A former Commonwealth’s Secretary General, Chief Emeka Anyaoku, has said Nigeria will not reach its full potential except the governance system is restructured and true federalism is embraced. He also said until the country was restructured many of the problems confronting it would persist. The former diplomat said the continued under-performance of the country in various areas of endeavour supported his view.

Anyaoku said this in Lagos during the 2017 edition of the Annual Sun Awards organised by The Sun Newspapers. He was the chairman of the occasion. He said, “I must, once more, express the view that Nigeria will not realize its full potential nor will it be able to deal successfully with many of its current challenges unless and until it restructures its present governance architecture and adopts true federalism.

“Our history and continuing under-performance in virtually all aspects of our national life should persuade all truly patriotic citizens that the restructuring that I and many others are advocating will usher in greater political stability by bringing to an end the current do-or-die political contest for the control of the all-powerful central government among our diverse ethnic and religious groups. It will also at the same time bring faster national economic development by unleashing our people’s creative capacity as they operate in more viable and healthily competitive federating units.”

He urged the Nigerian media to shun journalism of “blatant untruths or pure fabrications.” “You must reflect in your reportage of news, greater investigative journalism and more checks of the accuracy of the reports before publication,” Anyaoku said. He also advised the media not to shut their eyes to the acts of indiscipline lately gaining ground among the citizens, especially among road users.

Source: The Punch