Mixed reviews for Tinubu administration on June 12

Shadow govt. proponent, Utomi; Gani Adams, Falana want restructuring
Reforms not trickling down to Nigerians— Statistician

A cross-section of prominent Nigerians have added voice to calls for a new constitution and political and economic restructuring as Nigeria marked Democracy Day yesterday. Specifically, “Shadow government” proponent, Pat Utomi, wants President Bola Ahmed Tinubu to restructure the country before the 2027 general election.

Utomi made the call while speaking at the June 12 “Annual Democracy Day National Dialogue” in Ikeja, Lagos, on Thursday. He said Nigeria’s democracy would be strengthened with total restructuring. ”The agitation for total restructuring will stabilize and advance democracy in the country. This is because the present democracy is not the type of democracy Chief MKO Abiola sacrificed his life for.”

Utomi held that the present political and economic structure of the country, and “the unworkable 1999 constitution” are a big challenge for democracy, and appealed to Nigerians to accept restructuring as a vehicle for deepening democracy and strengthening the country .

According to him, Tinubu would win the confidence of the electorate if he listens to the agitations of Afenifere, Ohaneze, and other ethnic groups on restructuring, and urged Nigerians to guard democracy jealously and be wary of anti-democracy forces and their agents in the country.

Also speaking at the event, Dr. Kalu Idika Kalu, a former Minister of Finance, said he is confident that Nigeria would rise again.
Kalu said the bid to have a better country had motivated him and some other leaders of thought to agitate for a new, workable constitution.

Meanwhile, Gani Adams,National Co-ordinator of Oodua People’s Congress (OPC), a pan-Yoruba group, on June 12, also called for true federalism in Nigeria to achieve accelerated development of the country.

Adams, the Aare Onakakanfo of Yorubaland, made the call while speaking at the 25th OPC June 12 Lecture in Lagos.
The Convener of Oodua Progressive Union (OPU) Worldwide said without true federalism and proper restructuring ,it would be difficult for the country to take its rightful place in the comity of nations.

While describing the June 12 ,1993 election as a watershed in the country’s political history, Adams noted that 32 years down the line, Nigeria had not made the desired progress owing to what he called the absence of true federalism.

According to him, to transform a country, the shape of the polity must change periodically. “We are all gathered here today not only to honour the memory of Aare Abiola and others who died between 1993 and 1998, but to also tell ourselves some bitter truths.
“Nigeria is going through various crises today because some leaders are stubbornly against restructuring.
“In honour of Abiola and other martyrs, I want to say it pointedly that whether anybody likes it or not, this country will be restructured.
“And the earlier this is done, the better for all of us because there is no way we can guarantee peace and security if this country is not restructured.
“If this country is restructured in a way that every locality controls the instrumentality of security, backed by intelligence, the wanton killings of Nigerians will stop automatically.
According to him, June 12 should be a catalyst for national development, hence the need for political, economic, electoral, and judiciary reforms, without delay, in honour of Abiola.”

Decrying increasing insecurity, poverty, and judicial compromise, Adams added: “We must wage an intelligent war against kidnapping in cities, towns, and villages, and the time for that fight is now through restructuring. According to him, to honour Abiola, Nigeria’s electoral system must be restructured and decentralised.

“Nigeria is destined to be great, but if the attitude of leaders to restructuring and development is negative, Nigeria is going nowhere,” Adams added.

Delivering the keynote address, Femi Falana, Senior Advocate of Nigeria and human rights lawyer, said that the 1999 constitution remains the major setback for the country.

Falana, who was represented by Mr. Wale Adeoye, noted that June 12 means different things to different people, but to the majority of Nigerians, it was a demonstration of courage, resilience, and iron-cast determination of the people of Nigeria.

“It meant the ability of Nigerians to organise beyond their ethnic divisions, and the triumph of good over evil. It meant if a system is bad, Nigerians can defeat that system. June 12 meant life and death.
Noting that many pro-democracy individuals were shot dead by enemies of democracy during the June 12 struggle, Falana commended Adams for giving his vigour and life for the actualization of June 12.

He said the 1999 constitution drafted by the military could not actualise the aspirations of the Nigerian people in a democracy.
“This is a major setback for Nigeria, and there is no way we can talk about stability, progress, and development,”he said.
On poverty and insecurity bedeviling Nigeria, Falana said that there was the need for Nigeria to answer the national question.

Speaking, Dr. Joe Okei-Odumakin, the President, Women Arise, and Oluyinka Odumakin Foundation, said that June 12 symbolised ballot integrity and free choice .
She said the election was memorable as it was when Nigerians put aside primordial interests and voted across ethnic and religious lines.

Okei-Odumakin, who highlighted electoral malpractice as one of the problems facing Nigeria, said that many leaders lacked legitimacy, hence could not inspire desired progress. While applauding leaders like the late Premier of the Western Region, Obafemi Awolowo, he said, “if Abiola had been allowed to become the President, we would have had fiscal federalism, restructuring, and other policies to end the groanings of ordinary Nigerians.
“Honesty, if Abiola was the President of Nigeria, there would have been a pro-people constitution as against the decree branded as a constitution for us by the military.”

Meanwhile, Ikenna Ebiri, a statistician, has said that the economic gains highlighted by President Tinubu in his Democracy Day speech are yet to translate into meaningful relief for ordinary Nigerians.
He acknowledged the reported 3.4 per cent economic growth in 2024, calling it “impressive on paper,” but warned it had yet to reflect in everyday life.

“The 4.6 per cent last-quarter growth sounds great, but prices are still climbing,” Ebiri said.
He noted reported improvements in foreign reserves and credit ratings, saying they matter, but “not if unemployment remains high and wages stagnant”.

Ebiri described the CREDICORP loans to civil servants and youths as a welcome development, saying that “soft credit helps, but there is a need for wider and clearer access to such funds.” He was sceptical about Tinubu’s seven per cent growth target, because “there is no plan on the ground to achieve it.”

He pointed out that the absence of firm unemployment figures had the potential to weaken the confidence of the citizens in the government’s job creation claims. “The speech ticked boxes for investors, but didn’t speak clearly to the okada rider or the market woman,” he said, adding that Nigerians need“concrete policies that reduce daily hardship, not just hopeful projections”.