ENUGU, May 1 (AGCNewsNet) – Nigeria’s former Commonwealth Secretary General, Chief Emeka Anyaoku, has warned that the country risks disintegration if it continues operating under a centralised system of government, urging an immediate return to true federalism.

Speaking at the 14th Chief Emeka Anyaoku Lecture Series on Good Governance in Enugu, southeastern Nigeria, Anyaoku, 92, said the country’s current unitary constitution hinders good governance and national development.

“This country was more peaceful and developing faster in the first six years of our independence because it had a genuine federal constitution,” he said. “Each of the four regions had autonomy over their development, social services, and internal security.”

The elder statesman said only a new democratic constitution that reflects Nigeria’s ethnic diversity can save it from the fate of other multi-ethnic countries that collapsed due to similar structural defects.

“Other multi-ethnic countries that failed to address their pluralism through federalism have since disintegrated. Nigeria must not continue along this path,” he warned.

Also speaking at the event, Nigeria’s former Minister of Foreign Affairs, Maj-Gen. Ike Nwachukwu (retd.), echoed Anyaoku’s concerns and called for comprehensive restructuring.

“This is why I have long been advocating the restructuring of Nigeria into a proper federation,” Nwachukwu said. “State autonomy is critical—it brings governance closer to the people and enables them to harness their local resources for development.”

He also advocated reforms in the country’s security and education systems. “I stand for the creation of state police and community-based policing. Our school system must also be reformed to produce relevant human capital for development,” he added.

Delivering the keynote address, Nigeria’s former Permanent Representative to the United Nations, Prof. Ibrahim Gambari, said Nigeria must “radically rethink governance,” starting with significant structural changes.

“There is an urgent need to significantly devolve power to the people through restructuring,” Gambari said. “We must also rejig the leadership recruitment process, retool the state to serve as a guarantor of security and unity, and foster a new elite consensus.”

The event, themed “The Imperative of Good Governance: Nigeria in a Global Comparative Perspective,” was well attended by political leaders, scholars, and civil society stakeholders.

Source: APA News

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