Atiku, Tinubu, Obi Can’t Solve Nigeria’s Problem Of Insecurity, Poverty, Hunger, Others — Ozekhome SAN

A Senior Advocate of Nigeria, Mike Ozekhome, has said none of the presidential candidates of the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC), Bola Tinubu, Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), Atiku Abubakar or Labour Party, Peter Obi can solve Nigeria’s problems.

Ozekhome, who said this while delivering his speech at the 2022 Independence Day Anniversary Lecture organized by the Ogun State chapter of the Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC) in Abeokuta, the state capital maintained that none of the presidential candidates for the 2023 general elections can solve the country’s numerous problems.

The lawyer said all the presidential candidates would try but would not be able to save Nigeria from the enormous challenges facing it.

According to him, the presidential candidates “cannot solve the problem of insecurity, poor economy, poverty, hunger and hopelessness that has enveloped the country.”

Ozekhome who spoke on the theme: ‘Nigeria In Search For An Enduring Political Structure; Imperative Of Structural Reforms’, said that only restructuring and change of the system of government can save the country from total collapse.

He was quoted as saying that “virtually everything is wrong with our country: insecurity, collapsed infrastructure, failure of the public school system, an economy in shambles. The list is endless”.

“Embracing our discarded Prime Minister system of government or dismantling and recoupling several of the institutions that help or hinder us.

“A serious re-examination of the 36 state structure as federating units vis-à-vis their fiscal/economic viability or their consolidation into six or more regions with economies of scale and higher investment rates,” he said.

He further advocated multiple vice-presidencies, representing respective regions other than the region of the president, each of who would have supervisory powers over some ministries to ensure equitable representation in the federal cabinet.

According to him, Nigeria has drifted from the vision of its founding fathers and if those in power do not want a change, “the nation is likely to crumble.”

The Senior Advocate of Nigeria also called for the amendment of the 1999 Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria.