In a recent interview on Channels Television’s “Inside Sources,” former Nigerian military President Ibrahim Babangida emphasized the urgent need for restructuring and the devolution of powers within the country.
Babangida underscored the importance of granting states more autonomy to enhance their ability to govern independently, thereby reducing dependency on the central government.
Babangida stated, “I believe in restructuring and devolution of powers to the states to give them more powers, and that means you are going to give them more resources to run their own affairs so that we run a federal government the way federation is run all over the world.”
Addressing the prevalent “Japa Syndrome” – the mass migration of Nigerians to other countries in search of better opportunities, Babangida called on the Nigerian government to foster an enabling environment that encourages citizens to contribute to their country’s development. He expressed the belief that creating such an environment would motivate Nigerians to stay and actively participate in building a prosperous nation.
“I think the environment should be created in such a way that people will be motivated to work for the country. So, I share the view very much that we made names in a lot of countries, such as the US and the UK; Nigerians are doing very well in all professions,” he remarked. “Why not do the same here in our own country? So we have to create an environment that is suitable for this sort of service that Nigerians have to give to their own country; I think it is possible.”
