The former Attorney General of the Federation (AGF) in the 2nd Republic, Mr. Kanu Agabi on Thursday said the presidential system of government as it operates in Nigeria breeds dictatorship.
The former Minister of Justice under President Olusegun Obasanjo also warned that the Lord is losing patience with our prayers as a nation on how to find solutions to the numerous problems facing the country.
Agabi disclosed this in Lagos at the 23rd Mike Okonkwo Annual Lecture, titled: “Nigeria’s Pathways: Diagnosis and the Prescriptions” as part of activities to mark the 79 birthday of Bishop Mike Okonkwo.
He explained that the tenets of the country require radical changes, adding, “we must make ourselves the agents of the required change. And if we fail to do our duty, no one is going to it for us.”
According to him, the presidential system we operate promote dictatorship under the current Constitution because all executive powers are vested in the hand of one man.
He said the original reason why the framers of the Constitution vested executive powers on a president, is for the occupier to bond the nation together.
Agabi revealed that in the case of Nigeria, it is not so as the presidential system of government confers executive powers on one man and this leads to dictatorship.
The 78-year-old legal luminary said he prefers the parliamentary system of government.
He acknowledged Nigeria as a praying nation but stressed that prayers alone would not help our current situation, adding, ‘it is time to act.”
Agabi further disclosed that salvation of the country can only come from within and stressed that we can advance by methods of our own.
His words: “We are experimenting with system of government and laws that have been in operation in other countries for hundreds of years. We are trying to do things by ourselves. In doing so, we have often had to rely on people not qualified. “Since then, we appear to have become the slaves of our own leaders who, for love of gold and silver, have taken upon themselves to oppress the people with corruption in all its forms.”
On free and fair elections, Agabi said when political parties go into election determined to employ the most inferior methods to win, the poll would not be free and fair.
He warned: “We cannot go up to heaven to bring down angels to conduct our elections. There is little the Independent National Electoral Commission can do if those who are engaged in the elections are determined to employ unfair methods.”
The former AGF noted that the measures to take to address the situation must be drastic as a casual approach would not resolve the problems.
Agabi said to achieve good results, the medication to address the ills of Nigeria must be commensurate with the disease.
Chairman of the annual lecture, Mr. Atedo Peterside described the title of the lecture as apt to what Nigeria is passing through. Peterside said if Nigerians adhere to Agabi’s lecture, it would lead to the path finding solutions to the numerous problems confronting the nation.
In his remarks, Bishop Mike Okonkwo said corruption is now part of our daily life and is destroying the fabric of the nation.
Okonkwo, who is the presiding Bishop of TREM, said aside our leaders, Nigerians are part of the corruption that is currently a major problem of the country and hope the young generations would follow this part.
