A Deputy Governor of the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN), Obadiah Mailafia, said that Nigeria cannot be called a state because power is no longer “concentrated” in government’s hands alone.
He made this remark in Akure at a session convened by the Forum for Good Governance Towards Revival for All Nations (TRANS 21) with the theme, ‘The Role of the Church in Nation Building’.
“Nigeria is now a failed state, unable to perform its statutory roles. Nigeria cannot be described as a nation because the power is not concentrated in the hands of government alone. There are other blocs that now have power of coercion,” he said.
He added that the country was rife with matters of insecurity, as “nowhere is safe in the country”, alleging that “Boko Haram is in control of over half of Niger State and if they successfully take over Niger, Abuja will be a walkover.”
On the country’s economy, Mailafia said that the economy was “collapsing”, and that institutions were failing along with it.
“The economy is collapsing. There is collapse of the institution. Police, Universities’ standards are low. Corruption has taken over in the country. What else do we need to say Nigeria is a failed state?”
He said “Nigeria has been designated as a failed state, we may not say it is a failed state but certainly it is surely exhibiting the features of a failed state in terms of the kind of violence, the widespread insecurity, terrorism, abuse of humanity, criminality, rape, killing, maiming, destruction, we are a failing state, the solution is nothing than the need to give birth to a new Nigeria.
READ ALSO: FG To Continue Paying Stipends To 48,687 Beneficiaries
“In the past, people couldn’t know that because former President Olusegun Obasanjo was a fair-minded man and he was dedicated. Umar Masa Yardua (of blessed memory) was also a fair-minded man, and because Goodluck Jonathan was a fair-minded mind too.
“It is clear that the constitution we have presently is a fraud, it is a fraud because it starts with we the people when infact you and I did not sit anywhere to design this constitution, by this fact alone, it is based on lies and fraud.
“So people could afford to live with fraudulent constitution, but now today we are seeing a fraudulent constitution in the hands of people who have hidden agenda, who hate our country, they have nothing to offer us.
“Therefore, on this basis, we must reject the evil we are seeing and we must demand for the re-engineering of our federation for the restructuring of our country so that we can have a new Nigeria anchor on social justice, fair representation for all the nationalities of this country and have a government based on transparency, justice and hope for all Nigerians and anchor on devolution of powers, this is the way forward.”
