A Senior Advocateof Nigeria, Barr. Ngozi Olehi says that the greatest challenge of Nigeria is transactional governance by the worst of Nigerians and not whether Nigeria operates presidential or parliamentary system of government.
Reacting to the on-goingdebate on whether Nigeria should return to parliamentary system of government, Barr. Olehi, SAN stressed that Nigeria would worsen and glide to extinction if the crop of leaders that are ruining Nigeria remain in power continue their evils which cripple governance and destroy opportunities for greatness.
He said that development statisticians, development agencies and international civil societies do not rank governance globally based on their models of democracy but rather on basic models of egalitarianism, to wit Leadership and Foresight, Robust Laws and Policies, Strong Institutions, Financial Stewardship, Attractive Market Place, Global Influence and Reputation and Helping People Rise pointing out that with how badly the Executive and Legislature are performing presently, they keep themselves busy with nothingness by legislating on reintroducing the parliamentary system of government in Nigeria.
He stated that in the current Chandler Good Government Index which measures government capabilities across 113 countriesor roughly 90% of the world’s population, United Arab Emirate which is a federal semi-constitutional monarchy is ranked number 14 ahead of United States of America that runs a Presidential system of Government which is ranked number 15 and insisted that having technocrats with honest and track record of professional competence at the helm of affairs is far more important that rewiring our current model to fit into parliamentary system with the same “leaders” who are sophisticated in criminal governance.
The legal luminary declared that it does not require legislation to reverse the doom that is bedevilling Nigeria but rather a systematic dismantling of the leadership that populate the corridors of power, removing their grip and influence on power and the strong will of the people to boot out the worst of humanity who do nothing but loot and commit executive crimes and enthrone penury in society.
Barr. Olehi SAN said Nigeria’s 1999 Constitution (as amended) substantially guarantees the three pillars of Accountability, Transparency and the Rule of Law which are the bedrocks of development governance but regretted that leadership crises and looting have made it appear as if there are insufficient constitutional and statutory frameworks upon which democracy and good governance can be founded.
He said that America are not quarrelling with their 1787 Constitution which is still in force upon which it founded its democracy on presidential system of government neither is Britain quarrelling with their parliamentary system which was given birth to after the 1215 AD Magna Carta adding that in considering which one to follow, Nigerian leaders forget that those systems are not meant to be operated by gangsters, fraudsters and criminals who lack patriotic zeal and do not care about positive public legacies
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