Nigeria’s federal structure only works for a few elite, says Atiku

Atiku Abubakar, former vice president, says Nigeria’s current federal structure may be working well for some elite but it is not for the entire country.

The former vice president said this on Monday at a presentation of book ‘Nigerian federalism: continuing quest for stability and nation-building’, in Abuja.

He reiterated that more power and resources should be transferred to the states and the region from the centre.

Atiku further stated that “no section of this country can claim correctly that its people are better served by the current structure of our federation”.

“The federating units in the first republic had their disagreements but none claimed to lack autonomy of action, and none waited for federal fiscal allocations before it could implement its programmes and pay salaries,” he said.

“The current structure may be working for some elite but it has clearly not worked well for any section of this country and the country as a whole. We should take deliberate steps to change this structure to serve us better.

“We already have too many weak and unviable states. What we need are stronger federating units (be they existing states or zones) with a greater share of resources and responsibilities.”

He urged the country’s leaders to come together and negotiate by making the necessary compromises and sacrifices needed to restructure Nigeria.

According to him, the restructuring would “make us a stronger, more united, productive, and competitive country”.

“Perhaps we might start with making our grievances and fears apparent. When each section or party to a dispute airs its grievances and expresses its fears and concerns, the outcome may be better understanding by others, and a quicker route to a resolution or agreement,” he said.

“That’s perhaps how we should proceed with the much needed rebirth and renewal of our federation.”