The Aare Ona Kakanfo of Yoruba land, Iba Gani Adams, has urged the Federal Government to restructure Nigeria into a true federal system.
He said government’s failure at ensuring an effective federalism is the cause of the worsening insecurity, economic crisis and ineffective institutions.
The leader of the Odua People’s Congress (OPC) spoke at the weekend at his Arigidi home town in Akoko North-West Local Government Area of Ondo State during this year’s Okota Festival.
Adams warned that the continued use of the unitary system would only worsen the country’s problems.
He said: “With the insecurity issues in Nigeria, there is nothing that can be done, if we do not have federalism. If we do not allow federalism on the basis of regionalism, I’m afraid within two years, this country will break.
“You can see how the wave is coming. Not only the wave of insecurity; even the economy, depreciation of institution, lack of coercion in governance. Definitely, there is danger ahead, if the Nigerian government does not act fast to restructure Nigeria into regionalism.
“Regionalism will give the content of regional police, state police and local government police. If you do not work on the structure, there is no way you can stop insecurity.
“The structure will give you a way, will give you a leverage that you can have effective security.”
That is what is being done in the United States of America (U.S.A) and many other countries that have provinces, regions.
“The United States is running on statism. Every state has its police and county police. The country has the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI), which is the Federal police. And we borrowed this federalism from the United States in 1979.
“Why are we dodging from the reality and trying to push a country of about 250 million people into unitary system? It cannot work in a country that has about 450 ethnic nationalities. It cannot work. That’s one of our problems.”