- Advocates creating United States of Nigeria
- Says the present system has made things difficult for young and old
The acclaimed spiritual leader of Nigeria’s evangelical Christians and General Overseer of the Redeemed Christian Church of God (RCCG), Pastor Enoch Adeboye, has again warned that the only way to stop the breakup of the country is through restructuring, and “as soon as possible.”
Pastor Adeboye said in a post shared on his Instagram page on Tuesday night (October 13) that without any doubt, the current socio-political system in the country had made things difficult for Nigerians – both young and old.
According to the revered Christian leader, “without any doubt, we must restructure and do it as soon as possible. A United States of Nigeria is likely to survive than our present structure; this will help across every strata from the police force, military, customs, civil service as a whole. “Without any doubt the present system has just made things difficult for Nigerians young and old and I’m glad to see the new era that we are entering.
“It is either Nigeria is restructured or we break up. I believe that we might want to look at the problems of Nigeria in a slightly different manner. Some people feel that all our problems will be over if Nigeria should break up.
“I think that is trying to solve the problems of Nigeria as if it is a Simple Equation. The problems of Nigeria will require quite a bit of Simultaneous Equation and some of them are not going to be Linear either – forgive me I am talking as a Mathematician.
“Why can’t we have a system of government that will create what I will call the United States of Nigeria? Let me explain. We all know that we must restructure. It is either we restructure or we break, you don’t have to be a prophet to know that one. That is certain – restructure or we break up.
“Now, we don’t want to break up, God forbid. As we continue to pray and take actions, Let somebody shout hallelujah!’’
Two weeks ago, Pastor Adeboye, who rarely speaks on political issues, said Nigeria must restructure as soon as possible to prevent disintegration, saying only restructuring will address the socio-political challenges facing the country.
Said he then, “it is either we restructure or we break, you don’t have to be a prophet to know that one. That is certain – restructure or we break up. Now, we don’t want to break up, God forbid. In the restructuring, why don’t we have a Nigerian kind of democracy?“
But Presidential Spokesperson, Malam Garba Shehu, in reaction to the calls by Pastor Adeboye and other national leaders that Nigeria must restructure, said that the government of President Muhammadu Buhari “would not be intimidated into making any hasty decision over the matter. The Presidency responds to the recurring threats to the corporate existence of the country with factions giving specific timelines for the president to do one thing or another or else, in their language, “the nation will break up.
“This is to warn that such unpatriotic outbursts are both unhelpful and unwarranted as this government will not succumb to threats and take any decision out of pressure at a time when the nation’s full attention is needed to deal with the security challenges facing it at a time of the Covid-19 health crisis.
“Repeat: this administration will not take any decision against the interests of 200 million Nigerians, who are the president’s first responsibility under the constitution, out of fear or threats especially in this hour of a health crisis. “The President, as an elected leader under this constitution, will continue to work with patriotic Nigerians, through and in line with the parliamentary processes to finding solutions to structural and other impediments to the growth and wellbeing of the nation and its people. The president would only work with the legislature on issues of national concerns.’’