Fashola: Form of Government Not Nigeria’s Problem, Restructuring Alone No Silver Bullet

•Seeks critical, evidence-based decisions devoid of emotions

•Says proposals under parliamentary system can be achieved under presidential

Emmanuel Addeh in Abuja and Hammed Shittu in Ilorin

Erstwhile Minister of Works and former Lagos State Governor, Mr. Babatunde Fashola (SAN) at the weekend argued that Nigeria’s problem was not the form of government being practiced, stressing that restructuring was not the silver bullet the country needs to develop.

Speaking at an event to mark the 30th anniversary of Yusuf Ali and Co., Ghalib Chambers in Ilorin, Kwara State, the former minister of power, works and housing, argued that what Nigerians cared about was a better life and not a better document.

Fashola’s speech was themed: “Presidential or Parliamentary System of Government: Where is the Convergence?”

While calling for a rigorous process devoid of sentiments and emotions before any change of form of government is adopted, Fashola argued that the current reasons being enunciated were missing the point markedly.

He hinted that some people had made fatalist and unsustainable claims and predictions about the future of Nigeria if there is no restructuring, asking whether a constitutional amendment by itself will translate to accelerated national development.

“The answer again is no. As I observed, what the people really want is a better life, not a better document,” he maintained, querying if amendments in the past like the one on resource control which gave more financial benefits to certain states, had delivered a better life to the greatest number of people.

“Of course, when the restructuring issues are interrogated, we are likely to find that they agitate more about how to get access to more power and resources rather than how to make existing power and resources more efficient.

“As I pointed out in my previous speeches, we must learn from the example of Brexit which was a catchphrase used by the UK politicians to get people to vote for the country’s exit from the European common market.

“It was only after the vote had been cast for the exit that the social and economic consequences hit their people with palpable regret. The result was a series of changes of leadership of their government heads in a manner that did not help political and economic stability. The cost of the vote is still counting adversely for their national development.

“So, while I am not opposed to restructuring, especially by constitutional amendment, and I wish to be clear about that, I think that this is the time for the application of rigour and evidence-based decision making,” he stated.

He insisted that it was not enough therefore to keep harping on the restructuring as a catchphrase and silver bullet, arguing that Nigeria will be better served if each state or geopolitical zone tables specific demands that would form the basis of negotiations and agreement for a better and inclusive federal union.

On reports about current bid the  to amend the constitution to return Nigeria to parliamentary governance, he pointed out that a democracy founded on any type of governance, parliamentary or federal, requires a highly educated population to navigate its twists and turns.

Even in some more advanced democracies, he said there have been fisticuffs in parliament, when some people, often in minority and in opposition, cannot have their way.

“With very great respect to the proponents of this parliamentary arrangement, most of the reasons adduced such as cost of governance, rule of law, separation of powers, economic growth etc can be achieved under a federal arrangement if there is sincerity of purpose and an elite consensus.

“I must express my admiration for their courage in proposing the radical change, but with respect, they have not yet advanced a compelling reason why we must return to a system that catastrophically failed us.

“It is possible that all the arguments are not yet laid bare, but we must all understand that whether it is parliamentary or federal, liberal democracy is now globally proving a difficult vehicle for development.

“The evidence before us shows that some of the countries delivering the best public goods to their citizens today are not liberal democracies, but I would still not trade the liberties of any democracy for any form of autocratic development,” he stated.

For the former Lagos State governor, the big challenge of democratic efficiency  is how to build consensus between the executive, legislative, and judicial arms without compromising the best interest of citizens.

In a highly diverse country such as Nigeria, the overwhelming historically sensible form of government, he pointed out, is a presidential and federal one, where the states have their own independence and can develop at their pace.

“The truth is that if public service is really about service, we are likely to require more people to represent and serve their constituents as the population increases in order for them to be effective.

“Election costs can be reduced not only by a parliamentary system which is not guaranteed but also by deployment of other techniques and technologies.

“As we have seen from the definition, a parliamentary system does not ipso facto mean that we will have a single legislative house. That is a matter of choice because some parliamentary systems have bi-cameral legislature.

“The issue of cost reduction is therefore a matter for an elite consensus to decide to reduce what is paid to elected public servants and their perks rather than only the number of legislators or the number of legislative chambers,” he observed.

Fashola also commended the host, Yusuf Ali, lauding him for keeping to the ethics of the law profession and urging him to sustain the legacy.

Also speaking at the event, the Kwara Governor,  AbdulRahman AbdulRazaq, urged Nigerians to continue to support President Bola Tinubu in his ongoing efforts of pushing some legal reforms in the country.

The governor said that the ongoing reforms were for the best interest of the people of the country and praised Ali for placing the state on the legal map in Nigeria and West Africa.

“Mallam Yusuf Ali SAN stands tall in the ranks of Ilorin legal giants who come immediately after the great Alkalis and our other forebears who had made their marks in the legal profession”, he added.