A constitutional lawyer, Prof. Akin Oyebode, has advised that Nigeria should have a change of name.
Oyebode, who spoke on Wednesday at the ongoing National Conference, said Nigeria should change its name to the United States of Songhai.
Oyebode, a representative of Ekiti State at the conference, said this would follow the pattern set by Kwame Nkruma when he changed the name of his country from Gold Coast to Ghana.
He said that it was obvious that Nigeria, as the name of the country, has outlived its usefulness.
He said: “I propose that we change the name of Nigeria to United States of Songhai just like Nkruma changed Gold Coast to Ghana.”
He said that the country is operating caricature federation.
Oyebode noted that the Deputy Senate President, Senator Ike Ekweremadu, aptly said the country is running feeding bottle federalism.
He drew the attention of his fellow delegates to the that the conference is running without legal backing, saying: “We have embarked on a voyage with a compass.”
The conference, he added, should consider the issue of fiscal federalism, true federalism, resource control or self determination.
Ralph Osanaiye, a retried Assistant Inspector General of Police, said that problem of the country started when some leaders decided to run down security agencies by starving them of funds and denying them arms and ammunitions.
Osanaiye said that policy to run down security agencies was deliberate in order to weaken them and incapacitate them from carrying out their primary responsibilities.
Michael Olukoya traced the challenges facing the country to faulty foundation.
Olukoya said that primary schools have been systematically destroyed by people who benefited from public school system.
Olukoya, who represents the Nigeria Labour Congress in the conference, said that in Benue State teachers had been on strike for over six months without anybody talking.
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