By Divine Sam
Oyo State Governor and presidential candidate of the Allied Peoples’ Movement (APM), Seyi Makinde, has called for a fundamental restructuring of Nigeria’s governance and economic system, arguing that the country needs a complete reset rather than routine reforms to overcome its challenges.
Makinde made the position known on Sunday while speaking on a live political programme on Jay FM in Jos, Plateau State, ahead of the official flag-off of his party’s 2027 presidential campaign scheduled for Monday in the city.
The governor identified economic recovery as the foremost priority of his proposed reset agenda, insisting that the success of government policies should be judged by their impact on the daily lives of ordinary Nigerians rather than economic statistics.
He argued that reforms would only produce meaningful results where the existing system had more strengths than weaknesses, maintaining that Nigeria’s present challenges required a more fundamental approach.
Using a computer system as an illustration, Makinde explained that repeatedly adjusting a faulty programme would achieve little if the entire system was already malfunctioning, stressing the need to shut it down and restart it.
He said, “We can do reform when the good within the system is more than the bad, then you say we can tweak it and things like that. But if in a situation where the good within your system is just like 20% of your expectations, at that point,
“it’s just like your own computer system, if it keeps hanging and you want to run a programme on it, the best cause of action for you is not about tweaking the programme. You have a button, a reset button. Basically, you will shut down everything, reboot it and then you have a clearer path to proceed with your programme going forward.
“So, reform is not going to work within the environment we are in. I was not born a politician, I decided that I must participate because the future of millions of our people are involved and also for potentially the greatest black country on the face of the earth, their destiny are also involved.
“The economy must work for everybody. It is not about taking numbers out and saying external reserves have grown or quoting what the World Bank said about inflationary trends.
“What is the ordinary man on the street feeling? Are they able to feed themselves?”
Makinde called for increased investment in skills development, entrepreneurship, education and local production, saying the country must create an environment where businesses can grow, generate employment and provide opportunities for its large youth population.
On security, the governor reiterated his support for decentralising the country’s security architecture through the establishment of state police, arguing that governors should have the authority to respond more directly to security threats within their jurisdictions.
He maintained that states willing and adequately prepared to establish their own police structures should be allowed to proceed, provided appropriate safeguards were put in place.
Recalling his earlier advocacy for state police, Makinde said he raised the proposal with the late President Muhammadu Buhari towards the end of 2019, shortly after assuming office as governor, amid growing security concerns across the country.
“When I became governor, we already had security challenges in different parts of the country. We approached the late President Muhammadu Buhari towards the end of 2019 and said, look, I think we should have state police.”
“At that time, the argument was that some states were not even able to pay workers’ salaries. Now you want them to establish state police. They asked how they could do that when they were unable to pay their workers,” he said.
He explained that governors in the South-West subsequently established the Western Nigeria Security Network, popularly known as Amotekun, as an interim security arrangement while discussions around state police continued.
According to him, Amotekun was designed as a middle ground between having a fully established state police system and leaving the region without an additional security structure.
“Amotekun was a midway between having full-fledged state police and having nothing.”
Makinde said the arrangement had enabled security operatives to gather intelligence and share useful information with federal security agencies, adding that the system had worked effectively in the South-West.
He acknowledged concerns that state police could be abused by some governors to target political opponents or suppress citizens, but argued that constitutional and institutional safeguards could address such risks.
“Those concerns are legitimate because some people believe it could become a tool in the hands of state governors to oppress the people.”
He further maintained that states should not be compelled to establish state police simultaneously, insisting that those with the necessary structures and safeguards should be allowed to proceed.
The governor also linked insecurity to unemployment and the lack of economic opportunities for young Nigerians, warning that leaving young people without a clear path to the future could deepen social instability.
“Some of these young people are now getting involved in crime and criminality because we have not given them a path to the future.”
“If you do not give opportunities to the coming generation, it is a recipe for bigger conflicts ahead of us,” he said.
Makinde noted that Nigeria’s population was projected to exceed 300 million, with more than 70 per cent expected to be below 34 years, stressing that deliberate policies would be needed to harness the potential of the country’s youthful population.
To support his argument for allowing states to develop at their own pace, he referenced the South-West’s experience before independence, when the region pursued self-government before the country attained independence in 1960.
He also recalled his administration’s decision not to impose a total lockdown in Oyo State during the COVID-19 pandemic in 2020, saying the decision was influenced by concerns about the ability of low-income households to survive without daily earnings.
Makinde said he opposed the blanket lockdown proposal during a National Economic Council meeting in Abuja, arguing that many residents depended on daily activities to provide food for themselves and their families.
He said the eventual decision allowed individual states to determine whether a lockdown was necessary, adding that Oyo State opted against a total shutdown.
According to him, his administration relied on scientific advice, data and consultations with experts at the virology unit of the University of Ibadan in managing the pandemic.
On education, the governor expressed support for the free education policy associated with the late former Premier of the Western Region, Chief Obafemi Awolowo.
He described Awolowo’s education initiative as a long-term investment in human development, noting that it provided children from ordinary farming families with opportunities to acquire education and contribute to society.
Makinde also spoke about his plans to strengthen Nigeria’s higher education system and transform universities into centres of research and innovation.
He said his administration, if elected president, would begin by making Nigerians aware of the country’s actual economic and institutional situation rather than concealing existing challenges.
He added that accountability would be a central part of his proposed approach to governance.
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