By: Lauretta Fagbohun, Abeokuta.
Former Nigerian Ambassador to the United Kingdom, Ambassador Sarafa Tunji Ishola, has called for urgent reforms to revive the functionality of local government administrations across Nigeria, lamenting that the present structure restricts their ability to deliver effectively on grassroots development.
Ishola made this known while speaking at the 7th Anniversary Lecture of Penpushing Media, held at the Olusegun Obasanjo Presidential Library (OOPL) in Abeokuta, Ogun State. He decried the erosion of local government autonomy, contrasting today’s inefficiency with the past when local councils had functional departments such as the Public Works Department (PWD), which ensured direct service delivery to communities.
“Local governments used to be more visible and impactful. What we have today is a system that handicaps them. If we don’t fix this, governance will remain distant from the people,” he stated.
Linking governance failures to societal flaws, Ishola argued that bad leadership is often a reflection of the society’s deep-rooted challenges, including widespread illiteracy and poverty. He stressed that no constitutional reform or political restructuring would succeed without first addressing these foundational issues.
On the economic front, he advocated for the creation of more job opportunities and a growth-enabling environment to address Nigeria’s mounting socioeconomic challenges.
Also speaking at the event, former Minister of Education and public policy advocate, Dr. Obiageli Ezekwesili, delivered a scathing critique of Nigeria’s ongoing constitutional amendment process, dismissing it as a wasteful political ritual with no meaningful outcome.
Ezekwesili, who spoke on the theme “Reworking Nigeria’s Federalism: Perspectives on Restructuring and Fiscal Federalism,” argued that what the country urgently needs is not a patchwork of amendments but a brand new constitution that reflects Nigeria’s diversity and lays the groundwork for genuine federalism.
“The current constitution is structurally flawed. It does not reflect the will or the complexity of the Nigerian people. Any effort to amend it without addressing the foundational issues is simply dancing around the problem,” she asserted.
She likened the constitutional amendment process to attempting to repaint a collapsing building. “When an engineer says the foundation is weak, you don’t redecorate you bring it down and rebuild,” Ezekwesili said.
The former minister called on the media to rise to the occasion by championing the demand for a people-driven constitutional conference that would lead to a referendum and the birth of a truly representative constitution.
“If anything should come out of this lecture, it must be the resolve of the media to take the lead in the push for a constitutional conference that can truly restructure Nigeria for equity, justice, and development,” she concluded.
The event, which brought together policymakers, media professionals, and thought leaders, echoed a unified message: that Nigeria’s challenges require bold, structural reforms—not half-hearted adjustments.
