Several professors from various institutions in the South South region have canvassed a rebalancing of power in the country within the centre and the states, to give the federating units more leverage and opportunities to achieve their peculiar national goals, insisting that the current federal system is defective.

The dons who spoke during the First Prof Sam Oyoivbaire Public Service Lecture, of the Southern Delta University, Delta State, delivered by Prof. Eghosa Osaghae, Director-General of the Nigerian Institute of International Affairs, posited that devolving more powers to states would lessen the burden of dividends delivery on the federal government and make states more pragmatic and innovative.

The professors included Joice Ogwezi, Sam Aghalino, Willy Ehwarieme, Presly Obukoadata and several others.

The guest speaker, Prof Osaghae, in his lecture titled “Federal Statecraft Without Crafters: The Nigerian Predicament”, had argued that Nigeria must rebalance powers between the center and federating units, shifting away from a over-centralized structure to cure its persistent governance challenges.

While stating that Nigeria is better suited for central government system which he said is organic and natural, he said the federal government system is man made, problematic and complex.

He said that Federalism succeeds if it has federalist agents, or what he called crafters, that sustains it, adding that Judicial activism is an integral part of true federalism , especially when the federal government becomes a tyrant.

“You cannot have a federal state without people who are not ready to defend federalism, we cannot have people such as we have in Nigeria today who believe that the best way address federalism is to seek or to have the best from the federal state rather than seek to be the best of a productive centre that can exist alongside the federal government. Federalism says that every other government should develop its own capacity to make it possible for that other government to deliver within a sphere of jurisdiction.

“If we all look to federal government and continue to say the federal government is a master government and a state governor goes to the federal government and say, ‘you know we’re for you, give us more’ — that is not a federal system can function effectively, it is a federal system that’s lacking some of the important requisite for a successful federalism”, Osaghae said.

The Vice Chancellor of Southern Delta University, Prof Sunny Awhefeada said the lecture was instituted in the name of the former Minister of Information under the IBB regime, Prof Sam Oyoivbaire, to honour his contribution to public service in the country. He emphasized that the lecture is intended to provide a platform for SDU to intervene in finding solutions to subregional and national problems

The event which was chaired by HRM Albert Akpomudje, SAN, Chairman Body of Benchers, the Ohworode of Olomu kingdom, was attended by traditional rulers including the Orodje of Okpe kingdom, His Majesty Orhue I, Major General Felix Agho Mujakperuo (rtd), and several eminent personalities from across the country.