Restructure Nigeria or risk break-up, says Pastor Adeboye

Adeboye spoke at a symposium co-organised by RCCG and the Nehemiah Leadership Institute to mark Nigeria’s 60th Independence Anniversary.

He also advocated the adoption of a system of government that is unique to the country but borrowing from the British system of government and the American model.

His words: “Why can’t we have a system of government that is 100 per cent Nigerian, unique to us? For example, we started on with the British system of government, somewhere along the line, we moved over to the American system of government.

“Can’t we have a combination of both and see whether it could help us solve our problems? In Mathematics, if you want to solve a problem, you try what we call real analysis. If it doesn’t work, then you move on to complex analysis and see whether that will help you. If that fails, you move on to vector analysis, and so on.

“I believe that we might want to look at the problems of Nigeria in a slightly different manner. Some people feel that all our problems will be over if Nigeria should break up. I think that is trying to solve the problems of Nigeria as if it is a simple equation. The problems of Nigeria will require quite a bit of simultaneous equation, and some of them are not going to be linear either.

“Forgive me; I am talking as a Mathematician.

“Why can’t we have a system of government that will create what I will call the United States of Nigeria?

“Let me explain: We all know that we must restructure. It is either we restructure or we break; you don’t have to be a prophet to know that one. That is certain: restructure or we break up.

“Now, we don’t want to break up, God forbid. In restructuring, why don’t we have a Nigerian kind of democracy? At the federal level, why don’t we have a President and a Prime Minister?

“If we have a President and a Prime Minister and we share responsibilities between these two, so that one is not an appendage to the other.

“For example, if the President controls the Army and the Prime Minister controls the Police. If the President controls resources likes oil and mining and the Prime Minister controls finance and inland revenue, taxes, customs, etc. You just divide responsibilities between the two.

“At the state level, you have the governor and the premier, and the same way, you distribute responsibilities to these people in such a manner that one cannot really go without the other. Maybe we might begin to tackle the problems.

“If we are going to adopt the model, then we need to urgently restore the House of Chiefs. I have a feeling that one of our major problems is that we have pushed the traditional rulers to the background, and I believe that is a grave error.

“Without any doubt, we must restructure and do it as soon as possible. A United States of Nigeria is likely to survive than our present structure.”

The symposium had the theme ‘Where will Nigeria be in 2060?’