The National Director of Politics and Governance of the Pentecostal Fellowship of Nigeria (PFN) and the lead Pastor of Living Spring Chapel International, Pastor Femi Emmanuel has urged the nation to embark on restructuring rather than holding the 2023 general election.
Emmanuel stated this today at a press conference to herald the 2022 Annual World Lifting Conference scheduled to hold between December 12 and 18, 2022, in Dominion City, located at Aduloju Bus-Stop, along Iwo Road-Ojoo Expressway, Ibadan, capital of Oyo State.
The Conference will feature the word, worship, interactions, seminars and workshops which will address different areas of life and it will be broken into syndicate sessions: free shopping; free medical outreach; love feast and ministers conference, among others.
It will also feature Pastor Johnson Tomisin Kalejaiye of the Redeemed Christian Church of God and notable preachers and Christian singers.
The Clergyman, who doubted the credibility of the 2023 presidential candidates, lamented the deception that characterises the nation’s polity, government and governance, pointing out, “We have been operating a unitary system of government which we deceptively called democracy.”
His words, “Election is not our priority now as a nation. It is like putting the cart before the horse and postponing evil days. What our country needs now is a rearrangement to establish fairness, justice and equity in the nation. We have been operating a unitary system of government which we deceptively called democracy. Our constitution is not a democratic constitution. It is like a military decree.
“The question we should ask ourselves is: where did we sit to agree as a people to make Nigeria 36 states? Who divided Nigeria into 744 local governments? This happened on the table of a military general that came to govern Nigeria. The country called Nigeria died in 1966 when the military took over and the constitution was suspended and replaced by a unitary system and within the long years of military rule, a military decree was imposed, whereas where Nigeria was divided into 36 states from the three or four regions that were negotiated under the British colonial masters. The fathers of Nigeria met and agreed, with the British colonial masters that we’re not just one people”, he added.
He said, “Nigeria is a country of many nations. There are more than 300 nations forced together, and that is the reason different components are complaining of unfairness, injustice and lack of equity as one ethnic tribe was imposed on the rest of us, always tend to want to pull apart, and as living as we deceptively agree that the military decree which we now called constitution gave priority to one ethnic tribe over all the other ethnicities. This is the crux of our problems. It is a foundational issue and unless amended, there can be no true peace and progress.”
He reiterated, “So, the first thing we should do is to sit down and renegotiate this country. We can bring out the 2014 constitutional conference agreement and redo it and look at the aspect that has to be redone, rewritten, renegotiated and agreed upon. We should operate like the USA. We copied the presidential system from them and then continue to operate a unitary system? In America, different states have their different laws and they are governed in their own ways, but only come together at the centre. Nigeria should collapse the 36 states and let each zone be self-governed, have their own constitution, security system, develop and grow their own resources and their own economy and have a loosed centre. But today, we have a centre that is too strong. This is the reason why there are always agitations from various ethnic groups wanting to say it is our turn to be president. These agitations will continue unless we come back to where the military derailed. So, in my view, the election is not our priority, but sitting down to rearrange, renegotiate and restructure the country so that there would be peace, development and progress. This is the solution to all the crises that have bedeviled us as a country.”
The foremost Pastor berated the nation’s constitution that forced the dominance of a particular ethnic group over and above all the other ethnic groups in the country.
Emmanuel pointed out, “It has more states and local governments, more seats in the Senate and House of Representatives. By that Fraud, no bill passes in the national assembly if it is not in favour of the dominant group. This so-called constitution removes merits from our system and established mediocrity. The federal character clause is a typical example. In Nigeria, it is not the best hand for the job, it is which part of the country a person comes from. In the critical position in Nigeria, we don’t put our first eleven forward, not even the second and third eleven. Is that a country that will develop? Which other country in the world operates two systems of law together? In Nigeria, we have a penal code for the North and criminal law for the South. In the same country, Sharia and English law side by side.”
Describing the Nigerian constitution as a fraud that should no longer be allowed to stand, he urged legislators at all levels not to approve its amendment, but rather come up with a brand new constitution that will create an egalitarian society and govern the nation right.
He explained, “No state assembly should pass the so-called amendment to the constitution. Fraud cannot be amended. Our constitution is a fraud. It is a lie and there are so many lies told in that constitution that has to be jettisoned. You don’t amend a lie. So, I support, I salute, I congratulate and I celebrate the state houses of assembly that refused to pass that constitution. How can you pass a constitution where the rights of the citizens to say yes or no is not included? How can we pass a constitution that has no referendum included? There is no country in the world, except those governed by a theocracy where there is no provision for a referendum; when it is not oligarchy; when it is not other nations where you don’t have democracy. As a matter of fact, you can’t have a democracy where there is no freedom to say yes or no. …We are supposed to be a secular nation.”
He continues, “So, this constitution should not be passed until we have a referendum clause included and also state or regional autonomy. Nigeria cannot survive with 36 different state governments. The country does not have such resources. Even now, we are in debt and interest payment supersedes our revenue. We are paying more interest on loans than we are even generating. That tells you there is impending economic doom staring us in the face. Nigeria has to be reorganized. Nigeria has to be rearranged. So, we can’t pass a constitution that does not give each state or zones the power to secure their borders or themselves. So, let this fraudulent constitution die with this outgoing government so we can sit down and properly arrange Nigeria.”
The pastor called on the church to be fully involved in producing credible candidates that would contest elections, adding that there must be church inclusion in the art of governance in Nigeria.
“The church should be involved at the grassroots, which is the ward level. The church should organize, train, mobilise and release its members to join political parties at their ward level and come together as a caucus to make sure that only credible people are elected into the ward office…Politics is at the grassroots, we must all participate at the grassroots to present credible candidates”, he stated.
