Independence Day: Nigeria’s next 65 years need federalism, fair elections – El-Rufai

Former Kaduna State Governor and ex-Minister of the Federal Capital Territory, Mallam Nasir El-Rufai, has called connected Nigerians to clasp federalism, credible elections, and elite statement arsenic the instauration for the country’s advancement implicit the adjacent 65 years.

Speaking astatine an interactive league successful Owerri with clergy, professionals, and citizens, El-Rufai emphasized the urgent request for a corporate imaginativeness to code Nigeria’s structural challenges. He noted that portion Nigeria has made antiauthoritarian gains since 1999, including regular elections, information has drastically declined—from implicit 60 percent elector turnout successful 2003 to hardly 27 percent successful 2023—reflecting increasing nationalist estrangement from the electoral process.

“The grounds compels america to accidental it plainly. Nigeria is the world’s astir populous Black nation, projected to transcend 400 cardinal by 2050, yet remains structurally fragile,” El-Rufai said. He highlighted precocious poorness rates, unemployment among youth, inflation, and mounting nationalist indebtedness arsenic pressing concerns that endanger nationalist stability.

El-Rufai stressed that a caller elite consensus—an statement among political, business, and civilian nine leaders connected the nation’s direction—is critical. “In each functioning democracy, stableness lies not conscionable successful constitutions, but successful unwritten agreements among elites astir the limits of power, the sanctity of citizenship, and the rules of governmental competition,” helium said.

He further advocated for a modulation to physics voting and real-time transmission of results up of the 2027 wide elections, citing palmy experiments successful Kaduna State during the 2018 and 2021 section authorities elections. “Imagine a strategy wherever each elector is verified electronically, votes digitally, and sees results transmitted instantly and transparently. Public assurance begins to rebuild itself, 1 just ballot astatine a time,” helium said.

Beyond elections, El-Rufai called for deliberate, competent governance focused connected problem-solving alternatively than the zero-sum pursuit of power. He outlined six captious questions Nigeria indispensable address, including economical restructuring, acquisition alignment with labour marketplace needs, infrastructure development, healthcare and acquisition funding, and discouraging rent-seeking portion rewarding honorable work.

On federalism, helium argued that Nigeria indispensable instrumentality to its founding principles of decentralization, wherever states person autonomy implicit cardinal sectors specified arsenic policing, education, healthcare, infrastructure, and taxation. “True federalism encourages competition, innovation, and accountability. It replaces azygous mediocrity with decentralized excellence,” helium said, noting that caller law amendments moving energy and railways to the concurrent database are steps successful the close direction.

El-Rufai concluded with a telephone to action: “At 65, Nigeria indispensable choose. We tin proceed to lurch forward, oregon we tin reset deliberately, boldly, and with corporate purpose. Nigeria tin beryllium great—but it indispensable beryllium deliberately made great, not wished into greatness.”

He extended Independence Day greetings to Nigerians, expressing optimism that with vision, clarity, and courage, the nation’s adjacent 65 years tin beryllium transformative.

The station Independence Day: Nigeria’s adjacent 65 years request federalism, just elections – El-Rufai appeared archetypal connected Vanguard News.