Chief Olabode George, former National Deputy Chairman of the PDP, says Nigeria must consider setting up the state police now to help tackle the increasing security challenges nationwide.
He also called for complete revisiting of the nation’s Constitution and not piecemeal review, noting that the constitution could no longer work for the betterment of Nigerians.
The PDP Chieftain made the remark on Tuesday at the 5th Annual lecture organised by SWAAYA Ltd., publishers of Freedom Online at Ikeja, Lagos.
The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that the theme of the lecture is: ‘2023-2027:Nigerians, Elected Leaders And Expectations’.
The former military governor of ondo state called for a review of the constitution while noting that it was “military in setting”.
George said, “Having served that long in the military, l can confirm to you that the 1999 Constitution of Nigeria is absolute military inclined and this will never take us to our promised land.
“In the military, orders come from top to bottom, but in a democratic dispensation, powers come from the people to the top and that is why things are not working.
Therefore, we need to revisit how we run ourselves in order for things to work properly for us.
The PDP chieftain also called for state policing, noting that it would be a very effective way of securing the country.
According to him, there is
need for decentralisation, state and local government police and for every state to have control of its resources.
“Policing is community-based. If possible, we need to have local government police because they know those in their immediate environment.
“Also, the resources in the various parts of this country are enough for the progress of the nation, ” he said.
The PDP chieftain said it was time for the nation to put the Almighty God first.
He then prayed that God should forgive the nation’s transgressions and direct the minds of its political leaders in ensuring a good life to all the people.
“Enough of this deceit, rottenness in the financial management of our nation.
“Let us put an end to the economic inequalities, injustice, unfairness in the distribution of our God given resources and our financial wealth.
“If we have the fear of God, moving forward, our nation will rise again,” he said.
Earlier in his address, The Managing Director of Freedom Online, Mr Gabriel Akinadewo said Nigerians wanted governance to be decentralised.
“The 68 Exclusive Items in the constitution must be tinkered with to favour states and councils.
“The constitution should be reworked in such a way to make the centre unattractive.
“For example, Nigeria can feed the world through agriculture but this can only be done at the state and council levels because all farmers belong to these two tiers of government.
“There is no federal farmer. The Federal government can only help in this regard.
“Nigeria’s problems are localised, so the federal government cannot continue to use a central method to tackle local challenges, ” he said.