The former Chief of Staff to ex-President Muhammadu Buhari, Prof Ibrahim Gambari, says too much power is vested in the Federal Government and ought to be distributed to foster growth and development in Nigeria.
He stated, “We need to decentralize power. The power of the central government is become so much. We have to find a way of decentralization; it’s not by creating 50 more states or 200 more local governments yet those things that could be done competently like education, agriculture, and others, let the state assume responsibility.
“It’s not coincidentally that power has become so accumulated at the centre; it is the prolonged military rule. The Heads of state nominate Lead Representatives and so on. In any case, presently, we are in a democracy, and I truly believe that we need to take another glance at that so that matters that don’t need to be on the exclusive or concurrent lists are not there.
“We should fortify local government authorities. The local government autonomy is a good step but it isn’t just about money supposing that you don’t fortify the capabilities of the local governments and furthermore the process as to which people become chairmen of local governments, you can throw money there, and it goes down the drain.”
Prof. Ibrahim said all Nigerians have a stake in the unity of Nigeria, its stability and its progress.
“The future of Africa depends on Nigeria. Because according to the United Nations, Nigeria will be the most populous country in the world by 2050, we are not yet the populous in Africa.
“It’s not too late. Nigeria, by God’s grace, is going to survive because I believe that the Almighty has a reason for putting that much number of people in this place, and to an extent, we cannot be ignored in the world,” he expressed.
