Dino Melaye Dismisses Power-Sharing Deal As ‘Archaic’

 Dino Melaye Dismisses Power-Sharing Deal As ‘Archaic’
Melaye

Senator Dino Melaye criticized Nigeria’s unofficial power-sharing agreement on Friday, claiming that it does not value excellence and meritocracy.

“After 60 years of independence, it will be myopic, porous, parochial, archaic, and analogue thinking to still be talking about zoning,” he said on Channels Television’s Politics Today amid debates over the zoning of the presidential seat.

“We must graduate from a mediocre society to a meritorious society where the best foot is being put forward.”

Power-sharing agreements such as zoning, according to the former lawmaker, are not practiced in most industrialized countries throughout the world, including the United States.

He recounted his attempt to introduce legislation in Nigeria prohibiting the use of the term “state of origin,” arguing that the country should be a “stateless” nation.

“Instead of having the quota system and saying some states are at disadvantage, we should open the space to merit as practiced in other civilised climes across the globe,” he insisted.

Also Read: 2023: Those Against Zoning Are Selfish – Wike

Senator Melaye accused governors and politicians of selfishness, claiming they are marginalising people in their states.

“So, I am saying the space should be open for the best so that you don’t restrict those who have the capability,” he argued.

Nigeria, he said, should evolve just as the world is moving towards better ways of doing things. He compared the zoning arrangement to a man still taking baby food even when he has outgrown that. For him, Nigeria should outgrow the power-sharing formula and move from “analogue thinking to digital reasoning”.

“The food you eat as a child is different from the one you take as an adult,” the Kogi-born Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) chieftain said.

“After 20 years of democracy and after 60 years of independence, you cannot continue to think of zoning. Is America zoning?”