Renowned legal icon and former President of the Nigerian Bar Association, Wole Olanipekun (SAN), has cautioned that Nigeria is increasingly abandoning its federal foundations and drifting towards a unitary system of government.
Speaking at The PUNCH Forum held at The PUNCH Place along the Lagos-Ibadan Expressway, Olanipekun stressed the urgent need for political restructuring to salvage the country’s dwindling efficiency and federal character.
Themed “The Imperatives of Restructuring Nigeria,” the event brought together prominent voices advocating for constitutional reforms.
“We live in a country where we are going unitary by the day,” Olanipekun declared. “Everybody wants to move to the centre — Abuja. How do we halt the drift towards unitarism?”
The respected Senior Advocate of Nigeria noted that centralisation has become deeply entrenched across major sectors of the economy, including education, security, and the judiciary.
He warned that the overconcentration of power in the federal government was not only eroding the spirit of true federalism but also stifling development and undermining local governance.
