Emeka Nze
Vice Chancellor, Adekunle Ajasin University in Ondo state, Prof Femi Mimiko has commended President Goodluck Jonathan for convoking the conference despite stiff opposition against it in certain quarters.
Prof Mimiko, a delegate from Ondo state who observed that the present constitution of the country is unitary in orientation and structure noted that until the inappropriateness in the constitution is removed, other ingredients of development would not work.
The University don said the fundamental issue confronting the conference was to restructure the country to end alienation saying that the iniquitous federation operated by the country that makes for the high degree of corruption, insecurity and expanding scope of violence is unacceptable.
According to the professor of political science, the challenge is to have an all inclusive new structure which everyone in the country would have allegiance to, calling the delegates to be profound in giving a recommendations on what a federal constitution is all about.
He noted that corruption, job creation mechanism and vandalism would naturally fizzle out if Nigeria’s federalism is restructured.
Although he acknowledged that Nigerians have attitudinal challenges, the delegate from Ondo state stated that he did not believe that Nigerians were too difficult to allow things to work as in other climes.
He stated that there were people from other countries with similar attributes with Nigerians saying that the difference between Nigeria and other countries was that there are rooted institutions which moderate behaviours saying that such institutions are absent in Nigeria.
The Vice Chancellor said no matter how long a country has existed, if the issues that promote development were not there, the country can only move around in a circle of poverty and crisis.
Using Haiti as an illustration, he stated that the country became independent in the 19 century and up till date, it is still the poorest nation in the western hemisphere.
