2023 elections key to Nigeria’s future – Anyaoku

The former Secretary General of the Commonwealth, Chief Emeka Anyaoku, on Thursday challenged Nigerians to elect leaders who would restructure, and unite the country in 2023.

Anyaoku made the call at the 11th lecture series organised in his honour in Ibadan, Oyo State.

He stressed that the 2023 elections would mark a watershed in the country’s history.

The ex-Commonwealth chief also advised candidates to focus on issue-based campaigns, and shun violence ahead of the elections.

Anyaoku said: “We have heard a thrilling lecture from Prof. Ayo Olukotun who talked about the watershed elections of 2023. Indeed, I agree with you that the 2023 elections will be really a watershed because of their importance to attaining the Nigeria of our dreams.

“I would urge all our electors, citizens who will be voting in the 2023 elections to vote for only those leaders who would promise to prioritise the revamping of the Nigerian governance system because that would be key to our development, political stability, and achievement of true unity in the country.

“We have a system of governance that does not suit a multi, diverse country like ours. We were then a more viable federating unit; there were four federating units as against the 36 plus the Federal Capital Territory that we now have.

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“In my view, the present system will not lead us anywhere near achieving the country of our dreams. We need fewer federating units which will be more viable than what we have now. What we have now as federating units makes it easier for us not to have a true federation which is a country of our diverse needs.

“The country that I will like Nigeria to look at, in terms of its governing system, is not the United States of America. The United States of America is essentially an immigrant population; Nigeria, on the other hand, is a country of units that have existed for centuries with their own culture, and manner of living.

“We need a system as the Indians have done so. India is a very diverse country and the diversity of India is being successfully managed because the states of India are largely autonomous in terms of those important aspects of development.

“Security is crucial for development. If you don’t have security, you will not be able to attract foreign investors. We need to decentralize the management of security to more viable federating units.”

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