Former Minister of Industry, Trade and Investment, Olusegun Aganga, has urged Nigeria to embark on urgent restructuring of its political framework, insisting that the current presidential system is too expensive, ineffective and unsuitable for the country’s social and economic realities.

 

Aganga made the remarks while delivering the keynote address at the launch of Dr. Olu Fasan’s book titled “In the National Interest: The Road to Nigeria’s Political, Economic and Social Transformation”, on Thursday in Lagos, where he described Nigeria’s governance architecture as “deeply flawed” and overly centralised.

 

“Our political and governance structure is fundamentally defective. The poor implementation of the presidential system has placed too much focus on the centre, rather than the federating units. No other federal constitution in the world has more items on its exclusive list than Nigeria’s.” He said.

 

 

 

 

He argued that the overconcentration of power at the centre weakens national cohesion and undermines effective governance. “This presidential constitution vests so much power in the president that only conscious and conscionable exercise of those powers can save the holder of the office from themselves,” he said.

 

Aganga, who once served at the heart of the federal government, said his experience at the centre has convinced him that restructuring is unavoidable. “My firm belief is that Nigeria must restructure to achieve its full potential. I have been in the centre, and I know it is sub-optimal. Restructuring is not about ‘if,’ but about ‘when’ and ‘how.’”

 

He insisted that any restructuring must begin with a re-evaluation of Nigeria’s system of government. According to him, the presidential model works best for large, highly literate economies such as the United States but is ill-suited for countries with limited resources and high poverty levels.

 

Aganga cited a Trust in Government survey conducted by the OECD, noting that countries with the highest levels of public confidence largely operate parliamentary democracies.

 

“It is interesting that the top 15 countries all operate parliamentary systems or home-grown variants. The US – the epitome of the presidential system – is way down the ladder, while Switzerland, which tops the list, runs a home-grown parliamentary democracy.” He explained

 

Based on this evidence, he urged Nigeria to seriously consider adopting a parliamentary system or creating a hybrid that incorporates the strengths of both systems.

 

Aganga said such a reform should promote broader political participation and reflect Nigeria’s diversity. “If Switzerland can fashion a system that works for its citizens, certainly Nigeria can and should,” he added.

 

He posed several key questions he believes Nigerians must confront in shaping the nation’s political future, stressing that the direction-whether retaining a modified presidential system, adopting parliamentary governance, or designing a uniquely Nigerian hybrid-requires serious deliberation. But he warned that maintaining the status quo is not an option. “The status quo is not sustainable,” he said. “What is required is for the energies of our population, at home and in the diaspora, to be harnessed for the much-awaited transformation of our country.”