The issue of reducing the states in Nigeria has once again come to the limelight after a past chairman of the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC), Prof. Attahiru Jega, dubbed for the decrease of the number of states in the country from 36 to 12 to speed up the growth of the country.
While speaking at the inaugural caucus conference of the Rescue Nigeria Project, in Abuja, Jega declared the uproar for restructuring was an outcome of marginalisation and injustices in the administration of the political affairs of the country as well as poor governance run by ineffective, incapable, inefficient and self-satisfying leadership.
He stated that breaking down the established 36 states system, and reconfiguring the states into the pre-1966 regions or six geo-political regions, or even into the 12 states of the 1976/77 era is the reasonable way for the country.
He argued that dividing the current 36 states into 42 is at guiltiest a utopian, sentimental, pipe-dream; and it is simpler said than accomplished.
Lastly, he said that the civil and political costs of such an operation would by distant surpass the advantages. The extra states formulated, the more their economic viability is endangered.
The idea of disseminating the states in Nigeria into 12 Is not also a bad idea, but at the same time, it will come with a lot of challenges for the government in power.
The writer is of the opinion that Nigeria should be left with the number of states we have (36) Rather, let us focus on building and developing these states what the Rescue Nigeria Project as a party seeks to achieve.
The 12 States That Might Exist If RNP Comes Into Power
Recall that General Yakubu Gowon an erstwhile Military head of state in Nigeria started the creation of states. He came to be the first military leader of the country through a coup that saw the murder of Sir Tafawa Balewa who was also the first prime minister in Nigeria. And after the civil war, Gowon split the whole country into twelve states to lessen the Biafran civilization.
These were the first Nigerian states that were ever created and they include: Niger State (North-Western State), Kaduna State, Kano State, Bauchi State (North-Eastern State), Kwara State, Benue-Plateau State, Western State, Imo State (East-Central state), Lagos State, Mid-Western State, Cross River State, Rivers State.
Following the statement that Prof. Jega, we think that the aforementioned states might be the only states that will be left to exist in our country if Rescue Nigeria Project comes into Power.
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