The Executive Director of Policy and Legal Advocacy Centre (PLAC), Clement Nwankwo, on Wednesday blamed the military for the current state of the nation.
Nigeria returned to civil rule in 1999 with the election of President Olusegun Obasanjo, then of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP).
Since then, the country has enjoyed 26 years of unbroken democracy.
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Speaking on Channels Television’s special broadcast to celebrate Nigeria’s 65th independence anniversary, Nwankwo, a lawyer, said the military has brought Africa’s most populous nation to where it is today.
“When Obasanjo took over, he had the toga of coming from a military background; that transition to civilian rule didn’t quite happen.
“Because we had a unitary system of government which was worsened under the dictator General [Muhammadu] Buhari, General [Ibrahim] Babangida, and brutal dictator, General Sani Abacha, you didn’t see a return to civilianess,” he stated.
“Every President since Obasanjo in 1999 has operated using the machinery that was left behind by the military to continue to operate this country as a unitary system.
“The struggle to decentralise, de-escalate the unitary system has been a continuous one. Because of the struggle between the federal and state, we haven’t had that independence.
“The military, very sadly, has brought us to where we are today. They have been a major disaster to this country,” Nwankwo added.
More to follow…