mobilise the Nigerian public to collectively demand for a new constitution, political electoral and economic restructuring of Nigeria. Only the Nigerian citizens working together can compel the three arms of government- the executive, the legislator, judiciary- to respond urgently and avert the imminent collapse of Nigeria into a failed state. Nigeria is currently the number 13 country on the global ranking of failed state countries”.
In his comment, Nweke, who is also the head of the Empowered Electorate Group, said most Nigerians voters were ignorant of the hindrance to the nation’s democracy and how it impeded development of the country.
The former Minister said the current protest in some states in Nigeria should be a warning to leaders that Nigerians could not be taken for granted forever.
He said his group had decided to engage in voter education so that voters can be aware of pertinent issues that affect them about the electoral process.
Also speaking, Sonaiya, a member of the sub-theme of #FixPolitics, bemoaned the nation’s electoral process, saying that Nigeria must restructure and institute holistic electoral reforms, while encouraging Diaspora voting to make meaningful progress.
Auwal Musa Rafsanjani, who is the head of the Transparency International (TI) in Nigeria, welcomed the #FixPolitics initiative, saying that Nigeria’s political process needs a surgical intervention to deliver good governance to Nigerians.
