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PAGE 2 —SUNDAY VANGUARD, OCTOBER 1, 2017

SUNDAY VANGUARD, OCTOBER 1, 2017 — PAGE 3

SUNDAY Vanguard, OCTOBER 1, 2017, PAGE 9

Beyond the despair, there is hope

By Jide Ajani

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OU can neither legislate nor decree happiness into existence. It does not work that way; and it can never work that way.

Perhaps, that is one of the lessons President Muhammadu Buhari is coming to terms with as President and Commander-in-Chief. Apart from his frontal attack on corruption, virtually every other campaign promise has either been repudiated or has, unfortunately, not matured; and patience is running thin. But the question persists, even after 57years of independence: How do you make Nigerians happy?

For a people whose desires are so basic and modest, it should not take so much to make Nigerians happy. But they are not.

Buffeted by a cocktail of afflictions ranging from failed infrastructure, to illiteracy, communal clashes and tribalism, corruption, nepotism, indiscipline and ritual killings, just to mention a few, Nigerians have become more impoverished than they were at independence, for, as you look deep into the eyes of the average Nigerian, what you see is bewilderment.

In October 1986, more than 31 years ago, the late Dele Giwa, writing in Newswatch, had made the point that most Nigerians were bewildered at their state of being. That was then.

Today, apart from democracy, things are worse than they were in 1986 and have simply engaged a reverse gear.

To many Nigerians, their song of lamentation has generated a chorus that is so easy to chant but which does not sound friendly to the ears. Yet, Nigeria is seen as a thriving economy based on numbers.

These numbers, however, do not reflect or find resonance in the day-to-day living of a greater percentage of Nigerians. For instance, the National Bureau of Statistics, NBS, released its 2017 second quarter figures regarding the Nigerian economy and claimed that the country was already exiting recession after about one year. However, talk to the average Nigerian on the street and he will tell you the figures coming out of his pocket do not justify any such claim.

Therefore, we need to ask: What went wrong?

The answer to that would elicit a plethora of charges ranging from military incursion into politics, to the absence of good leadership, a populace lacking in patriotic ethos, and so on. In fact, the fashionable annual ritual almost always during every independence anniversary is to lament about how Nigeria, with all its potentials for greatness, missed the target. At independence in 1960, Nigeria fared better than all the countries of South-East Asia. The late American President John Fitzgerald Kennedy had expected Nigeria to become a first world economy before or by 1975. We did not.

In what is a clear departure from the usual lamentation song, Vanguard’s Board of Editors decided to look for answers on how best this potentially great country can unlock the potentials.

To do this, Nigerians, who have made their mark in the academia, politics, business, governance, as well as institutions with a commanding relevance in the polity, were sought. A request for either an

When you have leaders whose thinking unashamedly reflects such statements, you need not look too far to have answers on why Nigeria is underdeveloped after 57years of independence....

There is hope.

However, as one writer puts it, hope is better served as breakfast, not expected for dinner

interview or a simple write-up on how Nigeria can rise to more glory was presented to them. The list the editors came up with was by no means exhaustive but attempted to cover a wide spectrum.

Some responded, others, because of the vicissitudes and challenges of day-to-day survival, could not meet the deadline.

Mind you, this request had gone out in August, before the malady of Nnamdi Kanu’s serial hate speeches against his fellow Igbo and other Nigerians, the reckless muscle-flexing of some misguided northern youths who were sent on a mission, the unhealthy invasion of the South-East geo-political zone by the military and its spat with members of IPoB and the return of President Buhari from his medical vacation abroad, among others. The request went out at the height of the push and shove debate about restructuring and the unthinking and some times thoughtless comments coming from otherwise respected leaders in the country.

Whereas former President Goodluck Ebele Jonathan could have engaged a restructuring of the country using the report of the confab he organised, he did not; only to advance a solution to the growing discontent in the country by saying the National Council of State should meet, as if such a meeting would solve all the problems he could not solve in six years as President. John Odigie Oyegun, the National Chairman of the ruling All Progressives Congress, APC, and one of the leaders of then National Democratic Coalition, NADECO, whose major plank of engagement was the restructuring of Nigeria, shocked many when he said he did not understand what restructuring meant. And, just last week, he added another embarrassment by saying if Igbo wanted to stop being marginalised, they should join his party - a cheap and reckless blackmail. This, after one Vincent Ogbulafor, a former counterpart of Oyegun for the Peoples Democratic Party, PDP, had long said that his party would rule Nigeria for the next 60years - it could not even rule beyond 16years.

When you have leaders whose thinking unashamedly reflects such statements, you need not look too far to have answers on why Nigeria is underdeveloped after 57years of independence.

But there is hope. There is hope because the type of ideas on the following pages - ideas by Nigerians who still believe that things can get better and that Nigeria can rise to more glory, if followed through can change the paradigm. Usman Bugaje opens our eyes to the new face of wealth, Joy Emodi insists we must move away from luggage economy while billionaire Folorunso Alakija explains that collectively we can build a thriving economy. We did not leave out the religious bodies - the Christian Association of Nigeria, CAN, and the Nigerian Supreme Council for Islamic Affairs, NSCIA. The two main political parties, APC and PDP, made their voices heard. Professor Auwalu Yadudu and Chief E. K. Clark provide uncommon insights into how best Nigeria can rise to more glory.

There is hope. However, as one writer put it, hope is better served as breakfast, not expected for dinner.

PAGE 10— SUNDAY VANGUARD, OCTOBER 1, 2017

WHAT NIGERIA NEEDS? Knowledge is the new face of wealth — Usman Bugaje Dr Usman Bugaje, an intellectual, served as Political Adviser in the Presidency under the Obasanjo administration. In this piece, Bugaje, also a member of the All Progressives Congress (APC), diagnoses Nigeria at 57 and points the way forward.

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DMITTEDLY, at a popular level, where the media operates, the trend is to oversimplify, gloss over and sometimes sweep uncomfortable truth under the carpet; all in the vain hope of changing the weather by simply changing the forecast. And our governments have been in the business of this racket of making false forecast, raising hopes that keep crushing at the end of every budget circle.

I would have, therefore, preferred to reframe the issue and approach it from the perspective of ‘how Nigeria can survive and thrive in the 21st century’! This approach underscores the significance and primacy of knowledge, not only science and technology but also, and some would say, even more importantly, advancement in social thinking. For, while science and technology can tell you what you can do and what you can’t do, it is social thinking (philosophy, ethics and strategy), which tells you what you should do and what you shouldn’t do.

Furthermore, this approach has the advantage of recognising an inescapable reality, which is that, in the 21st century, knowledge is the greatest capital.

Just some 40 years ago, oil was the symbol of wealth, and the oil sheikh was the face of global wealth. Today, the richest man, Bill Gates, has nothing to do with oil, his source of wealth is knowledge driven by creativity.

Knowledge, today, is the face of wealth and the only thing that gives a country, or indeed any corporate entity an edge over others in an increasingly competitive environment, is knowledge. From Greek antiquity to our contemporary times, knowledge has always been inextricably linked to human development. The competitive environment of the 20th century has accentuated this reality and made it an absolute imperative. Once you fail to prioritise knowledge you are out, no two ways about it.

Baseline Having clarified my point of departure let us start with some kind of baseline. In the last two decades or so, our country has been defined by weak and failing institutions, pervasive and abject poverty, stinking corruption, deplorable social services, everdeepening and widening social conflicts, erosion of social and moral values, stagnating economy and absence of jobs, poor appreciation of the future, lack of the prioritisation of knowledge and the consequent pursuit of parochial and ethnic agendas, all fuelled by a mercantile (cash and carry) politics. Citizens’ lack of trust in some of the most critical institutions like the police, the judiciary and the National Assembly summarises the state of our nation. Recent reports have consistently perceived some of these institutions to be overwhelmingly corrupt and failing to deliver to the expectations of citizens. The

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word Nigeria is becoming synonymous with corruption and it is not too far off the mark when one recalls the fact that within eight years (1999-2007), the nation spent over $16billion on the power sector without a single increase in megawatt of electricity and no one has gone to jail. That within the same period and in spite of unprecedented revenue from oil poverty doubled from 35% - 70% says so much about the etiology of our poverty and fiasco that has come to be our governance. That we are still obsessed with oil, a dwindling resource of receding value, shows our poor appreciation of the future. That our religiosity has not helped us much during this period exposes our hypocrisy and the level of the decomposition of our society.

That our political leadership doesn’t find anything wrong with

Governance in the 21stcentury is a team-work and needs leaders with the ability to prioritise competence and to fish out competent people and the confidence to work with them without this childish idea of loyalty which makes leaders to fill the corridors of power with people from their household and villages all these, much less make any visible efforts to change, speaks volumes about the quality or lack of it as it were of this leadership.

Post –oil economy So, given where we are, how do we survive and thrive in the 21st century? The first step is to decide where we want to be in the next 25 or 50 years. As the old line goes, “no winds are favorable until one knows to which port they are sailing.” At our current rate of population growth of over 3% per annum, we are expected to be well over 250million by 2030, just a dozen years away. The children out of school may come to about 20 million; jobless graduates may come to about 25 million, etc. So how do we find schools for this teeming population? How do we create jobs for the youth bulge?

Where do we find the resources to do all this, given a post-oil economy? What kind of

•Usman Bugaje institutions do we need to ensure our competitiveness? How do we plan for this future in a century where knowledge is the greatest capital? Where do we find the leadership to conceive all these and drive the implementation of the plan?

Governance in the 21st century, as we can see, is a corporate scientific business.

It is neither the business of the poorly educated, frivolous, prodigal politicians that cannot think beyond the next election, nor of crooks whose greatest incentive is the looting of the treasury.

Governance in the 21st century requires a leadership that is soundly educated, with the ability to think of and plan for the next generation, rather than just the next election. Governance today needs a good understanding of global economics, international relations and strategic thinking, precisely the ability to see the various options and the courage to make hard choices. Governance in the 21stcentury is a team-work and needs leaders with the ability to prioritise competence and to fish out competent people and the confidence to work with them without this childish idea of loyalty which makes leaders to fill the corridors of power with people from their household and villages. The key to our survival and thriving, back to glory, if you wish, is nothing but leadership!

Whatever ideas you may have can only work when there is the leadership to understand the ideas and the capacity and staying power to implement them to fruition.

Right calibration The tragedy is that our current political institutions are not calibrated to produce this kind of leaders. The kind of leaders we are producing is demonstrated by a recent APC primary election, a mercantile political culture that is clearly cash and carry. It clearly sends the signal that politics is the only vocation that requires neither qualification nor preparation, nor character. With this kind of political parties, only crooks can emerge and all they do is steal the public treasury blind, leaving the wider society high and dry.

So, the first step in making Nigeria survive and thrive in the 21st century is to install a political party whose leadership recruitment mechanism is calibrated to xxx, the kind of leadership which understands the 21st century and its challenges and has the courage to make the hard choices to take this country out of the abyss to the path of growth. Can this be done? Yes it can be done. It has been done by others and we certainly can. Those who think we can’t should take a back seat and allow those who can to do it. How do we do it?: A

The kind of leaders we are producing is demonstrated by a recent APC primary election, a mercantile political culture that is clearly cash and carry. It clearly sends the signal that politics is the only vocation that requires neither qualification nor preparation, nor character. With this kind of political parties, only crooks can emerge and all they do is steal the public treasury blind good question for another article.

In short we can’t fix this country until we fix its politics. We can’t fix its politics until we reinvent our political parties and recalibrate its leadership recruitment mechanism. We can’t fix the political parties until those who understand the leadership required to face the challenges of the 21st century get into the party administration and redesign the way parties are run. We have to stop the money-bags, the crooks and diffident politicians from sending their cronies to run or ruin, as it were, the parties on their behalf. A tall order some would say. Perhaps. All we need is a critical mass of good and conscientious men and women to move into the party that matters and work it out. As Edmund Burke would say, “the only thing necessary for the triumph of evil is for good men (and women) to do nothing”.

SUNDAY Vanguard, OCTOBER 1, 2017, PAGE 11

We are restructuring for economic growth — Udoma Udo Udoma

Senator Udoma Udo Udoma, Hon. Minister of Budget and National Planning, outlines the plan of the Buhari administration to create a sustainable national econmy

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remember the independence celebrations in 1960. Even as a six-year old, I felt the significance of that momentous event. We were living in Aba at the time but my parents travelled to Lagos to witness the hoisting of the new Nigerian flag at the Race Course. I, together with other primary school pupils, did our own march past and celebrations in Aba where we were given plastic cups, flags and memorabilia marking the joyous day of independence. I still remember the state of excitement. As one of our teachers said to us, this was not like the usual celebration of ‘Empire Day’, which we were used to. This was our independence as a proud people able to govern ourselves! As children, we were treated to large platefuls of jollof rice, a rare delicacy at the time. (In those days, you were considered very lucky if you were able to eat rice once a week, usually on Sundays.) In short, there was a general sense of euphoria and accomplishment. The future seemed bright and promising.

Disappointing trajectory But what has happened since that day?

Our political and economic trajectory has been quite disappointing. At independence, we were virtually at a par economically with countries like Thailand and Malaysia, and not too far behind even South Korea. But these countries have since left us far behind. Just by way of illustration, in the past 30 years, Malaysia has reduced its poverty rates and current World Bank statistics indicate that less than 1% of Malaysians currently live in extreme poverty. Whereas, up to 46% of Nigerians still live in poverty. Life expectancy in Malaysia, by World Bank statistics, is about 74 years, whereas in Nigeria it is about 53 years. Only about 60% of Nigerians have access to electricity, whereas virtually all Malaysians are linked up to public electricity. And a combination of rising population, high unemployment and mono commodity dependent economy has resulted in a per capita gross national income of less than 30% of that of Malaysia! In recent years, rather than getting better, Nigerian economic performance started getting worse, particularly from 2014 when the crude oil price began its steep collapse.

Notwithstanding our disappointing history, I believe we can change, in a fundamental way, the Nigerian trajectory.

Indeed, that is the commitment that President Muhammadu Buhari made during his campaign. He promised to bring change to Nigeria. And we are totally committed, and we are working, tirelessly, to bring about that change.

Workable, credible plan To achieve change, the first step is to have a workable, credible plan. The Economic Recovery and Growth Plan (ERGP), launched by President Muhammadu Buhari in April, represents such a plan. This plan was developed after extensive consultations with various segments of the Nigerian society, as well as our development partners. It is a plan that Nigerians can mobilise and organise around. Nigerians simply need to study and understand this plan. As we proceed in the implementation of this plan, Nigeria will change in a dramatic and sustainable way.

The ERGP focuses on three strategic objectives: Restoring growth, investing in our people and building a competitive economy by leveraging on science, C M Y K

The Budget is being aligned with the ERGP to ensure the priorities of the plan are properly funded.

There is commitment throughout government, led by the President and the whole cabinet, to ensure the success of the ERGP •Sen. Udoma Udo Udoma technology and innovation, as well as the ingenuity of the Nigerian people. As the ERGP explains to restore growth, and exit recession, we need firstly, to stabilize the economy, and secondly, to restructure the economy for growth. The plan targets a 7% growth rate by 2020 driven by strong nonoil sector growth in agriculture, solid minerals, manufacturing, information technology and services. The growth in the non-oil sector is to be supported by increased revenues from maximising income from a restructured oil sector. In short, the aim of the ERGP is to change Nigeria from an import dependent, consumption driven and un-diversified economy into a producing nation where ‘ we grow what we eat and consume what we make’.

Central to the success of the ERGP is the involvement of the private sector. As the ERGP states ‘In implementing the plan, the government will collaborate closely with businesses to deepen their investments in agriculture, power, manufacturing, solid minerals and service sectors, and support the private sector to become the engine of national growth and development’. The ERGP is based on partnership with the private sector. In that way, we can tap into the improved efficiency that competition amongst private sector participants brings to the delivery of goods and services. Under the ERGP, government welcomes private investments in all sectors of the economy, without exception.

Innovation There are 60 specific initiatives identified in the ERGP and there is much on-going activity in government inspired by the ERGP. The Presidential Committee on the Ease of Doing Business has been focusing on removing bureaucratic constraints and making it easier to do business in Nigeria.

A number of executive orders have been issued to facilitate and speed up bureaucratic processes. The Industrial Policy and Competitiveness Advisory Council has been working on identifying and encouraging PPPs in infrastructure development and identifying and removing constraints to manufacturing, and other private investments. Agricultural production has expanded with special task forces, some

including state governors, working on improving the quantity and quality of some specific crops, such as rice. The Budget is being aligned with the ERGP to ensure the priorities of the plan are properly funded. There is commitment throughout government, led by the President and the whole cabinet, to ensure the success of the ERGP. An innovation, which is being introduced to stimulate private sector investments, is the Malaysian style labs. Let me explain what this means. Basically, labs are working sessions which are held for several weeks and attended by all key stakeholders to establish implementation programmes and detail out what needs to be done to deliver on the ERGP. During the course of the labs, key private sector investors are invited and encouraged to identify projects that they would be willing to invest in. Because all relevant stakeholders, from both the public and private sectors, gather together in one place, they are able to fast track processes.

Arrangements to hold labs on key execution priorities are underway and we should be rolling out the first one in the next few weeks.

All Nigerians are therefore encouraged to familiarise themselves with the ERGP as this is a plan whose implementation will ensure that our tomorrow is significantly better than our today.

Under the ERGP, our target is to be growing at 7% by 2020. Against this expectation we should all therefore look forward to a big celebration on the 1st of October, 2020, when we celebrate our 60th independence anniversary. And thereafter, given the trajectory we would be moving on by then, we should expect, if we stay focused, to move on to a growth rate of10%, or more, in the following years.

What an exciting prospect.

PAGE 12— SUNDAY VANGUARD, OCTOBER 1, 2017

We must move from luggage economy to knowledge based economy — Sen. Joy Emodi

Senator Joy Emodi, the Chairman/ Founder, Brickhall School, Abuja, wants an end to fixation on oil at a time the world is phasing out petrol powered vehicles.

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just finished watching, for the umpteenth time, the short documentary by the United States Information Service (USIS) highlighting the July 1961 state visit by the late Prime Minister, Alhaji Tafawa Balewa, to the US at the invitation of President John F. Kennedy.

From the royal reception at the airport to the crowds that lined the streets of Washington DC, to the great warmth accorded Balewa and his entourage at the White House, and the standing ovation he received from the US Congress, it was not in doubt that the eagle and an emerging world power had landed.

Those were the golden years of our nationhood.

True and healthy, competitive federalism saw to the establishment of the first television station in Africa by the Western Region and the emergence of the Eastern Region economy as the fastest growing economy in the continent.

The royal family of Saudi Arabia embarked on medical tourism to the University College Hospital, Ibadan, while the inauguration of the University of Nigeria Nsukka by the Eastern Region on October 7, 1960 was quickly responded to with the founding of the University of Ife (now Obafemi Awolowo University) in 1961 and the University of Northern Nigeria (Ahmadu Bello University), Zaria, in 1962.

Therefore, if Nigeria has continued on a downward slide into poor governance, battered consumer economy, and has become the butt of jokes in the comity of nations as a “fantastically corrupt” country; if we have lost our glory; if we have nosedived from a nation that sneezed and Africa shivered to one whose citizens are lynched on the streets of South Africa and deported, it is because we have steadily destroyed the foundations of federalism on which our founding fathers agreed to build, and were indeed building a prosperous and respected nation until the military struck in 1966.

To regain our respect and splendour, we must contritely return to the path of true federalism, doing away with all the disfiguring structures and excess loads imported into the building plan by successive military regimes.

Among other structural reorganizations, we need to return to regionalism based on the existing six geopolitical zones. Nigeria does not need a whopping 36-state structure.

Duplication of governance structures and unwieldy bureaucracy has progressively channelled the lion’s share of our resources into recurrent expenditures, perennially leaving very little for provision service and infrastructure needed for socio-economic development.

We need to restore the federating units from wealth guzzlers to wealth-creating units. I agree with the columnist, Simon Kolawole, who once likened Nigeria to a father who has 36 children, but who rather than encourage all his children to be creative and hardworking so that they can be self-reliant, insists on redistributing the wealth of the resourceful children to all.

The states cannot exploit the mineral resources in their territories due to constitutional limitations. At the same time, they are too indolent to direct their minds to tourism, agriculture and industrialization

•Sen. Joy Emordi

because there is always a fat monthly welfare package from Abuja. Even states, which outlaw the manufacture and sale of alcohol and publicly destroy them, enjoy the lion’s share of VAT derived from alcoholic products in other states.

By amassing enormous powers to itself, by making itself the owner of virtually all the resources and the Santa Claus with the sole right to redistribute them, there is no incentive for hard work among the states.

Restructuring for devolution of powers and fiscal federalism are, therefore, an inescapable and urgent imperative to save Nigeria from the weight of her own contradictions. We cannot continue to have critical items like power, railway, and mineral resources on the Exclusive List in a vast nation like Nigeria. We cannot continue the ridiculous fixation on oil, searching for oil around the Lake Chad Basin when the world’s leading economies and major importers of our crude are already phasing out petrol powered cars.

Of course, we need a restructure of the mind, though not as a precondition for returning to true federalism. In fact, enthronement of fiscal federalism where each component unit earn a living by their own creativity, hard work, and taxes of its people will naturally curb corruption because citizens whose sweats create the wealth will demand accountability. They will also vote into office competent and honest leaders.

Lastly, no nation can rise above the capacity of her human capital, especially in a knowledgebased economy where the importance and demand for oil is fast receding. Japan, an Asian Tiger without oil or any known mineral and agricultural resources, is a living testimony of how investment in human capital can grow a nation. We must, therefore, invest in human capital development.

Of course, we need a restructure of the mind, though not as a precondition for returning to true federalism. In fact, enthronement of fiscal federalism where each component unit earn a living by their own creativity, hard work, and taxes of its people will naturally curb corruption

FOLORUNSO ALAKIJA

SUNDAY Vanguard, OCTOBER 1, 2017, PAGE 13

Collectively, we can build a thriving economy Oil magnate, Chief (Mrs) Folorunso Alakija, gives the recipe for a thriving economy.

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he journey since independence has been with much difficulty and we have had our fair share of travails. The first decade was particularly disturbing; starting with the crisis in the Western Region and culminating in a civil war.

However, when compared to the likes of China, India, United Kingdom or the United States of America, six decades is a brief period in the life of a nation, to make a conclusion on the future.

While some are quick to state that the structure handed down by our colonial masters was fraught with much instability, and that the seeds of future disharmony was deliberately sown to keep the country from achieving nationhood, others believe that the country has been cursed with bad leadership since independence.

Corruption, the hydra headed monster, has also been a major bane in our country. No institution can move forward when the stakeholders are only bothered about how to take advantage of the system.

Indeed, no true transformation can take place without a collective determination from both the leaders and the led to achieve this objective. We all have a responsibility to rediscover ourselves and to strongly commit to making the necessary changes to move beyond the shackles of retrogression and launch out for the greatness we all desire and profess we have a potential for.

Nigeria is one of the most blessed countries in the world. We are endowed with natural resources most countries would die for. In fact, there is no state in Nigeria that does not have at least two natural resources which, if properly harnessed, can sustain their people.

Nigeria has no reason being categorized among the poor nations of the world.

Despite all the shocking discoveries we have been assailed with in the last 2 years, I still nurse a dream of a bigger and glorious Nigeria in my lifetime. This is not in any way to discountenance the greatness we have already attained and achieved. But I see a more wonderful and harmonious people doing C M Y K

valiantly if only we can all see it and do something about it.

Let me use the telecommunication industry to buttress my optimism. We came from an era when we had less than half a million phone lines as installed capacity. In fact, one of the officials saddled with the administration of this sector then said “telephone is not for the common man”. Today, that opinion has changed, as every single telecommunication company is striving that the common man has as many lines as he desires.

It is on this footing of a vision of service that I advocate we build our hopes of a better Nigeria. The Bible states in John 10:10 that the thief has no other business than “to steal, to kill, and to destroy”. There can be no right way to do a wrong thing. The fellow who did not deliver the job he was contracted to do is as guilty as the one who abused the process and inflated the figures. Yet, the Holy Book appeals to the thief not to steal any longer; rather he is admonished to create something of value, service or product, to be a blessing to others. The adoption of this culture of service will bring about the death of corruption in our society, and I believe an increasing compliance with the recently issued Ease of Doing Business Executive Order E01 will bring this turnaround faster than most of us can imagine. SO LET US TURN OUR BACK ON CORRUPTION. WHAT WE NEED TO DO Our work is cut out for us, the true measure of civilisation remains unchanged, everyone deserves to be accorded dignity no matter his status in life; this includes the poor, the infirmed, the elderly, the physically challenged, the prisoner and, if you may, the unborn. When we do that, we will be able to beat our chests and say we have finally achieved volitional independence as a people.

Furthermore, Nigeria suffers from a deficit of civic pride and collective responsibility. The masses do not purchase the goods manufactured in Nigeria because they believe they are inferior. Instead, they

•Chief (Mrs) Folorunso Alakija

spend money on imported goods, a situation which doesn’t benefit businesses or ordinary workers in Nigeria. We must encourage the growth of our local industries by cherishing and purchasing goods manufactured in Nigeria.

Moreover, we must not condemn what is good and reasonably priced and opt for bad quality at a higher price just because we have the power to decide who to patronize. Let’s get rid of the “what’s in it for me?” syndrome.

Nigerians are also advised to invest their money in the local industries to encourage development. With these, more jobs will be created and the nation will attain economic freedom.

The Nigerian government must find ways of encouraging local cottage industries by implementing policies that are favourable to them in providing local alternatives to imported items. This would help local industries to grow. Isn’t it ironic that even as an exporter of crude oil, Nigeria still imports its refined oil?

Finally, we all have a duty to make this nation great for our generations yet unborn. We can no longer delay in setting the ball in motion for a more glorious Nigeria. All hands must be on deck to move this country forward. The time to start is now.

That time has come.

Nigeria suffers from a deficit of civic pride and collective responsibility….

There can be no right way to do a wrong thing. The fellow who did not deliver the job he was contracted to do is as guilty as the one who abused the process

PAGE 14— SUNDAY VANGUARD, OCTOBER 1, 2017

It is unjust to favour one religion

—Rev. Ayokunle, CAN President The President of Christian Association of Nigeria, His Eminence, Rev. Dr Samson Olasupo A. Ayokunle, lists the points that can make Nigeria great again, saying the people must be allowed to practise their religions without fear and restrictions.

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evelations 21:24-26 says, 24:”The nations will walk by its light, and the kings of the earth will bring their splendor (glory) into it.

25: “On no day will its gates ever be shut, for there will be no night there.

26: “The glory and honor of the nations will be brought into it.”

From the above Bible verses, it is clear that every nation in the world has her glory. Nigeria is not left out. Our glory is our pride as a nation. When we got independence from Britain in 1960, it was a turning point in our history and a breakthrough for the nation’s glory to burst forth. Our glory shone brighter and brighter after independence as we became the foremost nation in Africa and indeed among the black race. However, at a point, the glory began to fade and is yet to shine as expected again due to lack of task oriented leadership, corruption, nepotism, ethnic chauvinism and religious division among others. If we must rise to more glory as a nation, the following areas of our national life must be looked into critically: 1. Religion: Everyone has an inner craving for God, thus, Nigerians must be allowed to practice their religions without fear and restrictions. There must be freedom of religion in every part of the country. We cannot rule out God in the •Samson Olasupo A. Ayokunle development of a nation. No state must prevent people from building their places of worship or get valid papers for such as it is presently in some parts of our nation. need to under study Israel’s (Boxing, Athletics, Football, Likewise, government must stop Wrestling etc).We must Agricultural revolution and patronizing one religion more than the reinvent the wheel of all replicate same in our nation. others in terms of policies and sports not just football.

This would reduce appointments. For example, why should unemployment in the nation. America is influencing the Nigerian government get Sukuk loan 5. Science, Information and culture and language of the which is an Islamic loan and is Sharia whole world through Technology: America, China compliant. It is asset based; this means Hollywood. The entertainment and Japan are the three that by getting it, part of our land is jointly industry in America is second largest economies in the owned by the loan giver. This is an to her Science and Technology world.

The strength of encroachment on our sovereignty. in terms of revenue America is in the export of 2. Politics: This is the system of generation. We have Science and Technology to governing ourselves as a nation. There is countries of the world. China Nollywood reputed to be the the need to update how we govern second largest entertainment and Japan caught this ourselves, thus, restructuring the nation industry in the world but with revelation and they followed after 56 years is a welcome development. minimum impact. We only suit. They grew rapidly in It must be done without bias or prejudice need to set our priorities science and information, to religion, ethnicity, class or group right and make it a moneylittle wonder they rose affiliation. We must develop our home quickly and today the glories spinner for the nation. It will grown democracy. The present system is a hybrid of the American and British system. of China and Japan are seen also be an avenue to project the image of the country. all over the world. There is It is not working well for us. There is 7. Business and Corporate hardly any product you buy nothing wrong in making the position of World: The Jews secretly today that is not “made in President rotate round the three major control the economy of the China” or “made in Japan”. regions in the country, that is, the North, world today. This they do The Asian tigers like South the West and the East so as to douse through the business and Korea and Malaysia are also ethnic tension and give a sense of corporate world in America, following suit. We need a belonging to all regions.

Germany, Russia, and Britain 3. Education: Development and growth is revolution in this area too. If our education system is okay, to mention a few. We must driven by education. Our educational empower the Business and system is in shambles and needs complete then this area will be easy to Corporate world in Nigeria. explore. In this respect, overhauling. We should study in depth If this is done, we can foreign investment is and adapt Japan’s educational revolution compete with any nation on desirable in power that brought them out of the World War 2 the global scene. generation which is crucial rubbles to become the third largest Our economy must be for development. economy in the world. diversified and this must be 6. Youths, Sports and 4. Agriculture: God’s covenant with man reflected in budgeting for the Entertainment: The strength is to till the land for food and fruitfulness. tapping of different aspects of every nation is her young A nation that cannot feed herself is not of our economic resources. people. We have neglected glorious. We still import food in billions of Solid minerals for example the youths in our nation and naira. As small as Israel is in population are virtually untapped. that is why a glorious future and landmass, Europe and America Diversification off the for Nigeria is becoming a depend on her fruits and vegetables on a economy will not only mirrage. We need to take daily basis. It will interest us to know that increase our revenue and some cues from developed Israel is in the desert yet she grows fruits nations that invest heavily in export earnings, it would and vegetables for other countries to provide employment for purchase. The nation even exports banana young people. Sport is an many unemployed young area where Nigeria has which is supposed to be forest plant. We Nigerians and reduce received glory in the past C M Y K

No state must prevent people from building their places of worship or get valid papers for such as it is presently in some parts of our nation. Likewise, government must stop patronizing one religion more than the others in terms of policies and appointments

insecurity in the nation.

Finally, government must address insecurity in the nation. If the factors listed above are addressed, to a large extent, insecurity would be reduced. The size of the police taking care of the internal security of our nation is too abysmal. They equally must be equipped well and the level of training they receive must be improved upon.

SUNDAY Vanguard, OCTOBER 1, 2017, PAGE 15

Arresting the systemic decay — Prof. Shehu, Dep. Sec. Gen., NSCIA Professor Salisu Shehu is the Deputy SecretaryGeneral of the Nigerian Supreme Council for Islamic Affairs (NSCIA). In this interview, Shehu speaks on Nigeria at 57 and other issues.

By Bashir Adefaka

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T 57 years, why do you think Nigeria continues to have issues?

There are still agitations essentially because the country has not achieved the desired level of development and prosperity that will support institutions in spite of abundant resources, both natural and human, that we have. So, with this problem of underdevelopment, people are generally poor and there is lack of contentment. If people are contented and you have basic services, these agitations would not have been. Even if one says the champions of the agitations are the elites for their selfish interests, the bottom line is that the elites have found a fertile ground at the grassroots. They have found the teeming masses as useful tools for the agitations because the masses are angry in view of the fact that the system is not working. And the nation is not working because there is systemic decay.

You just said there is a systemic decay, which makes Nigerian system not functioning well. We have always blamed the problems of this country on leadership.

With the ‘change regime’ in place since 2015, can we still blame the problems of the country on leadership? And, on the systemic decay, is it still that the sitting government is not doing anything about it?

The problem of leadership will always be seen as one of the problems of this country. When we talk of leadership, we are not talking of a single person but we are talking of a collection of people at the helm of affairs. A government even in a small country of less than one million people cannot be run by one person, talk less of a government of a country of close to 200 million people. So, when you talk of leadership, especially in a democratic and a presidential system like this, it is made up of three arms and three tiers of government. Talking of three arms of government, there is the executive, the legislature and the judiciary. And then you have the Federal Government, the state government and the local government as the three tiers. Even though you have one single person up there that is upright morally and he is a man of integrity, he can only do certain things within his own ability and capability. But then, if the other arms of government that are supposed to complement the efforts of the executive are working at cross purposes, then there is leadership crisis. So, by leadership, all people that have certain forms of authority, whether executive, legislative or judicial, must be ready for the ‘change’ and must be in tune with the drive for ‘change’.

If this condition is not there, you will definitely have leadership crisis. Leadership also boils down to people that have authority within the civil service like permanent secretaries and directors in ministries and parastatals. When these people are corrupt and they don’t support the fight against corruption and they don’t support the drive for change, you are bound to have leadership crisis. So, leadership is not about one person. I recognise the fact that one man at the helm of affairs can make a difference. But he can only make a difference to a certain extent like, for example, with this fight against corruption, all the major leakages in the resources of the country have been blocked.

But, as you all know, there is still corruption in the ministries and

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parastatals. The only thing is that the major leakages through which Nigerian money is stolen in monumental quantities have been blocked. But there is still a lot of corruption going on. And as long as you have corruption in the system, people would continue to agitate.

Do you therefore agree with people who see the Independent People of Biafra (IPOB) agitation from the standpoint of bad leadership? And what would be your reaction to the South East governors’ proscription of IPOB, the army’s classification and the court’s verdict on IPOB as a terrorist organization?

Let me begin with the second question. The Nigerian Supreme Council for Islamic Affairs has already expressed its support for the proscription and the labelling of IPOB as a terrorist organization because that is what it is. The governors and the army have done the right thing and we support and commend their efforts. We also support the efforts of the northern governors who visited the southEast and had a meeting with their counterparts in the zone over the issue. We say these are commendable efforts from the side of the South East governors and other governors that proactively acted against the activities of IPOB. However, the fact that the emergence of IPOB is a symptom or consequence of systemic decay is not in doubt. Then, it is consequence of decay in the Nigerian security system. This (systemic) decay is manifested in a number of ways. The first way is the fact that the security system is porous because it is influenced and pervaded by fraud and corruption at all levels. So, any security threat can emerge and thrive because of the porous nature of the security system. Each and every security agency has its nature and magnitude of corruption and fraud. Except that the one by the police is the only one that is so manifest, and it is so manifest because the police are the most exposed of the security organisation; the police are the closest security organisation to the people.

But how has corruption in the security system played a role in the problem at hand?

It is so because corruption in the security system is one aspect of systemic decay. Another aspect of the systemic decay is the security system which gives room for the emergence of criminal organizations like IPOB, Boko Haram and these militants. Then you have the lack of cooperation and synergy and lack of networking among the different security organizations. Our security organizations are supposed to operate through information, intelligence sharing, networking and all that. Now as a result of the systemic decay, which is due to corruption and vested interests, the security organizations in Nigeria usually work at cross-purposes.

That is one way. The other way, they hoard information that they are supposed to share with their fellow or sister agencies. As a result, the information that may be required by the police to act may be hoarded by the DSS. And the military intelligence may have information that it will not share with other organizations. So, you find that there is lack of synergy, lack of networking and therefore that the agencies may be operating either at cross-purposes or at different frequencies.

But don’t you think this could be as a result of lack of trust?

Yes, lack of trust is one of it and

•Prof. Salisu Shehu then there is problem of vested interests.

Vested interests?

Vested interests because, maybe some persons out there in one organisation is favourably disposed, because of certain ulterior motive, to the agitation of one particular group, either because of nepotism or because he or she must have been given some money, and for that reason, he would not necessarily release the information that is required even when it comes to the level of investigation so that the real truth behind certain things cannot be unearthed. The third aspect of the systemic decay in the security system is the shielding of criminals because money has changed hands or because the criminals belong to one’s own faith or because they belong to one’s own ethnic group. These are manifestations and aspects of the systemic decay in our security system which can make all the agitations and criminality that have posed a threat to our national security to be happening. Then there is the proliferation of weapons and armoury in the hands of criminals and different people in the country and these things are being moved around in different. And who knows how many and what quantities have been able to pass through because of the porous nature of the security system? Can’t you see the arms that have been seized by the Customs for which some officers have been indicted? And you find this kind of people in the police, the military, the SSS who are ready to mortgage the security of the country because they have received money or because they sympathise with the criminals one way or the other.

When the Buhari administration deployed troops in the North-East against Boko Haram, nobody in the North raised any dust. But when Operation Python Dance II troops were deployed in the South-East to curb the secessionist threats, there were cries of injustice, which shows that we are all not on the page on the efforts to rid Nigeria of threats to the nation. As a northerner, what comes to your mind when you see this happening?

Honestly I think it is not completely true that some people are saying they don’t like the deployment of the military in the South-East. In actual fact, there was a forum of Borno people which cried out against the state of emergency imposed on the state during former President Jonathan’s time and that was because the state of emergence was not yielding any fruit. Yes, there was state of emergency but soldiers were running away and dropping their weapons for Boko Haram to pick.

Perhaps one would say the south easterners acted the way they did because they have more experience

about the effects of the militarization of the area, especially from the experience they had during the civil war. And therefore they must be jittery when the military deployed and, which, especially, was why they came out and collectively proscribed IPOB. But then, in my own view, the Federal Government should not handle the matter with levity and that is why it should not rush into evacuating the military from the region until they are very sure that everything is fully under control. In essence, government should not rush into withdrawing the military from the region.

On a final note, His Eminence the Sultan, once said Nigeria had been well structured but that each region should work hard to develop itself with the resources it has. Do you really see any form of sincerity based on national interest in the current agitation for restructuring and, whatever your answer, is restructuring really the way to go?

Advise the sitting government and the people of Nigeria.

I think the fundamental problem of this country is lack of good governance. I see this issue of restructuring as purely an elites’ interest, just like the agitation for state creation. When you create a state, you are just providing an opportunity for the elites of that particular area to go and hold on to power and keep on operating and squandering the resources of that particular area and leaving the people in abject poverty. The usual cry from the authorities is that there is no money in this country and that there is lack of resources. If you take out two things, you will know that the lot of the common man will improve, whether we restructure or we don’t. These two things are, one, if people in government will reduce their extravagant lifestyle, things will improve. If you go to the Government House in any state, you will see the extravagant lifestyle of the governors and their families and their hangers-on at the expense of the children of the common man sitting on the floor to study in school. And if the funds devoted to the extravagant lifestyle are cut down by 70 per cent, the people in government can still be very comfortable. That 70 per cent be used to improve the lot of the common man.The second issue is looting; if it can be stopped, there will be a great deal of improvement in this country. But if there is no good governance, even if you restructure, the elites will keep on mismanaging the resources and the common man will continue to bear the brunt.

PAGE 16— SUNDAY VANGUARD, OCTOBER 1, 2017

THE DANGER NIGERIA FACES, BY MAKARFI (PDP)

Per e culture of ervvasiv asive political oppor tunism, opportunism, nepotism and disregard ffor or la wful lawful institutions Senator Ahmed Makarfi, the National Chairman of the People’s Democratic Party (PDP), points the way forward for Nigeria

N

igeria, with a population of over 140 million people, is one of the leading African countries with huge natural and human resources and a strategic position on the continent.

The country stands on the threshold of becoming one of the major actors with influence in both continental and global politics.

Since 1960 when Nigeria gained political independence from Britain, she has passed through many phases of governance; from parliamentary system to military dictatorship and to presidential system of government.

Within the past 57 years of independence, the pressure on the political systems has led to periods of tensions and conflicts including the Civil War of 1967-1970.

For decades, Nigeria was saddled with military dictatorship immediately after her Independence in 1960; and the protracted military rulership led to severe under development and economic deprivation until the current democratic dispensation since 1999.

Over the years, one of the major challenges confronting Nigeria and hampering her development is ‘transitional politics’, given her complex socio-cultural setting that centrifugal forces at the centre often tend to weaken and undermine the federal structure. Notwithstanding, it is noteworthy that the PDP has recorded great success in this regard especially, by midwifing a transition from civil to civil rule in 2015 to opposition party after four consecutive terms in office.

I believe the following elements and ethos could stir Nigeria towards attaining higher glory: 1. Restructuring It is no gainsaying that the vestiges of these tensions remain very much with us today; and as such, the demand for restructuring or rearrangement of the country should be taken seriously by our political leaders and other stakeholders across the nation. True ‘federalism and presidential system of government,’ no doubt, appear close to the heart of the people and, if well handled, ‘will address the issues and accommodate all interests, fears and apprehensions of various ethnic groups in Nigeria.

The question that needs to be addressed is how to achieve this goal and now!

2. Electoral Reform. (a).

This is a major issue that has remained in the public domain with pertinent question on how Nigeria can C M Y K

•Senator Ahmed Makarfi

come up with a stronger, more reliable and enduring ‘electoral system’ that will execute and sustain free, fair and acceptable elections in the country. However, it is instructive to note that successive PDP administrations took several steps to reform the electoral system, especially through the Justice Mohammed Uwais Electoral Reform Panel’s outcome which significantly brought sanity into our polity, of which the incumbent government of the APC is a prime beneficiary. (b). For emphasis, putting in place a quality electoral system is the crux of the matter for our political and democratic freedoms and development; and it must be handled with dispatch by relative stakeholders: National Assembly, political parties, Electoral Management Body (INEC) and other democratic institutions. It is expedient to do so, given that in the past electoral institutions were usually the first major casualties each time there was a change of government at the federal level.

Frequent military disruptions of democratic government in Nigeria attest to this fact; and as democrats practising multi-party system, we must get our electoral system right for our general good. (c). My party, the PDP, believes in plural (multi) party system of government;

and as a governing party then, it fully endorsed the position articulated by the Inter-Party Consultative Committee (PDP, ANPP, PPA and APGA but AC was absent) for an effective electoral system which they submitted to the Electoral Panel. We believed and still believe that, as major stakeholders, we had and will continue to have every reason and responsibility to collaborate with other stakeholders in coming up with functional, independent, enduring and acceptable electoral institutions, laws and value systems that would guide us in future elections; and meeting-up with emerging trends and developments in the political environment.

3. Let me note that no matter the amendments being sought to relevant sections of the Constitution, restructuring, quality electoral system, and other proposals that may change the direction of the country towards political freedom, economic vitality, environmental integrity and social inclusion, their success or failure will depend largely on the attitude/behaviour of the present APC-led administration.

4. To this end, all the actors in the Nigerian state have a responsibility to change the pervasive culture of political opportunism, nepotism and the hitherto hidden but now open disregard for lawful institutions which has become a culture of the leaders of the ruling party, the APC.

All the actors in the Nigerian state have a responsibility to change the pervasive culture of political opportunism, nepotism and the hitherto hidden but now open disregard for lawful institutions

SUNDAY Vanguard, OCTOBER 1, 2017, PAGE 17

We are laying the moral and economic foundation for a new Nigeria — Odigie-Oyegun, APC Chairman Chief John Odigie-Oyegun, the National Chairman of the ruling All Progressives Congress APC, recalls, with nostalgia, fond memories of Nigeria’s independence, and promises that his party will put the country on the path of progress.

By Omeize Ajayi

W

HAT was it like on October 1, 1960?

How did you feel?

Well, I was an undergraduate. I was there for the festivities. I was there in the midnight when the Union Jack, the British flag, was lowered and the Nigerian flag hoisted.

It was a most exhilarating experience. There was that building of nationalism in you. We were like ‘thank God we are free at last’, using the famous Martin Luther King’s expression. It was great. The nation was full of promise and we were confident that we were going to go places and it was a wonderful moment.

A lot has been said about Nigeria’s past glory. Going forward, what can we do to restore the nation’s lost primacy?

We should be upbeat and not remember negative things. Of course, at independence, we were just taking over from our colonial masters. I came into the system in 1963 and we still had a lot of them around, even the Secretary to the Federal Public Service Commission was a white lady. We had many expatriates in the Ministries, Departments and Agencies. There were standards and things went very well.

I think our problem started with the military coup. I was a youth then, very young, hot-headed, energetic and adventurous. There were coups all over the place. I cannot say that when the coups happened, we did not say “hurray”, you know? We cheered them on, but looking back now, I think that was the beginning of the Nigerian problem. We have not been able to truly put things together since then.

Military rule messed up our federalism, and we have not gotten out of that today because there is still that centralised approach to everything. Of course, there is this outcry about true federalism or restructuring as some seem to call it, but, at the end of the day, you would find out that they mean almost the same thing. So, with the military coups, we had young officers taking over and everything became ‘ with immediate effect’; rules were being bypassed and, you know, that is the nature of the military. Then we had the civil war with the attendant problems. The issue of short-cut to wealth started permeating the system, then the purge in the civil service which saw people introducing a totally different dimension to the civil service but, by and large, I think, as a nation, we have come quite far but definitely far short of what we should be because, as of the time I came into the service, through the Planning Ministry, I was able to compare the nation of Nigeria to countries like Brazil, South Korea, Malaysia and it was clear that, with our resource potential, with our oil and other resources, we could take care of most of our essential needs. Even by World Bank standards, one of the best places to come out of the Third World status was Nigeria. We were rated higher than Brazil and other countries but that was then. We, somewhere along the line, took the wrong step; standards collapsed and real long-term planning collapsed. Visionary leadership also collapsed and we are where we are today with all the corruption, all the lack of business standards, all the lack of ethics and what I will like to call the blurring of the difference between right and wrong. Those were the problems plaguing us and holding us back, but hope was, of course, restored with the ‘Change’ agenda of President Muhammadu Buhari and work is underway to turn the Nigerian Titanic into a very purposeful direction before it hits the rock.

That is the work that the Buhari administration is doing: Salvaging the system through visionary leadership and creating a new economy for the nation based on the totality of our resources. That is serious work in progress today.

Are you saying that the APC has all the answers to the problems that we have encountered since independence?

Well, I do not know about having all the

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answers but, yes, we know the problem and we have solutions to the problems. The system needs drastic change in a lot of directions. We had a collapsed economy principally due to economic mismanagement and, of course, the impact of the collapse of the oil market which has not helped in the speedy climbing of the economy. That has slowed things down. Secondly, of course, there is the push back; the fight back by the forces that want business as usual which this country cannot sustain. So, yes we are upbeat, but the resources are very thin now and we are in the reconstruction period of a new and sustainable economy. We are trying to move away from a consuming economy to a producing economy. Like I said, we have to diversify our revenue source of oil, with emphasis on agriculture, solid minerals, infrastructural development and permanently solving the power problem which is a very serious one that we cannot solve in a minute. However, the

If the APC agenda is sustained, Nigeria is going to make progress in the next few years. There is no question about that because we have the natural resources foundation for long-term incremental progress in the power sector has been laid and it is now a function of increasing power generation and the ability to transmit and distribute. All of it is work in progress. So, yes, we do have solutions but they are not solutions that you can buy and just install and hope the problems would be solved, no.

It involves ethical rebirth in the economy. It involves new sources of revenue. It involves our ability to feed ourselves and it also involves major infrastructural development

•Chief Odigie-Oyegun which is currently underway, particularly in the area of rail and road transportation subject, of course, to reactions, particularly on roads, from the National Assembly. So, the turnaround of the Nigerian Titanic is very much underway but it is still work in progress.

While some people say restructuring is the way forward, there are others who say the country needs to return to the 1963 Constitution. Where do you stand?

There are so many facets to this cry that I cannot just stand up now and tell you where I stand. As of today, I stand where the manifesto of the APC stands; and that is true federalism which involves some degree of devolution of powers and resources to the states so that they will be better able to provide infrastructure, services and development for their people.

Of course, like everybody, I heard about the ideas that have been generated by the South-West, which is advocating a return to regionalism. Currently in the APC, we have a body which we set up to look at and define true federalism. They are going round the country to enrich what is in our manifesto with the actual views of the people. What do the people really want? What is in our manifesto that can be enriched by contact with stakeholders?

What have we missed out? I have no doubt at this stage that some degree of return to true federalism would happen at the end of the day. When it would be, I cannot tell you, but it will happen.

Will it be under the APC? I sincerely hope so because it was a major plank of our being elected.

You earlier mentioned how we held so much promise than Brazil, Malaysia among others. Do you see Nigeria overtaking these countries again in the next 57 years?

If the APC agenda is sustained, Nigeria is going to make progress in the next few years. There is no question about that because we have the natural resources. We have a very vibrant and innovative population and the ingredient that has been brought in by President Buhari is the visionary and incorruptible leadership and, when you put these ingredients together, it adds up to progress.

This your manifesto, if you were to place a timeline, how many years do you think it would take your party to actualize the lofty objectives as contained therein?

It is difficult to say because first, I do not want to be misinterpreted to say that the APC will be in power for the next 10, 20 or 50 years. We will be in power for as long as the will of the people so decide but the trajectory that the President has set is one that has to be sustained for this nation to come out of the rot that we inherited. There is no viable alternative to reform or to change, change in the way we do business; change in our attitude to public assets or resources, change in our ethics and fundamental change in our economy. There is no end to development. It will be a continuing process. So, if you ask me how long it would take the APC, I would say development is endless but we are determined to create the economic and moral foundation for a new Nigeria; for Nigeria to make the progress and attain the destiny which God has given her. We are determined to be successful.

With the APC Constitution already reviewed and awaiting ratification by the convention, there are concerns that the National Working Committee, NWC, would be granted too much powers if this document sails through. How do you allay these concerns?

I cannot remember any such thing. The highest organ of the party is the convention. In the absence of the convention, the highest decision-making body is the National Executive Committee, NEC, and not the NWC whose members are just managers of the party. And that is the way it is going to be. I do not think anybody can change that. So, it is not true.

When exactly is the convention?

We hope the convention will hold in November.

There is no tentative date yet but we are certain. The NEC and Caucus will meet next month, that is, October.

PAGE 18— SUNDAY VANGUARD, OCTOBER 1, 2017

Absolute positions unhelpful to nation’s growth — Prof. Auwalu Yadudu

Prof. Auwalu Yadudu, a constitutional lawyer of repute and former legal adviser to the late Head of State, General Sani Abacha, bares his mind on Nigeria @57

A

ssessment of Nigeria at 57 It is not easy assessing a period in which one is growing; a period in which one is old and grown up. My view on Nigeria, as it is with most nations, is that it is work in progress; it is never finished. At inception, you may have clear ideas of what it is, but you keep trying to actualise the dream.

According to our defunct national anthem,’ though tribes and tongues may differ, in brotherhood we stand’.

Those who conceived Nigeria in these terms recognised that tongues and tribes of Nigeria are diverse, but in brotherhood we stand. As work in progress, therefore, one will recognise the fact that geography, circumstance of history has put together this nation as it is, and it was not a mistake. I happen to disagree with those saying Nigeria was a creation of the British in 1914, and that it was not something that we had input, that it was an imposition. No. No state or nation starts out exactly as different communities at different times. We think of it, but if you recognise one fact about the nation, we are diverse and in our diversity lies our strength. What we need to do, therefore, is to see how we can harness and recognise the diversity as a source of strength to harness it and, overtime, build a nation through what I refer to as work in progress, make it better than it was, but not to look at it as something that is a mistake and regrettable. So, trying to reinvent nation-building at this moment, we have a distinct identity as Nigerians for good or bad and, as part of the nation-building process, we need to sincerely make those good things about us as a people work, and deal with those that are not so good. This is how I want to look at our journey so far.

Anything to celebrate?

There are plenty things to celebrate.

We have several times reached the edge of the precipice but we have been able to pull back and move on as a nation. Are we better off than we were 57 years ago? In some ways yes, but in some others we are not. What one will, therefore, argue will be, what are those areas of our nationhood that we can be proud of and sustain; and what are those areas that, clearly, we have not done so well as a nation and we need to work on to perfect? Yes, there are things to celebrate, and there are others that we are not so eager to celebrate, and it is not surprising for any nation.

Do you think where we are today is where our founding fathers wanted us to be?

To the extent that we have held together, and that we have retained our unique identities, but to the extent that we have not progressed and actually we have regressed, that cannot be the dream of our founding fathers. If we are to collate the level of Nigeria’s progress, especially in the first five years after independence, or you want C M Y K

•Prof. Auwalu Yadudu

to start from the era of selfgovernance by the regions in 1957, to 1966, those ten years, or from the time of regionalism, when we took off in 1954, to 1966, the rate of our growth, economically, socially and even politically, is far greater than it has been from 1966 to date, and there are many reasons for that.

Therefore, we should identify what those reasons are and deal with them. Our founding fathers will find fault with so many things that we do today, and will also take pride in the fact that they did not make a mistake in agreeing to live together and to found a nation called Nigeria with its uniqueness in the way we know it today.

What do you identify as the major challenges confronting us as a nation?

The major challenges are, one, and very regrettably, we have the tendency of being confronted with problems and we gloss over them; we don’t deal with them and no nation will progress doing that. If you ask Nigerians, they have a clear idea of what they consider as the problems, but i will give you one: The oil curse, that is, our dependence on oil as source of our revenue which has made us lazy and made

those in the position of authority not to work, and the followers not to be too eager to hold their leaders to account solely because we don’t seem to work hard for the revenue which we are eager to share when indeed there are far important sources of strength and production in us that we can pursue. For example, the kind of education system that we had before and after independence was the envy of other nations. We went to public schools that were maintained by the native authorities, well-funded, well managed. This was a system that was not even run by the regional government, though part of it was run by it but, largely, the basic education, up to secondary school, was run by the native authorities and the provinces. How can we not remember this?, How can we ignore what our forefathers were able to do on education which has made us great and produced individuals that can compete anywhere in the world on account of the educational system that we went through? Today, what we have as education is a joke; if we are unable to deal with the provision of education to every child up to a certain age and to impart skills, we are wasting our time; we will

Continues on page 19

The major challenges are, one, and very regrettably, we have the tendency of being confronted with problems and we gloss over them; we don’t deal with them and no nation will progress doing that

SUNDAY Vanguard, OCTOBER 1, 2017, PAGE 19

Absolute positions unhelpful to nation’s growth Continued from page 18 not compete as a nation and the oil we rely on is going to become less important. So, we have two crucial challenges. How do we generate revenue and account for it, and what you do with your educational system? I know that on the scale of priority, there will be many others things, but if you take these two and you are able to do something about them, you will see wonders in this country. Of course, you can take health care, you can take community relations and some other things, but these two are very important. The third issue is political accountability. The way we run our democracy, we have been at it for close to 17 years now, but it does seem that the most lucrative business in town is to be in politics because you are in the position to deploy resources, allocate them, do as you wish with them and no one will hold you accountable. Holding our leaders accountable politically and financially is very important. This has nothing to do with the North or South. I come from a local government in Dala or Dawakin Kudu. I have an idea of what the leaders get by way of allocation from the federation account but the people have nothing to show for it. We should not quarrel with a man in Bayelsa over his own allocation. If we are unable to deal with the local person to whom we have entrusted our resources but who abuses that position, our problems will not be limited to the person from the North or from the South; it is a unique local problem that you have to deal with.

What is the role of the military in our myriad of problems?

The incursion of the military into governance from 1966 to 1999 when they eventually left has been a double edged sword. In 1966, we encountered a political problem that, if given time, the political leaders could have solved, and if they had solved it politically, we will not have gotten into the civil war and we would have avoided stunting our political growth. Nations grow politically by trial and error, by encountering challenges and dealing with them according to the instruments of governance. Suddenly, in 1966, this was thrown away.

Our problems could essentially be traceable to them. Having said that, one must also recognise that, the political class created a problem which the military leaders also put their lives to deal with. Now, the military, whether you like it or not, have held this country together, and they have done it at the expense of their lives

•Prof. Auwalu Yadudu

and spilled their blood. The problems were not entirely theirs. Over the years, anytime we had political problems, our political leaders will avoid dealing with them politically and invite the military, and when they come, they also mess things up. My view is that the military incursion into politics was a double edged sword.

57 years on, Nigeria is yet to achieve political stability.

Don’t you think restructuring is the way out?

The problem with restructuring depends on who is mouthing it. We do have agitations everywhere and the thinking in some quarters is that every community in this country is marginalised. So, if everybody says he is marginalised, that means nobody is marginalised. This takes me back to an idea that this nation is work in progress where there are bound to be legitimate agitations. Now, how to deal with them is where individuals differ. That is why to the Afenifere group, if you don’t go back to regionalism, this country is doomed to fail.

To some groups in the South -East, even though the elites are not publicly mouthing it, if you don’t concede to the Biafran secessionist agitation, you are not dealing with the Nigerian problem. If you go the Niger Delta, if you don’t give them hundred per cent of their mineral resources, you are not going to have peace. While it is legitimate for any group to

I am not opposed to individuals or groups sitting to discuss their problems to seek to find solutions to them, but, as you can see, the antagonism, the agitation, the absolutist position that some individual blocs take are obviously unattainable

agitate, my view about restructuring is that if you cannot have your way according to the terms of the existing order; that is chaos; that is anarchy. I am not opposed to individuals or groups sitting to discuss their problems to seek to find solutions to them, but, as you can see, the antagonism, the agitation, the absolutist position that some individual blocs take are obviously unattainable if there is no give and take, if there is no understanding like our forefathers did. What it means, therefore, is that the 1999 Constitution and the existing laws under which we operate are not perfect and need to be addressed. But I demand that to overhaul it will have to be done according to the constitutional stipulation because that is the only legal and orderly way of doing it, otherwise you are talking about a revolution. And the days of the military are over but maybe there will be a civilian revolution that will displace the existing legal order and impose on the nation an entirely new thing. But to be more direct to your answer, I understand where those who are clamouring for restructuring are coming from. I am willing to listen to them because the Constitution recognises their freedom of expression, but I will only remind them that we don’t have a perfect system, it is work in progress, and the system can be overhauled but nothing prevents us from engaging in give and take. Many people make the mistake that the North has not come out to say ‘this is our idea of restructuring’. If I will speak for some, I will say we understand where you are coming from but we don’t take absolutist position that ‘there will be no peace if you don’t do this for us’.

Whatever it is that we can talk over, whatever it is that we can adjust, let us do according to the existing legal order and not outside of it.

How do we get Nigeria out of the woods?

Nigeria in my view is not in the woods. Nigeria is grappling with problems and I have outlined three key areas that if we are able to attend to will make a huge difference in the way we live. And of course concerning inter-ethnic, inter-religious relations, there is greater need for more understanding, more respect and greater need to be restrained about what you say about others especially when it is derogatory.

That way, whatever problems you have, if you have mutual respect, you will be able to talk it over; you will be able to come to an understanding on how to solve it.

What do we do to make Nigeria great again?

Well, what we do to build on the existing structure is to sincerely and dispassionately look at where and in what way it does not work, and to dispassionately and with patriotism at heart deal with those problems across the nation. There has to be an understanding, a meeting point, a greater accommodation; if we have those things, we can make this work in progress a little better than we found it.

PAGE 20— SUNDAY VANGUARD, OCTOBER 1, 2017

Under current structure, good leader on’t mak e leaderss w won’t make an anyy dif diffference — E.K. Clark Chief Edwin Kiagbodo, elder statesman and leader of the Pan-Niger Delta Forum (PANDEF), bares his mind on Nigeria 57 years after independence

BY HENRY UMORU

T

he story of Nigeria 57 years after independence is one of mixed feelings. What is your take?

It is quite correct. There is no doubt that we have made some progress, but Nigeria at 57 should have developed more than it is now. At independence in 1960, we had very progressive regions, the Western Region, the Northern Region and the Eastern Region. Even before independence, from 1953, the regions had been very active, very competitive and very progressive. On the attainment of independence in 1960, the pace of progress continued. We had the Western Nigerian government being run by Chief Obafemi Awolowo, we had the Northern Nigerian government being run by Sir Ahmadu Bello, the Eastern Nigerian government being run by Dr Nnamdi Azikiwe and Dr Michael Okpara at a later date when Dr. Nnamdi Azikiwe became the President of Nigeria.

So when you look back, what were the achievements of these people?

In 1962, Awolowo built the University of Ife; Ahmadu Bello built the Ahmadu Bello University, ABU; and Dr Nnamdi Azikiwe built the University of Nigeria, Nsukka. And because the Western Region under Awolowo had more money than the other two, he was able to introduce free primary education which was the basis of development in Western Nigeria today. Today the Western Nigerian people are very sophisticated and very well educated, more advanced in education than any other part of this country and it was the free primary education that made it happen. In the West also, you had the first television being introduced the south of Sahara, then you had Cocoa House being built in Ibadan and industrial estates in Ikeja and Apapa, and there were Israeli companies building roads across the West. Then you go to the North where you had the stadium built just as Awolowo built the Liberty Stadium in Ibadan. There was an industrial estate in Kano, there was the Kaduna Capital Territory. Similar things happened in the East like the Hotel Presidential in Port Harcourt and Enugu; so development went on and the reason was because there was true federalism being practiced. Whatever resources you derived in your area, you spend half of the money and the other half would be sent to the federal government to meet its responsibilities and also spend on the regions again. In 1963 when Mid-West was created, there was the Republican Constitution and each region also had its own Constitution and agents general in London. But immediately after the army took over in 1966, they changed the Constitution because, in the hierarchy, whoever was the head of government controlled everything downward. In the process, federalism was destroyed and a unitary form of government was introduced. In fact, this was done by Ironsi when he issued Decree No 34 to impose unitary form of government; northerners opposed it and that was part of the reason they overthrew Ironsi’s government. Gowon came in and carried C M Y K

•Chief Edwin Kiagbodo Clark on with Decree No 34. Then the war broke out in 1967 and here we are still operating unitary government in the guise of true federalism. That was why former President Obasanjo, in 2005, set up the political reform conference. I was the leader of the SouthSouth region at the conference and we demanded for a return to true federalism. Northerners opposed us, they believed that once true federalism was reintroduced, the North will lose money and position in national affairs but they were wrong. The reason Nigeria is not progressing the way it should is because of the unitary form of government we operate in the name of federalism. I think that is the problem. We need to restructure the country in line with the 2014 National Conference recommendations, 600 recommendations to move forward.

Leadership People talk about leadership being the nation’s problem, but leadership can only work under a good environment; leadership under the present system cannot work. I strongly believe that a return to a federal system of government like we had it under the 1960 and 1953 constitutions will make Nigeria progress.

Northern committee I am happy that the 19 northern governors have set up a committee with the traditional rulers to look into restructuring and I believe that with Tambuwal, the governor of Sokoto State, as Chairman, we can have a progressive report. In essence, if all of us agree that there is need for restructuring, we would then make up here and there, have a good constitution and

a good environment where good leaders can perform.

Restructuring of the mind I do not agree with Obasanjo who talked about restructuring of the mind.

What mind? Is it because his mind was not restructured when he was in power that his government did not make any progress? There is something structurally defective in the country and that is why we are calling for restructuring.

As a father who has seen it all in this country, what message do you have for Nigerians as we mark 57th anniversary, especially against the backdrop of what we are seeing, agitations in the East, quit notice from the North?

Since 1999, there have been problems, and they have been mounting. When people have no job, then they cause problems. It would be difficult to have people working in a factory coming out to demonstrate. But when the factory has nothing to offer, then the people who are not employed would demonstrate. The agitations in Nigeria are as a result of, I won’t call it bad government alone or bad leadership, it is because the Constitution under which we are working is not good enough. You cannot be working under a federal system of government and call it a unitary form of government; until we straighten out these things, you will continue to have pockets of problems all over the country.

On what is happening in the East, there was Biafra war 50 years ago at the end of which Gen. Gowon declared reconciliation, reconstruction and reintegration. And the Igbo were integrated under successive governments. An

I do not agree with Obasanjo who talked about restructuring of the mind. What mind?

Is it because his mind was not restructured when he was in power that his government did not make any progress?

Igbo man was the Vice President of this country. But the Buhari government decided to marginalise them now, to treat them as if they are second class citizens, as if they are not Nigerians. But like I said, this is temporary; in another four years, it will be over. And that is not enough for anybody to say ‘I am no longer a Nigerian’, or ‘I want to secede from Nigeria’. Nnnamdi Kanu (IPOB leader calling Igbo to secede) has not given us the reason for the demand for secession other than saying that they want Biafra,

Continues on page 22

We can dismantle the dysfunctional unitary structure within three months — Guy Ikoku

SUNDAY Vanguard, OCTOBER 1, 2017, PAGE 21

Mr Guy Ikokwu played prominent roles in the politics of the First and Second Republics. In his piece, he says the unitary structure, which many have identified as the main problem militating against Nigeria’s progress, can be dismantled before 2018 if the nation’s leadership has the will.

N

IGERIA is in a state of dilapidation such that we find it difficult to grapple with some of the most elementary aspects of governance.

President Muhammadu Buhari, on his return from medical check-up in London, made a broadcast to the nation and was candid enough to acknowledge that the country’s foundation is now very fragile and recommended that it should be made good or reconstructed constitutionally through the National Assembly and the Council of State.

The Southern Leaders Forum, comprising the leaders of the South-West, the South- East and the South-South, in a reaction, emphasized that “only restructuring will ensure the unity, peace and development of Nigeria”. Chief Edwin Clark and Chief Herbert Horsfall for the South-South, Chief Nnia Nwodo and Prof. Joe Irukwu for the South-East, and Chief Reuben Fasoranti and Chief Ayo Adebanjo for the South-West concluded that “the country was in a very bad shape and requires statesmanship in its leadership”.

Very many eminent personalities in the past 20 years have spoken vehemently on the need to urgently re-engineer or restructure our system of governance so as to move the nation forward.

On Nigeria’s Independence Day, October 1, 1960, the first Prime Minister, Sir Tafawa Balewa, in his inaugural broadcast, said, “But now, we have acquired our rightful states and I feel sure that history will show that the building of our nation proceeded at the wisest pace. It has been thorough and Nigeria now stands well built upon firm foundation…. At the time when our constitutional development entered upon its final phase, the emphasis was largely upon self-governance”.

But history before our independence clearly told us that in 1953, while negotiations were on to construct the methodology of the amalgamated units living together, it was the northern delegates who resolutely threatened secession (Araba) unless the colonial masters gave them a majority of the census figures and also a majority of the parliamentary seats in the House of Representatives in Lagos as against the other regions of the West and the East.

From our historical notebooks we recall that Hon. Nnamdi Azikiwe in response to the 1953 secession threat responded at a party (NCNC) caucus meeting in Yaba, Lagos on May 12 1953 where he stated as follows: “In my opinion, the northerners are perfectly entitled to consider whether or not they should secede from the indissoluble union which nature has formed between it and the South but it would be calamitous to the corporate existence of the North should the clamour for secession prevail. I C M Y K

therefore counsel northern leaders to weigh the advantages and disadvantages of secession before embarking upon these dangerous calls…. It would be a capital political blonder if the North should break away from the South…. Secession by the North may lead to internal political convulsion there when it is realized that militant nationalists and their organizations, like the NEPU, the Eskianist Movement and the Middle Zone League, have aspirations for selfgovernment in 1956 identical with those of their southern compatriots. This may lead to justifiable demands for the rights of self-determination by non-Muslims who form the majority of the population Pagan Provinces like Benue, Ilorin, Kebbi, Niger and Plateau not to mention the claims of the non-Muslims who are domiciled in Adamawa and Bauchi Provinces”.

Present day Nigerians cannot dispute historical facts.

It is therefore worthwhile to recall that in the very recent past the subject of history was being taken out of our educational curriculum. It is said in our cultural anecdote that a person who does not know where he is coming from, most certainly will not know where he is going.

That is why we must subdue our emotional inclinations and listen to the words of our heroes past and the examples of our fore-fathers with particular reference to historical constitutional development of Nigeria.

Another of our fore-fathers, Chief Obafemi Awolowo, in his book, “Thoughts on Nigerian Constitution”, advocated a rational restructuring of the Nigerian political system.

First, in a country where there are diverse people like ours, a unitary constitution is always a source of bitterness and hostility. On the other hand, as soon as a federal constitution is introduced in which each linguistic or national group is recognised and accorded regional autonomy, bitterness and hostility against the

•Guy Ikokwu

arrangement disappears.

Chief Awolowo was undoubtedly a philosopher and a legal ICON as well as an administrator and a technocrat. He had very strong convictions and vision which he translated for the betterment and prosperity of the Western Region. There is no doubt that if he were alive today to witness the retardation of Nigeria and the inglorious path we have trodden in the last 50 years, he would continue to be at the forefront of the restructuring campaign.

It is evident that such a glorious pattern of development was emulated by the people of Eastern Nigeria.

They travelled and emulated the Yoruba who had about one century advantage of colonial invasion. This valuable message was posed to our northern brothers with pains and resistance.

With the perspective of today’s participatory democracy, it is very clear that the former southern protectorate were militarily compelled to allow the northern zones to develop more educationally than they had done before independence in 1960. It is therefore very clear that the elites in the three zones of Northern Nigeria today in government or culture and in traditional monarchy are certainly more enlightened in many aspects of governance.

Many of the present governors of the 19 states in the North are lawyers, accountants, experienced public servants, medical personnel, corporate managers, former lecturers, legislators and military personnel, a situation that put

Chief E. K. Clark, in his response to President Buhari’s statement in 2015 that if Nigeria does not kill corruption, corruption will kill Nigeria”, retorted, “If Nigeria is not restructured urgently, the nation will disintegrate”

them in a better stance to understand the realities of today’s governance and the issues of the day than their forefathers.

As human beings and with the experience we have had in the past 20 years within our various ethnic nationalities,

Continues on page 22

PAGE 22— SUNDAY VANGUARD, OCTOBER 1, 2017 Continued from page 21 we have to admit that there are some very good individuals and also very bad individuals. Therefore no particular ethnic nationality should be marked down for marginalisation, victimisation, economic deprivation, military subjugation and cultural/ religious alienation.

Azikiwe, in 1950, told his Igbo brothers and other Nigerians that reputation is the most precious possession which must not be allowed to be tarnished. He warned that people should not allow others to dominate them and they should obey the laws of those with whom they share the blessings of life. He urged the Igbo to respect the traditions of those in whose home land they sojourn.

The majority of Igbos over the last century have imbibed these traditions as well as other ethnic groups like the Yoruba, the Ijaw, the Tiv, the Nupe, the Hausa and, of course, the Fulani who are the most recent migrants into Nigeria in the last 150 years.

The Fulani have integrated with the Hausa in language and culture, hence they are known as Hausa/Fulani.

The NYSC programme which the Federal Government launched in Nigeria decades ago and the unity schools that we established in various regions of Nigeria have advanced the process of integration of our ethnic nationalities and enabled our diverse children to understand themselves better and engage in relationships which have been very much nurtured over time.

There are in Nigeria today prominent personalities who are detribalised and certainly helping the momentum of moving Nigeria forward.

Corruption, terrorism, absence of the rule of law, militancy of herdsmen, hate speeches, uncontrolled militancy and criminal activities, massive unemployment, lack of basic healthcare, poverty, poor quality of governance and emulation of invidious foreign cultures and negative ethos had led Nigeria’s economy into recession from which she cannot recover unless our system of governance is reengineered or restructured or deliberately configured with a better foundation as our forefathers had wanted from 1950 to 1963 when we transmuted from selfgoverning and autonomous regions to a republican status.

The military intervention from 1966 to 1999 bastardized our system from a federal to a unitary system.

“Unitary Federalism” is definitely a constitutional aberration. It is the equivalent of a constitutional and historic APOPLEXY. This is why today we have some politicians who are fanning the embers of the destruction of the Nigerian polity with their being ignorant of the word RESTRUCTURING. The extent of this can be C M Y K

We can dismantle the dysfunctional unitary structure within three months found in the abrasive lie written in our 1999 Constitution which ignored the fact that sovereignty lies with the people and not with a class or segment of the people when the preamble says “we the people…….”.

In any true federation there are three participatory levels.

The grassroots level which is superseded by the regional tier. It is the regional tier of government that aggregate into the decision making process of the apex national centre.

This is why modern constitutions are written to enable the several tiers to understand the essence of constitutionalism and the distribution and separation of powers, checks and balances, limited governance, rule of law, multi-cultural, political pluralism, etc.

Therefore a federal structure cannot succeed where there is a strong and irrational leader appropriating the authorities of the tiers of governance and destroying the judicial authority established and also where there is absence of sufficient common interests or objectives among the diverse nationalities or citizens of a federal system.

Where there is no common goal of economic development and reduction of ethnic acrimony and immoral behavior, the federalist experiment will certainly fail.

The clarion call today for the restructuring of the Nigerian polity is at a stage where the modalities for the implementation require clarification. Former Presidents Olusegun Obasanjo and Goodluck Jonathan had attempted in 2005 and 2014 to get a cross section of Nigerians to make changes in our Constitution.

The resolutions of the 2014 conference emerged on consensual basis and certainly

•Guy Ikokwu

have the potentials to move Nigeria back from a unitary to a federal structure and closer to what we had in 1960 and 1963.

Constitutional lawyer, Prof. Ben Nwabueze, SAN, has variously posited that his preferred methodology is the convocation of sovereign national conference of ethnic nationalities. The argument in favour of a sovereign national conference is that it would have the mandate of the generality of the people through ELECTION of delegates rather than SELECTION by government.

Obviously the discussion and resolutions could be done in less than two months at the most and referendum conducted within a

month. It therefore shows that Nigeria could re-engineer our system of governance before the end of December 2017. And 2018 can be the year of Nigeria’s national reformation to avoid the current anarchic system which is rapidly developing to engulf our country.

It is glaring that the system of government in Nigeria aids corruption and the looting of our common patrimony as Chief E. K. Clark, in his response to President Buhari’s statement in 2015 that if Nigeria does not kill corruption, corruption will kill Nigeria”, retorted, “If Nigeria is not restructured urgently, the nation will disintegrate”.

The Southern Leaders Forum echoed similar sentiment when it said, “It is obvious to any discerning observer that Nigeria is inching close to the precipice as a result of country-wide disaffection brought about by dysfunctional unitary structure of governance in a multi-ethnic country, a structure of governance that has taken much powers and most resource control to the centre - as codified in the military dictated 1999 Constitution. We have moved from an economy which was geared towards production and increasing enterprise and productivity of our people to an economy based on indolent allocation, sharing and consumption of rent from foreigner’s enterprise in fossil oil in our land…. If we fail to restructure, the alternative for Nigeria is DISSOLUTION of the country – which is what advocates of restructuring are trying to prevent”.

Nigeria must therefore embark on a process to achieve autonomy and direct control of the resources within the regions or states of the country and Nigeria must resuscitate and intensify the infusion of national core values of integrity, social inclusion, equity and good governance as cardinal directives and principles of state policy which must be justifiable.

Ev en good leader Even leaderss canno cannott mo movve Nigeria for ward under the present structure orw Continued from page 20 they want referendum.

Meanwhile, I want the federal government to call the Igbo to a round table and discuss their problems. We all know that they have been marginalised under this government and President Buhari said in New York that some people voted for him while others did not vote for him and that those who did not vote for him were being penalised. So I think if this country is restructured, there will be job for everybody, there will better understanding, everybody will be equal in his own country, and there would be nobody who would say ‘I

am being marginalised’. I think Nigeria at 57 should be a period for Nigerian leaders to sit down and look into what is wrong and see how things could be improved. One cannot blame Buhari because he has been in government for less than three years and the problems of Nigeria have been mounting. And when people like us see former President Obasanjo parading himself as Mr Clean, as a man who knows government very well, who did very well, we laugh.

Nigeria’s problems started with him, corruption started under him, corruption in the National Assembly got a boost under him; he sold everything Nigeria had.

And when people like us see former President Obasanjo parading himself as Mr Clean, as a man who knows government very well, who did very well, we laugh.

Nigeria’s problems started with him, corruption started under him, corruption in the National Assembly got a boost under him

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