Restructuring critical to Nigeria’s survival – Babayemi

An All Progressive Congress chieftain in Gbongan, Ayedade Local Government Area of Osun State, Prince Dotun Babayemi, has said that restructuring was critical to Nigeria’s survival.

The politician, who is a result oriented executive with global management experience, re-echoed that there was need for restructuring of the country to reduce over-reliance.

He said this while felding questions from journalists at a media night-out parley in the NUJ Press Centre, Osogbo.

Prince Babayemi, who is an NUJ Osun Council Awardee for 2017, described Nigeria restructuring as inevitable, adding that it was key for the promotion of peace, equity and development.

He said, “We have to restructure. It is critical for our survival. We have God-given assets that will reduce over- dependence on a single region. Oil producing states collects 13 per cent derivation from the federation account whereas solid minerals producing states does not enjoy any derivation fund at all.

“Thus, when a state like Akwa Ibom gets N20 billion allocation within three months, state like Osun gets paltry N2 billion within the same period. While States like Osun and Zamfara have the largest deposit of gold in the country, many other states too have various solid minerals but they have no derivation funds for them.

“Unless we restructure, we will continue to depend on something somewhere else.:

Babayemi, who was a key resource person in the implementation of the platform for 2015 Nigerian Presidential, National Assembly and Lagos gubernatorial elections for the All Progressives Congress (APC), noted that the military coup d’état of 1966 affected regional development in the first republic.

This is as he added that the consequent military interregnum for decades produced unitary command structure that has created the present inequality.

“The military produced 1979 constitution that produced the costly presidential system of government which ushered in the second republic as well as the aborted third republic and the current political dispensation are faulty because they are not peoples made constitution.

“Thus, Nigerians should be free to discuss their future, which includes restructuring of the country in a democracy,” he added.

Babayemi, who is a lawyer and security expert, suggested that security agencies in the country be merged.

He said, “The role assigned to the Nigeria Security and Civil Defence Corps should have been left entirely in the confines of the Nigerian Police. The role assigned to the Federal Road Safety Corps too is duplicated because there is Highways unit in the police

“I prefer the strengthening of the police rather than duplication with multi-security agencies.”

Babayemi, whose political aspiration is repositioning of the prime position of the Yoruba nation through effective negotiated legislation in the National Assembly, berated the situation where the National Assembly was made a full time job.

“National Assembly should be a part-time duty while the salary and allowances should be reduced drastically to reflect this reality. As it is only when this is done that people who genuinely wants to serve humanity would find their ways to the National Assembly. People who have experience in other fields should be allowed to come into politics. This is what helped in the 1st republic,” he added.