By Pastor Yemi Olayinka, PhD
Dear Sir,
I hope this letter meets you well. In recent times, I have been deeply concerned about the situation of our dear country. I have no doubt in my mind that you mean well for Nigeria, and I carry a strong assurance that you will succeed.
The current fury and body language coming from the North are frightening and deeply worrisome. Some appear eager for your exit in order to serve the South a bitter breakfast. In Nigeria, this is the first time a southerner has assumed power solely without being the preferred candidate of the Northern power structure. You were independent in your quest for leadership and determined not to become a puppet in the hands of the Northern power bloc.
The ongoing reforms across different sectors have become difficult for some of our Northern brothers to comprehend. For some, putting a round peg in a round hole is unimaginable. For the Northern power bloc, all that seems to matter is “get power and remain in power.”
My dear President, you have a rare privilege to write your name in gold by giving Nigeria true federalism. Beyond the economic reforms—ranging from subsidy removal, through which your administration ended the costly fuel subsidy regime that gulped an average of about ₦2 trillion monthly, to the unification of the foreign exchange market where the naira was floated to help stabilise the currency in the long term—and extending to ongoing infrastructure projects across all geopolitical zones, including the Lagos–Calabar Coastal Highway and the Sokoto–Badagry Highway to boost road connectivity, to mention but a few.
Your government has also made commendable efforts in social welfare and human capital development. The Nigerian Education Loan Scheme now assists students in tertiary institutions with interest-free loans, thereby broadening access to education. Similarly, the new minimum wage of ₦70,000 per month has been signed into law.
Mr President, I strongly believe that true federalism is urgently required. It is through this that you can truly write your name in gold and also save people of southern extraction from possible future persecution after your tenure. Forget the “Omo Ologo” tune; there is a major challenge ahead, and its fragility and resultant effects are immeasurable.
True federalism is the constitutional division of powers between the national government and the state governments. Each federating unit enjoys autonomy backed by the Constitution, while maintaining national unity. There are clear divisions of responsibilities between the federal, state, and local governments. Unfortunately, we have yet to see the practical impact of the Supreme Court’s pronouncement on local government autonomy. Has it been swept under the carpet like many others?
It is no longer news that Nigeria’s structure at independence was fundamentally lopsided. The Northern Region was deliberately made larger than the other two regions combined and accounted for about 55 per cent of the country’s population. The result was a perpetual domination of the central government by the North, especially given Nigeria’s voting pattern, which often follows ethnic and religious lines. At inception, the House of Representatives had 312 members, with 174 seats allocated to the Northern Region—well over half of the total. This arrangement was deliberately designed by the British to favour the North as part of their divide-and-rule strategy, a configuration clearly at variance with the principles of true federalism.
This imbalance was well known to some leaders even then. Before 1960, minority groups within the southern regions agitated for the creation of more autonomous regions. Chief Obafemi Awolowo had advocated for the creation of new regions from existing ones as far back as the 1940s. Similarly, people from the Mid-West, Calabar-Ogoja, and Tiv areas made strong representations for new regions. These agitations led to the establishment of the Minority Commission headed by Sir Henry Willink.
The 1957 Constitutional Conference in London witnessed these agitations. The commission agreed that the concerns were genuine and that the best way to allay the fears of the minorities was to create more regions. Had the colonial government implemented these recommendations by creating independent and autonomous regions, the structural defects in Nigeria would have been addressed. Their refusal—based on the flimsy excuse that it would delay independence—led us to the problems we face today.
Since Nigeria’s independence in 1960, the most persistent political challenge has been this lopsided structure. After over 60 years, one would have expected our leaders to allow reason to prevail, correct these abnormalities, and move the country forward. The Bible says in Psalm 11:3: “If the foundations are destroyed, what can the righteous do?” Our foundation is faulty and requires urgent attention.
Mr President, there is an urgent need for restructuring. The current structure does not reflect our diversity and is no longer sustainable. We cannot continue in this self-denial. We must redefine our nation and get things right. I therefore admonish you to use every constitutional power at your disposal to rescue Nigeria.
Time is not on your side, sir. The time is now.
You have confronted demons in times past and prevailed. Now, give us a true FEDERAL STRUCTURE.
I know you are bold.
I know you are courageous.
I know you are sincere about the Nigerian project.
Posterity will not forget you.
Thank you.
Pastor Yemi Olayinka, PhD
13, Ereguru Street, Ado-Ekiti
08033001165
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