Nobel laureate, Professor Wole Soyinka has said that decentralization of government will help in the maximization of development in the country.
The renowned professor maintained that for a nation to be food self-sufficient, and sustainably, decentralization is the key.
Soyinka gave an insight while delivering a lecture to commemorate the 50th anniversary of Punch Nigeria Limited on Thursday.
According to the Nobel Laureate, “When the word restructuring is brooded around, we often hear the challenge. What do you mean by restructuring? Well, I don’t even like the word restructuring I use. I prefer expressions like reconfiguration, decentralization.
“Everybody can grasp that decentralization and those who lead us. They recognize the necessity of it. They recognize the importance, almost the inevitability of it until they get into power. Yes, that’s the difference until they get in power. Deconstruction, reconfiguration, decentralization, all these are necessary in order to maximize development.”
Since the removal of fuel subsidy which triggered a hike in the cost of living, governments have rolled out several measures including palliatives.
He, however, faulted the palliative move introduced by the government to address the situation, describing it as temporary.
“We speak about food, and hunger because it is real. But palliatives are temporary, stop-gap policies. They do not reach the heart of the problem, which is one of decentralized development as massively as possible.
“Palliatives remain crude, short-term, stop-gap measures only. As a veteran of food security working conferences from Uganda to India, from Paris to Sochi, I insist that, for a nation to be food self-sufficient, and sustainably, decentralization is the key, not collectivization,” Soyinka said.
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