By Braeyi Ekiye.

Google describes an “enticing word” as a phrase or concept that looks attractive, wise, or
beneficial on the surface but is actually designed to deceive, manipulate, or lead someone away from the Truth.

Colossians 2: 14 also warn against words that charm, bewitch, capture or enchant someone, often in a deceptive manner. Trickery in its highest form, so to speak.

Before and after Nigeria’s independence in 1960, the country’s leaders have continued to lead her citizens on a rollercoaster ride of deception, absurdities, contradictions and imbalances inherent in her governance system. The lack of equity and justice in its administration, in the past sixty six years or so, is of a serious concern. This is compounded by the unpardonable level of corrupt practices, especially financial and economic crimes against the state.

Cerebral, patriotic and by far the greatest Nigerian Leader who empathized with the plight of Niger Delta region minorities and proffered a solution for their upliftment, Alhaji Tafawa Balewa, Nigeria’s first prime minister, succinctly described the manipulative 1914 amalgamation of the northern and southern Nigerian provinces by the British colonial government.

This is what Balewa said: “Since the amalgamation of the southern and northern provinces in 1914, Nigeria has existed as one country on paper…It is still by far from being united. Nigeria unity is only on British intention for the country”.

Corroborating this axiom, Chukwuemeka Odumegwu Ojukwu, a former Nigerian military officer who later served as the leader of the ill-fated Biafran Republic from 1967-1970, castigated the Nigeria designed by the British: “We have tried to live a Nigeria designed by Great Britain and handed over to us. We fought a civil war, killed so many people, and still we have the same problems reoccurring. Perhaps, a time has come to revisit the very foundations of Nigeria”.

Chief Tola Adeniyi, a Nigerian journalist of note and a former Editor-in-Chief of Daily Times also frown at the past and present state of affairs in the country.

He was very forthcoming when he said that, the Nigerian State as presently constituted ‘will not work’ unless and untill the foundational structural defects are genuinely corrected.

In this regard, Adeniyi proferred the solution thus: “For the past fifty years, I have thought of a Confederate Nigerian State but lately, de-amalgamation of Nigeria, which is the proper thing to do. Let the Ibos, the Ijaws, the Yorubas, etc go their separate ways. The way Nigeria is being run cannot work”, he said.

In my latest book:”Redefining Nigeria: Essays on State, Nation, Leadership & Democracy”, I stressed the need for The National Question to be addressed squarely. At page 77, Chapter 12, titled: “2023: Setting the Agenda for Presidential Aspirants”, I maintained that a people bound in chains and stripped of honour and dignity are slaves. I stated that, to all intent and purpose, Nigeria is still in chains politically, administratively, economically, financially, and above all, the security of her territorial integrity.

I therefore, posited that the tens of thousands of former President Good luck Jonathan, President Bola Tinubu, Atiku Abubakar, Peter Obi, Kingsley Mogalu, etc cannot make Nigeria to work in her present state of structural imbalance and decay.

What Nigeria needs, to my mind, is a re-calibration of her broken down administrative and political system and the branding of a new system that ensures precision, specifics, and clear direction to achieve the set target of a united, peaceful, secure and progressive country.

To do this, the Nigerian ruling class, together with critical stakeholders across the country and the diaspora should seriously tinker with the dismantling of the present shaky, wobbling political structures that have proved stumbling blocks in the emergence of a vibrant Nigerian State.

The time has come for the elite to interrogate “The National Question” with a view to Restructuring this country in tandem with the practice of True Fiscal Federalism, devolution of powers and resources ownership and control to the constituent states. And very important also, is the recreating of a new Nigerian Constitution that citizens can truly affirm to as their document (grundnorm) for good and acceptable governance.

Only recently, Professor Sola Adeyeye, a former Senate Chief Whip harped on the need to interrogate the lingering National Question. He pointedly found fault in the present Nigerian Constitution dubbed as fraudulent and therefore, unworkable by many Nigerians and legal luminaries.

Professor Adeyeye: “I dare tell this nation that the problem with Nigeria is its Constitution. This constitution can never give us progress. It can never give us peace. It can never give us unity”.
He regretted that most of his National Assembly colleagues lacked the spine to legislate on issues that would give Nigeria the needed peace and progress and in tackling the broad concerns of their constituencies.

Senators, he said, should have the courage to do the right thing in moving the nation forward.
In the same breath, a Nigerian clergyman and senior pastor of Kingsway International Christian Centre in London, Matthew Ashimolowo opined that the Nigerian governance system is broken and needed to be fixed. He advocated for holistic approach in this regard.

“You cannot fix the Presidency and the leadership and leave the system”, he said.
” In my opinion, we have a good head but fixing only the head is not enough
. So, leadership and system failure has to be addressed in fixing Nigeria’s governance problem”.
“I think we have focused too much on leaders instead of the system which should be a check on leadership”, Ashimolowo stated.

For instance, he said, the United States of America has built a system that is bigger than the President. So, he cannot cow or manipulate the Judiciary.

“What we should be aiming at”, Pastor Ashimolowo advised, “is in fact, the crisis on ground. We should use it to face some truths; from the Presidency to the man on the street”.

By this, the pastor believes, corruption across the board would be drastically reduced.
Ashimolowo declared: “The solution is to fix the system for good governance to prevail”.

It is heart-warming that, from far away Australia and America, change agents echo the trending call for the dismantling of corruption, the canker worm that has eaten deep into the fabric of the country Nigerian nation.

Mike Arnold, global strategist and associate senior pastor at Christ Church, Gove Farm, regretted that it was mind boggling that a 13 billion US dollar contract was all written to one man!
“Corruption in Nigeria”, he said, “is flowing liberally around cronnies of government “.

Commenting on the Nigerian Constitution, Arnold stated that: “The constitution of Nigeria must be deconstructed and rebuilt to reflect the aspirations of her citizens”. Calling for a revolution, though non-violent, Arnold declared: ‘A non-violent revolution of conscience of all Nigerians was needed to pull down this evil system”.

By far the most striking rebuke of the 1999 Nigerian Constitution as amended to came from a former President of the Nigerian Bar Association (NBA), Wole Olanipekun, while delivering the 32nd and 33rd Convocation of the Olabisi Onabanjo University(OOU), Ago-Iwoye, Ogun State.

The legal luminary described the 1999 constitution as ‘fake’ and lacking the required elements to address the various challenges confronting the country.

“My honest deduction is that the constitution is unrealistic, deceptive and pretentious”.
“We also appeal to the powers that be now, to our president, Bola Tinubu, that the time for us to restructure to his country is now”.

Barrister Olanipekun described previous alterations to the constitution as charades and window dressing”. He emphasised the call for Restructuring in the interest of the country.

It is clear that from the comments above, Nigeria is faced with serious foundational imbalance issues; significant flaws in the political and administrative edifice, whose load-bearing elements; lack of good governance, credible, fair and transparent electoral process compromise Nigeria’s integrity, unity, peace and security, and accelerated progress.

The greater challenge before Nigeria, therefore, is the political Will to embark on holistic restructuring of the Nigerian State, and not the half-hearted ongoing marathon amendments to the constitution by the National Assembly.

Short of repeating oneself, what Nigeria needs now is real structural reforms: that of the practice of True Fiscal Federalism in which devolution of powers between the federal government and federating units are properly spelt out, with clear and unmistaken provisions for resources ownership and control by the federating units. As a corollary, the unworkable Nigerian constitution as alluded to by legal luminaries and critical stakeholders should be recrafted and a new and acceptable grundnorm produced for the effective and efficient administration of the ‘new Nigerian State’.

Of equal footing and great importance is the abrogation of archaic colonial, oppressive, obnoxious and rights-decapitating land and Petroleum laws which have for long denied the people of oil and gas producing areas the right to ownership and control of their God given resources. Fortunately, there is no region or geo-political zone that lacks mineral, agricultural and other life sustaining resources to keep them afloat economically and financially.

It is pertinent at this point to appeal to political parties and their presidential aspirants to take copious note of the core issues pertaining to focused national development raised in this article. Such issues that are for the edification and sustainability of the Federal Republic of Nigeria.

I flatter myself to say that, from the messages and direct quotes of commentators echoing from this write-up, a clear agenda has been set for Presidential Aspirants and their parties. A passionate demand is being made of them to make “The National Question” a first line campaign issue during their electioneering outings. Anything short of this would amount to a political race without a definite goal: just beating the air, shadow boxing.

Nigeria’s problems are enormous; from distressful security challenges to bad governance, kleptocratic fingers occupying public offices foraging our treasuries across the country and self-serving and clearly unimpressive electoral process that can deepen and sustain democratic rule.

As we reflect on the admonition of The PUNCH 5th June, 2026 Editorial , may our leaders see through the need for Nigeria to be better administered.

The PUNCH Editorial says that, the country, Nigeria, cannot continue to normalise mass killings, displacements, and land seizures as unfortunate headlines in the news circle.

“The bleeding must be stanched before more communities disappear from the maps, and more Nigerians lose faith in the state’s ability to protect them”, the editorial concluded.

There is no doubt, Nigeria can redeem herself by doing the proper and right thing by running an equitable and selfless governance system that would squarely address the greater challenges facing Nigeria. The greater being the restructuring of the country, to usher in peace and security, accelerated socio-economic development and infrastructural transformation.

The test of Leadership to determine the appropriateness of a Tinubu Presidency and administration in governance is being questioned. And that is a fact; not only from the general opinion poll but also from critical minds, dedicated to the cause of the nation. To deny that fact is to deceive ourselves.

May the Tinubu Presidency, therefore, rise heroically to this all-important national assignment and turn around a fast failing and unimpressive governance system that has left her citizens bewildered, impoverished and open to serious security challenges across the country.

***Braeyi Ekiye, journalist, publisher, author writes from Yenagoa, Bayelsa State of Nigeria.