UNICAMERAL PARLIAMENTARY SYSTEM IS ANTIDOTE TO CORRUPTION IN NIGERIA!

ZION B-BC   NEWSLETTER.   

(Looking at Nigeria and the World's Political System From a Godly Perspective).

A Publication of the Zion Faith Bible-Believing Church Kpeyegyi Abuja Nigeria {Vol. 10.NO 429. 31st Oct, 2021.} “…ONLY The Truth, Will Set You Free! (John.8:32).  PRAY & FAST EVERY WEDNESDAY TO STOP BLOODSHED IN NIGERIA!

UNICAMERAL PARLIAMENTARY SYSTEM IS ANTIDOTE TO CORRUPTION IN NIGERIA!

The choice of military presidential system of government in Nigeria since 1999, - a deliberate plan to keep the Electorate in perpetual bondage and slavery succeeded through the bequeathed capitalist, money-laundering Constitution which addicted corrupt politicians found convenient to always attempt to “amend” rather than opt for a brand new unicameral parliamentary document to eliminate systemic prodigality!

Nigeria should have no business with POVERTY if all divinely and richly-endowed solid mineral resources (over 100 types – ranging from industrial metal,  to various precious stones such as gold, lead, zinc, limestone, salt, gypsium, topaz, ruby, sapphire, coal, kaolin, marble, tantalite, etc,), available in all 36 States of the Federation and the Federal Capital Territory (FCT), apart from Oil/Gas, (presently the major foreign exchange earner), were harnessed/exploited for the benefit of the entire population!

HOWEVER institutional corruption which has deprived the masses of their fundamental/socio-economic rights through the practice of oligarchy, nepotism, tribalism favoritism, sectionalism, etc, by successive political administrations at the highest level of governments is responsible for the large scale unemployment of able-bodied men, women and youths who would have been gainfully employed to boost the nation’s IGRs and by extension, the GDP!

DEVOLUTION OF POWERS TO STATES IS IMPERATIVE NOW!

Apologists of All Progressive Congress (APC), oligarchy government who gain from illicit proceeds from the defective 1999 Military Constitution will argue that federating states could explore their solid mineral deposits by obtaining licenses from the Federal Government which has exclusive rights over all mining activities in the country according to the Exclusive Legislative List – a very retrogressive process in s modern democracy!

**IMAGINE if all the 36 States of Nigeria are self-governing and can generate their revenues, remit and agreeable percentage to the Centre under a new arrangement of a UNICAMERAL PARLIAMENTARY CONSTITUTION;

**Imagine if the instrument of REFERENDUM could be applied without further delay to all current States agitations for RESTRUCTURING, Self-Governance will seamlessly materialize and all forms of INSECURITY across the nation would fritter away!

SELF GOVERNANCE WAS PRACTICED BEFORE INDEPENDENCE AND DURING THE FIRST REPUBLIC - 1957-1966! 

Before Independence the establishment of full regional self government for the East, West and Northern Nigeria between 1957 and 1959 was mooted at a London Conference before the 1st October 1960 independence celebrations with a proposal that a Prime Minister  to be appointed by the Governor General, should be at the helm of affairs, while a bicameral legislature should be established at the Federal level to absorb diverse representation of 305 members in the House of Representatives and 44 members of the Senate distributed according to the population of each area of the country. 

Also in September of 1957, the out-going Colonial Governor General, appointed Sir Abubakar Tafawa Balewa, from the North as the first Prime Minister. 

At independence in 1960, Nigeria as a sovereign State enjoyed a cost-effective and virtually transparent bicameral system of government which was enacted by the British Order-in-Council so as to come into force immediately at Independence while the very First Constitution of Nigeria retained Queen Elizabeth II, as ceremonial head of State/Queen of Nigeria and represented by Dr. Nnamdi Azikiwe (from the East), as Governor General.

THE 1963 CONSTITUTION USHERED THE FIRST REPUBLIC. 

This second constitution based on the Westminster system established the country as a federal republic with Dr. Azikiwe as the first President with effect from 1st October 1963 and the political arrangement which was embraced by the founding fathers also produced three Regional Premiers for the North, East and West respectively while the bicameral parliament worked smoothly UNTIL military adventurist Major Chukwuma Nzeogwu intervened in the peaceful scenario of democracy!

He and his misguided accomplices on 15th January, 1966 forcefully took over the democratic government in an unprecedented bloody coup-de-tat (first-in-Africa), with the barrels of the gun that terminated the lives of Northern and Western political leaders to the exclusion of those from the East and Nigeria has never known peace till date!

COUP LEADERS ACCUSED POLITICIANS OF INSTITUTIONAL CORRUPTION AMONG OTHER “CRIMES!”

Is it not an irony of fate or reversal of the coup makers’ LIE that after almost 30 years of usurpation of political power, the soldiers handed over the country to civilians, worse than when they took it by force – seething and completely devastated with incurable, endemic corruption that almost turned Nigeria into a most-stigmatized nation in the world!

From 1999, a diarchy headed by ex-military head of state Aremu Obasanjo, continued the massive robbery of the TREASURY through a political party called Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), and Nigeria became universally acclaimed as the most-corrupt nation in the world! And in a shocking press interview the PDP President, Ebele Jonathan, who concluded the 16th year of the party’s woeful consecutive administrations in 2015, categorically defended institutional corruption and queried whether “stealing was corruption”?

CORRUPTION IN NIGERIA HAS BECOME A CONSTANT PHENOMENON SINCE MILITARY INTERREGNUM!

From independence to ex-president Jonathan’s tenure in 2012, Nigeria was estimated to have lost over USD$400 billion to corruption and in 2018, three years into President Muhammadu Buhari’s first term, Nigeria ranked 144th in the 180 countries listed in Transparency International’s Corruption Index (with Somalia at 180th, being the most corrupt, and DENMARK, the least).

Corruption is a sociological malaise which manifest (1) dishonesty, (2) falsification, (3) fraudulence, (4) alteration (5) criminal act, (6) abuse of power for personal gain, (7) acquisition of illicit benefits, etc, is usually be perpetrated by a person or persons in position of authority or an organisation which is entrusted with the management of resources to acquire illicit benefits and abuse such position for personal gain.

Political Corruption may involve many activities which include parochialism, nepotism, patronage, graft, lobbying, stealing, bribery, embezzlement, gratification or looting of government treasury held in trust for personal aggrandizement while holding public office!

Causes of corruption include but not limited to the following social disorders: lack of pedigree through bad parentage/upbringing, moral latitude, acquired kleptomania tendencies due to uneven distribution of social amenities, uncertain political and economic environment, the criminal desire for pecuniary gains etc.

CORRUPTION WILL BE ELIMINATED IF THE FOLLOWING STEPS ARE RELIGIOUSLY IMPLEMENTED THROUGH REFERENDUM!

For the umpteenth time we call for the invocation of REFERENDUM to settle all agitations for POLITICAL RESTRUCTURING of Nigeria once and for all along the following popular DEMANDS:

 Legislative processes must commence NOW to establish: (a) STATE POLICE authorities in all 36 States of the Federation according to one of the 13 recommendations of the 23-Member El Rufai Restructuring Committee of January 2018, which is now THREE YEARS OLD! (b) Derivation Principles. (c) Fiscal federalism and revenue allocation. (d) Devolution of powers. (e) Resource control (exploitation and revenue sharing of resources from oil /minerals) through constitutional amendments. (f) Local Government Autonomy. (g)REFERENDUM: SERIOUS National or State issues should be decided by a referendum (currently absent in the constitution), but which insertion can be quickly done through URGENT Amendment. (h) Independent Candidacy which precluded citizens from being forced to join any political party – this recommendation also needs amendment. All of the above recommendations MUST be implemented without further delay to drastically reduce the tension of insecurity and restore confidence in the people.

NIGERIAN SENATE MUST BE SCRAPPED BEFORE 29TH MAY, 2023!

There can be no better time for national introspection for Nigerians to achieve political emancipation, than NOW and break the yoke of mercenaries in government, off their necks through a collective decision to sack them from office! We still maintain our advocacy that the National Assembly (NASS), is the MAJOR DRAIN PIPE OF THE NIGERIAN ECONOMY and has outlived its “usefulness”! In this age of technology the HOR requires only 74 members ie: Two Reps. from each State of the Federation and the FCT, on part time basis – and with civil servants attached to their Secretariat for quick delivery and efficiency!

****With SENATE scrapped and all other wastages blocked in the THREE TIERS, a conservative estimate of saved funds could amount to over ONE TRILLION NAIRA which can be ploughed in AGRICULTURE for every interested Nigerian to engage in modern farming, become gainfully employed and feed the nation!

NO POLITICAL OR MILITARY ADMINISTRATION EVER CARED FOR THE POOR MASSES! THE ALL PROGRESSIVES CONGRESS (APC) EL-RUFAI  COMMITTEE ON RESTRUCTURING OF NIGERIA IN JANUARY 2018, HAD RECOMMENDED THAT URGENT NATIONAL ISSUES WHICH SHOULD NOT BE DELAYED THROUGH NATIONAL ASSEMBLY (NASS) PROTOCOL OF UNENDING DEBATES SHOULD BE QUICKLY RESOLVED THROUGH A REFERENDUM, PUBLIC VOTE, POPULAR VOTE OR PLEBISCITE!

QUESTION: What is Referendum?  A general vote by the electorate on a single political decision which has been referred to them for a direct decision.

How does it work? Voting in a Referendum is similar to casting a vote in the Federal election – the key difference is what voters are required to write on their Referendum ballot paper. In a Referendum, voters are required to write either “Yes” or “No” in the box opposite each question on the ballot paper.

Why is Referendum important? It allows citizens, through the petition process to refer acts of the Legislature to the ballot before they become law. The Referendum also permits the Legislature itself to refer proposed legislation to the electorate for approval or rejection.

What makes a Referendum successful? An overwhelming support by all stakeholders as a united front in ensuring succour for the masses and for popular opinion to hold sway!  

Is a Referendum legally binding? Referendums are not legally binding, so legally the Government can ignore their results: for example, even if the result of a pre-legislative referendum were a majority of “No” for a proposed law, Parliament could pass it anyway, because Parliament in some democracies is sovereign.

BUT in Nigeria, SOVEREIGNTY BELONGS TO THE PEOPLE, and as such Referendum would DEFINITELY SAIL THROUGH WHEN PUT TO TEST! 

Please look forward to more divine revelation in the next edition of Zion B-BC Newsletter as you share this with friends and remain blessed in the Lord. [For weekly access, to this newsletter, log on to:  facebook.com/zionfaithbible.believingchurch or http://www.zfbbc1.blogspot.com, 

If you have not accepted the Lord Jesus Christ as your personal Lord and Saviour, don’t miss this great opportunity as you pray this prayer: Lord Jesus; I confess that I am a sinner who needs to be saved through the grace of the New Testament of your Blood, shed on the Cross at Calvary; I renounce every sin in my life and accept you as my Lord and Saviour. Please forgive me and write my name in the Book of Life. Amen. If you prayed this prayer, you have been admitted into the family of sons and daughters of God, who are born-again. Congratulations.  

I am, yours sincerely, Dr. David B.A. Olufon, Resident Pastor and Editor. 08130669886, 08080243066. g-mail-dvdolufon@gmail.