Restructuring: Nigerians very impatient – Buhari
President Muhammadu Buhari has said Nigeria’s problem is more of process than structure.
In a speech this morning to mark the New Year, President Buhari noted that Nigerians are impatient in the way they go about the restructuring debate,
He said Nigerians want to improve their conditions faster than possible with the nation’s resources and capabilities.
“In respect of political developments, I have kept a close watch on the on-going debate about “Restructuring”. No human law or edifice is perfect. Whatever structure we develop must periodically be perfected according to changing circumstances and the country’s socio-economic developments.
“We Nigerians can be very impatient and want to improve our conditions faster than may be possible considering our resources and capabilities. When all the aggregates of nationwide opinions are considered, my firm view is that our problems are more to do with process than structure.
“We tried the Parliamentary system: we jettisoned it. Now there are shrill cries for a return to the Parliamentary structure. In older democracies these systems took centuries to evolve so we cannot expect a copied system to fit neatly our purposes. We must give a long period of trial and improvement before the system we have adopted is anywhere near fit for purpose,” the president said.
Buhari however noted that there was a strong case for a closer look at the cost of government and for the public services long used to extravagance, waste and corruption to change for the better.
He assured Nigerians that his government is ever receptive to ideas which will improve governance and contribute to the country’s peace and stability.
Buhari also stated that as the electioneering season approaches, politicians must avoid exploiting ethnicity and religion by linking ethnicity with religion and religion with politics, warning that “such must be avoided at all costs if we are to live in harmony.”
“In this respect, the rest of Nigeria could learn from the South Western States who have successfully internalized religion, ethnicity and politics.
“Political discourse should be conducted with civility, decorum and in a constitutional manner. We all have a collective responsibility to strengthen our democracy and entrench the rule of law. We should draw encouragement from the series of bye-elections conducted by INEC last year which were generally violence free and their outcomes adjudged to be free and fair.” The president stressed that the country had got to get used to discipline and direction in economic management, saying “The days of business as usual are numbered.”
“You will recall that it was not until last year that we got out of the economic recession into which the country had fallen as a consequence of past unsustainable economic policies which projected shortterm illusory growth.