By Goodluck B Ikiebe

Nobel Laureate, Prof Wole Soyinka, has declared that Nigeria needs to be decentralised for the constituent parts to enjoy the country more.

Soyinka made the case for decentralisation on Thursday at the Punch Newspapers’ 50th-anniversary lecture held at the Civic Centre, Ozumba Mbadiwe Road, Victoria Island, Lagos.

The lecture, which was delivered by the Nobel laureate, formed part of the weeklong activities to celebrate the 50th anniversary of the newspaper..

In his lecture titled ‘Recovering the Narrative’, Soyinka said the country could follow the path of breaking up if that would address the country’s challenges.

The octogenarian said decentralisation would allow governance to tickle down to the people, warning that it was high time leaders stopped taking Nigerians for a ride.

He explained that while Nigerian politicians know the importance of reconfiguring the country, they change their stance when they get to power.

“What do you mean by restructuring? Well, I don’t even like the word restructuring. I prefer expressions like reconfiguration and decentralisation. Everybody can grasp that, decentralisation. And those who lead, recognise the necessity of it. They recognise the importance, almost the inevitability of it until they get into power, yes, that’s the difference.

“It’s about time, I think leaders stopped taking this nation for a ride, you know, we must decentralise. Security, you know, has become a burden to bear. From all corners of the nation, that is the crime.

“Decentralised so that government can come closer to the people, and productivity can really be manifested as a product of citizens, not simply as a manna from heaven. That is the attitude obtained at the moment.

“I know the fear. The fear is collapse, break up. That’s been the excuse given by several regimes. But suppose the nation is breaking up informally, in other words as a fact rather than as a theory. Then, and you better just address this. Come straight on and see exactly what happened. What is wrong with general representatives seeing them and saying this is the protocol of our association, Anything outside of it? Anyone who does not want to accept these protocols, abide by these protocols and manifest these protocols in the act should take a walk. I have no problem at all.

“We live in what is known as the nation beginning as a vast football field is ending up as a ping pong table. If that is going to restore dignity to citizens. If that is going to guarantee three square meals a day then so be it. One of my favourite expressions with people is ‘Let nations die, that humanity may live.’

“To anticipate accustomed banal responses, let me state quite clearly that no one has ever claimed that Decentralisation – a precise word I personally prefer – will end Hunger in the land or terminate religious conflicts and other forms of national malaise, no.

“We simply insist that this is central to the incomplete mission of – nation-being. It is essential to activities of basic existence such as food production, and access to such products. Palliatives remain crude, short-term, stop-gap measures only. As a veteran of food security working conferences from Uganda to India, from Paris to Sochi, I insist that, for a nation to be food self-sufficient, and sustainably, decentralization is the key, not collectivization,” the elder statesman said.

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