By Ogungbayi Adeyemi S. | adeyemi@ddnewsonline.com
Editor, DDNews |
Former Minister of Solid Minerals and Finance, Dr. Obiageli ‘Oby’ Ezekwesili, has urged President Bola Tinubu, the National Assembly, state governors, and Nigerians to look beyond the current push for State Police and embark on a comprehensive restructuring of the 1999 Constitution to address the root causes of the nation’s security and governance crises.
In a detailed Public Memorandum addressed to President Tinubu, the Senate, House of Representatives, Governors Forum, and the people of Nigeria, Ezekwesili argued that while State Police is necessary, it is insufficient to resolve Nigeria’s deep-seated problems.
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She described the country’s security challenges — terrorism, banditry, kidnapping, and violent extremism — as symptoms of a larger constitutional and governance failure rooted in excessive centralisation of power.
“The security crisis is real, but it is not fundamentally a policing crisis. It is the manifestation of a deeper constitutional, governance and political economy crisis that has steadily eroded state capacity, weakened accountability and undermined the effectiveness of public institutions.”
Ezekwesili noted that the 1999 Constitution concentrates overwhelming powers in the Federal Government through an Exclusive Legislative List containing 68 items, including policing, prisons, mines, railways, and arms. She warned that decentralising only policing without addressing the broader imbalance would amount to “treating a symptom while leaving the underlying condition untouched.”
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The development economist, who served as Vice President of the World Bank, cited alarming statistics from Afrobarometer surveys showing widespread fear and insecurity across the country. She stressed that Nigeria operates a “unitary system wearing federal clothing,” a structure inherited from military rule that continues to hinder development and effective governance.
Key Recommendations:
A comprehensive review and rebalancing of the Exclusive, Concurrent, and Residual Legislative Lists.
Devolution of powers to the lowest effective level of government.
Strengthening of fiscal federalism.
A Citizens-led Sovereign National Conference followed by a referendum on a new constitution.
Immediate commencement of a bold restructuring agenda to restore productivity, competitiveness, and equal citizenship.
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Ezekwesili concluded that Nigeria can no longer afford to delay restructuring, warning that failure to act decisively will continue to exact a tragic cost on the nation and its people.
“Restructuring the dysfunctional territory and system that our beloved country has become is the bold conversation and action that Nigerians can no longer afford to postpone… Let’s move immediately on the Restructuring Agenda through a brand-new citizens-led constitutional process and save our beleaguered country and people.”
The memorandum comes as the Senate prepares for an emergency plenary on Tuesday, June 23, 2026, to deliberate on national security, with the State Police Bill already scaling second reading.
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