Following the insecurity, socio-economic and political crises that continue to render the future of Nigeria uncertain, the Bishop of Calabar Diocese of the Anglican Communion, Bishop Tunde Adeleye, has said that “the country is deeply sick,” and that democracy, which the founding fathers fought for, was dead”.
The uncompromising clergy spoke during a press conference at the Cathedral Church of the Holy Trinity in Calabar to signal the commencement of the 2018 Synod of the Communion.
His words; “We do not need to tell a man who is just coming in from a heavy rain that he is wet. Nigeria is sick, deeply sick. Nigeria has derailed. Nigeria is failing as a nation, if not failed already.
“The rail on which the foundation of Nigeria was laid is rusted under our feet. We left the path our fathers laid for us. We cannot now say that what we have is what Sir Ahmadu Bello, Chief Obafemi Awolowo, Dr Nnamdi Azikiwe etc, fought for. I said in a meeting recently that if any of these people should wake up from their graves today and see what is going on in Nigeria, they might prefer to die again.”
The Bishop enumerated hydra-headed challenges confronting the country to include “corruption, kidnapping, nepotism, insecurity, wicked negligence, marginalisation of ethnic groups adjudged minor, thoroughly failed government institutions, non-functional economy, tribalism, bad leadership, demise of democracy and menace of herdsmen,” amongst numerous others.
On what could be done to remedy the situation, Bishop Adeleye identified true federalism and prayers as solutions, saying the system of government being practised in the country was not federalism but “pure unitary police system.”
According to him, “Power must devolve to the federating states. The centre in Nigeria is too, too powerful. The power has to be divided between the national government and other units … between federal, states and local governments.”
On insecurity bedevilling the nation, he opined that the menace could be addressed if each state or even local government has their respective state police, and added “this is done all over the world where true federalism is practised
Adeleye reasoned that ingredients of true federalism included, State Police, resource control, financial autonomy of States, survival and prevalence of fundamental human rights and that education system should be based on States’ plan.
He said, besides the federal constitution, “the States should have their own constitutions running side by side, without interference with the federal government or national constitution.”
Friday Nwagbara, Calabar
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