Adams Oshiomhole, the former Governor of Edo State, says the political elite will be the worst hit if Nigeria crumbles.
He has therefore warned them against pretending that all is well with the country and consistently ignoring the numerous calls for restructuring.
Oshiomhole gave the warning on Thursday in Lagos State at a lecture on fiscal federalism and Nigeria’s stability organised by the Department of State Services (DSS).
Quoting Fidel Castro, former President of Cuba, Oshiomhole likened Nigeria to a ship that is on sail but with various passengers who are occupying cabins of varying degrees of comfort.
“Obviously, this vessel is carrying too much injustice to remain afloat and it pursues such an irrational and senseless route that it cannot call on a safe port,” he said.
“This vessel seems destined to crash on an iceberg; if that happens, we will all sink with the vessel.
“The reason that people are invoking all kinds of sentiments, vocabularies, diversions and all that is the fact that, it seems to me that it is becoming increasingly clear to many that the Nigerian ship, if we do not reorder the way it is and redistribute the passengers such that everybody will have some minimum comfort within the vessel, when the vessel sink, the wealthier you are, the more your losses.”
Oshiomhole however added that Nigerians must bear in mind that, though the present system of government needs to be re-discussed, “there is no ideal federalism and therefore you can’t speak to true federalism”.
“Every federal system has its own peculiarities and those peculiarities flow from history and from the particular unique environment that the particular country finds itself,” he said.
“So if you chose to copy America, it is your choice. There is no political theory that says America’s model is universally accepted.
“My own position is, you are never going to have neither a perfect federal system, nor will you have a perfect constitution… because I’ve heard people blame the constitution, that it is responsible for our problems. And you are not going to have perfect structural arrangement such that if all other things remain the way they are, Nigeria will be delivered.”
Other speakers at the lecture include Ken Nnamani, former Senate President and Lawal Daura, Director General of the DSS.