The Nation Newspaper

Category: Commentaries

  • Contentment: Inspiring tale of Citizen Femi

    Contentment: Inspiring tale of Citizen Femi

    SIR: The actions of Anjola Femi, a young Nigerian who returned $14,000 worth of Solana cryptocurrency, shine brightly as a beacon of integrity and contentment. His story offers a compelling lesson, especially relevant in these uncertain times, about the enduring power of ethical behaviour and the true essence of contentment.

     Picture this: a mistaken transfer deposits a staggering $14,000 worth of Solana into his digital wallet. In the speculative world of cryptocurrencies, such an unexpected windfall could easily lead many to rationalize keeping the money. Yet, for Femi, the path was clear—he returned the funds to their rightful owner. This decision, made without any expectation of reward or recognition, speaks volumes about his character and his deep-seated belief in doing what is right. Amidst the economic turmoil and social pressures of today’s world, Femi’s actions remind us of the profound value of contentment and moral integrity.

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    Anjola Femi’s decision to return the cryptocurrency is a testament to the power of contentment as a guiding principle. His actions demonstrate that contentment is not about the absence of ambition or challenges but about making ethical choices, even when faced with tempting alternatives. In returning the $14,000 worth of Solana, Femi exemplified the idea that contentment provides a moral compass, helping us navigate the complexities of life with integrity and grace.

    The story of Anjola Femi serves as an inspiring example for future generations. It emphasizes that success should not be measured solely by material gains but by the positive impact of our actions on others and society as a whole. In returning the cryptocurrency, Femi not only upheld his integrity but also contributed to a culture of trust and honesty. Trust, a foundational element of social cohesion, is often eroded by acts of dishonesty and greed. By choosing to act with integrity, Femi reinforced the importance of trust and ethical behaviour in our interconnected world.

    As we navigate the complexities and uncertainties of modern life, the story of Anjola Femi challenges us to seek contentment not in the accumulation of wealth or possessions but in the satisfaction of living a life grounded in ethical principles and true to our values. In doing so, we can find peace, resilience, and fulfilment, regardless of the challenges we may face.

    • Samuel Jekeli, Centre for Social Justice, Abuja.
  • Still on Gwoza suicide bombings

    Still on Gwoza suicide bombings

    Sir: On June 29, female suicide bombers targeted a wedding, subsequently a funeral and a hospital in Gwoza, Borno State causing at least 32 deaths and dozens of injuries. This series of coordinated attacks highlights the persistent threat and the urgent need for enhanced intelligence gathering and a stronger commitment from Nigerian security agencies. The attacks caused significant casualties and widespread fear, disrupting the period of relative calm in the region. The Nigerian Army reported that the insurgents had prepared 15 suicide bombers for Gwoza, but only three succeeded.

    Despite unwavering efforts by security agencies to contain these forms of emerging security threats, significant gaps and challenges still persist. Suicide bombings continue to occur. Intelligence failures remain a major issue.

    The clandestine nature of suicide bombings, often involving coerced or brainwashed individuals, makes them particularly challenging to detect and prevent. In some areas, local populations remain sympathetic to Boko Haram due to grievances against the government, corruption, and inadequate service delivery. This support provides cover and resources for insurgent operations. The Nigerian military and security forces are often overstretched and under-resourced, with limited funding, equipment shortages, and inadequate training impeding the effectiveness of counter-insurgency operations.

    The psychological toll of sustained violence on the population cannot be underestimated, as continuous exposure to bombings and insecurity exacerbates trauma and undermines community resilience.

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    Addressing the persistent threat of suicide bombings requires a multi-faceted and adaptive approach. Investing in advanced surveillance technology such as drones and satellite imagery can improve situational awareness. Strengthening local intelligence networks and encouraging community-based reporting can also provide critical insights into insurgent activities. Building trust between security forces and local communities is essential. This can be achieved through transparent governance, addressing human rights abuses by security forces, and ensuring that communities benefit from economic development and social services.

    Expanding and improving de-radicalization and reintegration programs for surrendered fighters and at-risk individuals can reduce the pool of potential suicide bombers. These programs should be culturally sensitive and involve local religious and community leaders.

    Enhancing cooperation with neighbouring countries and regional bodies like the African Union can improve border security and disrupt insurgent supply lines.

    Long-term peace and security in Borno require addressing the root causes of the insurgency. This includes tackling poverty, unemployment, and lack of education through targeted development programs. The persistent threat of suicide bombings in Borno State underscores the need for a comprehensive review and revision of current security strategies. By addressing intelligence gaps, enhancing community engagement, and tackling the underlying socio-economic issues, Nigeria can create a more resilient and secure environment.

    • Kabir Ali Fagge,Abuja.

  • Averting looming crisis in public universities

    Averting looming crisis in public universities

    Sir: UNIBEN Students are at home in the middle of the academic session. The institution was shut down following a peaceful protest by the students. The demand was for electricity and water, two basic ingredients for a comfortable stay in school, or anywhere for that matter.

     The absence of electricity made the pumping of water impossible. Benin Electricity Distribution Company cut off power to the school for failure to pay its electric bill of N280 million monthly. This followed a 300 per cent increase earlier in the year.

    It is not however strictly a UNIBEN issue. Reports indicate that several federal universities are on the brink of a major crisis, with 52 institutions facing a potential collapse due to a steep increase in electricity tariffs. UNIBEN just happened to be the first to bite the bullet.

    This alarming situation has raised serious concerns among vice chancellors and educational stakeholders, who urgently call on the federal government to intervene.

    The Nigerian Electricity Regulatory Commission (NERC)-sanctioned a 300 per cent increase in the tariff paid by Band A customers, from N68/KWh to N225/kWh is the culprit here. This decision affects federal universities located in areas designated as Band A, leading to a quadrupling of their monthly electricity bills.

    For instance, Ahmadu Bello University (ABU) in Zaria now faces an annual electricity bill of N4.4 billion, up from N1.2 billion. Similarly, the University of Ilorin’s monthly bill has surged from N70 million to N230 million, a situation the vice chancellor describes as “unsustainable.”

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    The financial strain caused by the tariff hike is crippling university operations across the country. Many institutions are already struggling to meet their overhead costs, and the additional burden of increased electricity bills threatens to halt their activities entirely. Prof. Yakubu Ochefu, Secretary to the Committee of Vice Chancellors of Nigerian Universities (CVCNU), warns that if the federal government does not intervene, 52 federal universities may soon collapse.

    This would be an unfortunate development as Nigeria is already far behind in many educational indices and this could take the nation back decades.

     The CVCNU has proposed several solutions to alleviate the financial burden on federal universities. One of the primary suggestions is to move universities from Band A to a discretionary band with lower tariffs for educational establishments. This would allow universities to pay rates closer to what they previously paid, or only slightly higher, rather than the unsustainable commercial rates currently imposed – a sensible proposal, if ever there was one.

    Given the challenges with the current electricity supply, many universities are already exploring alternative power solutions. The University of Ilorin, for instance, is negotiating for alternative power supplies and incorporating provisions for these in new building designs. Energy-saving measures are also being implemented to reduce overall consumption.

    Transitioning to alternative power sources, however, requires substantial initial investment, which many universities cannot afford without government support. This highlights the need for a coordinated effort between the government and educational institutions to develop sustainable and cost-effective power solutions.

    The federal government has a critical role to play in resolving this crisis. First, there needs to be a review of the electricity tariffs imposed on educational institutions. As non-commercial entities providing essential public services, universities should not be subjected to the same tariffs as commercial customers. Implementing a concessionary tariff rate for universities is a necessary step to ensure their financial sustainability. This must be done immediately to forestall the domino effect of student protests.

     Additionally, the government should increase funding for the development of alternative energy sources in universities. Investing in solar power plants and other renewable energy solutions will provide long-term benefits, reducing reliance on Discos and lowering electricity costs.

     Lastly, the government must engage in meaningful dialogue with university administrators to understand their unique challenges and develop tailored solutions. This includes revisiting the funding model for federal universities to ensure they have the necessary resources to cover their operational costs without compromising the quality of education.

    The government must safeguard the future of higher education in Nigeria. It has to ensure that universities continue to function effectively and provide quality education to the nation’s youth. This is how to secure the future.

    •Elvis Eromosele, elviseroms@gmail.com

  • Harnessing potentials of Nigeria’s youth population

    Harnessing potentials of Nigeria’s youth population

    Sir: Nobel Laurette Professor Wole Soyinka once described Nigerians that belong to his age group as a wasted generation. This is probably true not only of Soyinka’s generation but also of the ones after it, including the millennials and Gen Z generations.

    How come a country like Nigeria with a very high population of youth is suffering in many areas where the youth are expected to utilize their energy to the country’s advantage?

    It is a case of abdication of responsibilities by successive generations. For instance, the cost of food items has skyrocketed beyond the reach of the ordinary man on the street because Nigerians abandoned agriculture a long time ago. Agriculture ought to be the backbone of our economy. It once occupied that position but this is no longer the case.

    Nigeria has all it takes to be a net exporter of food to other countries. There are arable lands where all types of foodstuffs can be cultivated in all 36 states of the federation. If young Nigerians were to be involved in agriculture, the country would have had more than enough food to eat and export to other countries.

    There is no shame in being a farmer. Farming ought to be inculcated in the school curriculum and made part and parcel of school programmes in primary and secondary institutions. This way, youths would imbibe the culture early in life. As a result, each state would concentrate on the crops that are favourable to its environment and the young ones would key into it. Yams, potatoes, cassava, fruits, maize and all sorts of grains and vegetables would be cultivated in different parts of the country.

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    If the soil in Edo State favours cassava, palm trees, rubber, yams, rice and others the government should provide the enabling environment for the youths to engage in the cultivation of such crops. If the weather in Plateau State favours the cultivation of potatoes, millet, grains and what have you, then the government should get the youths engaged in the cultivation of such crops. This way, they would be self-sufficient in the cultivation of food and cash crops.

    It is not ideal for consumers to begin to wait for tomatoes, onions and okra to travel a distance of almost 1,200 kilometres before they can get these items to eat. This is absurd. Let states begin to beat their chest about the food they can put on the table for their people and not look at what they don’t have as the yardstick in measuring revenues and incomes.

    Former President Muhammadu Buhari once described Nigerian youths are a lazy set of people. In my opinion, Buhari is right and wrong. He is right because, by orientation, they have been brought up to believe in paper qualifications and white-collar jobs. When you go around the country, you will discover that the jobs that are supposed to be done by the youths are left for the elderly ones; as many youths see agriculture, for instance, as something beneath them. They think it is meant for the elderly and those who did not go through primary and secondary education.

    Take a look at construction sites littered across the country, all you can see are the elderly, while the youths are busy night and day fiddling with their phones, searching for mostly illegitimate opportunities to make money.

    But the former president is also wrong in the sense that there is nothing wrong with the Nigerian youths as human beings. They are just victims of the society that produced them. They are only exhibiting the kind of parental background, education and orientation that they passed through in their formative years.

    As it is often said with regards to computer programming, it is garbage in and garbage out; parents cannot give what they do not have, as they too lack the wherewithal to bring up children who are required to take the country to the next level in its development.

    •Isaiah Ted Omobude,Jos, Plateau State. 

  • Authority stealing, soft justice

    Authority stealing, soft justice

    Is there any measure of honour imputable to stealing? That is a question begged by the defence mustered by a former Director of Primary  Health Care in Nangere council area of Yobe State, Ibrahim Lawan, who is currently on suspension for diverting the council’s stock of Ready-to-Use Therapeutic Food (RUTF). News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reported that RUTF is a packaged highly nutritious food supplement used in treating acutely malnourished children.

    Yobe State PHC Board on Wednesday, last week, announced indefinite suspension of Lawan for “diverting and misusing” the food supplement. Adamu Abba, the board’s spokesman, said in Damaturu that a five-member committee had been raised to investigate the matter. The board named an acting director, Ibrahim Disa, who will hold forth pending the outcome of investigations. Abba said the probe panel was also expected to recommend a strategy for ensuring accountability in the distribution of the supplement and other medical consumables.

    In an interview with NAN, Lawan admitted to misdeeds but suggested the gravity was lessoned by some honour he made pretension to. “Actually, I and some of my staffers tampered with some of the therapeutic  food supplements, but the quantity is not as much as they are alleging,” the news agency reported him saying. “The allegation was that I diverted about 120 cartons. This is not true. However, I take responsibility for all that happened since I was the leader at the time,” he further said, adding: “I am appealing to the state government to temper justice with mercy, since I have cooperated and made investigation easier for them.”

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    Lawan sounded like he was flaunting it as a badge of honour that he “took responsibility” for the theft he acknowledged leading workers under him to commit. It was bad enough that, by his own admission, he abused public trust by “tampering with” the item meant for acutely malnourished children kept his care. It was worse that he led a squad of staffers to do that. By their misdeed, they denied only-God-knows-how-many children the essential supplement and possibly their very lives, considering the socio-economic challenges in Yobe, among other states in the Northwest, that warranted making the provision in the first place.

    You would think Lawan took too seriously the cynical saying attributed to maverick politician, the late Arthur Nzeribe, that even among robbers there is honour. But he’s only lucky he faced soft justice. Had he operated in a place like China, he could have gotten death sentence for hazarding the lives of malnourished children.

    Still, he’s helped in making the work of the probe panel easy: just get him to name his accomplices and hand them the stiffest possible penalty under the law.

  • Catholic Church and Ebonyi governor’s ‘generosity’

    Catholic Church and Ebonyi governor’s ‘generosity’

    SIR: At the 2024 priestly ordination of the catholic diocese of Abakaliki held on July 6 in Ebonyi State, the state governor, Francis Nwifuru managed to steal as much spotlight as the 14 new priests raised to the presbyterate after nine gruelling years of formation as he admonished the new priests to flee from materialism. If his advice was a leaf from the book of the catholic bishop of Abakaliki, his presentation of 14 SUVs to the new priests was not.

     In a country where many politicians failing in their responsibilities to the people, typically identify with one religion or the other, and never hesitate to exploit religious events to score cheap political points, the Catholic Church in Abakaliki should have been more circumspect about receiving gifts from politicians.

     It is not the responsibility of the governor to buy vehicles for newly ordained catholic priests in the state. The church can afford to provide for its priests. The governor’s responsibilities lie elsewhere, and the church has the prophetic responsibility to remind him of that fact, no matter how costly or uncomfortable it may be.

    It was also reported that the governor at the occasion exhorted the new priests and other priests in the state to shun materialism and focus on God’s work. The priests should take this to heart. The ostentatious lifestyles and even debauchery for which some of them have become notorious for contradicts the gospel they bear. Inasmuch as they are also sent to politicians who may identify as Christians and Catholics, shunning materialism must also extend to eschewing any disposition that portrays them as available tools for desperate politicians.

     The governor must remember that the office of the governor which he fills is neither ecclesial nor divine. It is not God or any church that made him governor. He does not owe God or any church any debt which should be settled with public funds. His fidelity must lie to the electorate and the constitution only.

     In that wise, he must be more circumspect in doling out gifts to the Catholic Church or any church for that matter. Rather, he must commit every available resource to developing the state and combatting poverty which continues to run riot in the state.

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    If the governor is inclined to give gifts of cars to men of God in the state, then certainly he should extend his generosity to the leaders of every religion in the state. The dangers of such a move would apparently discourage him.

     There is so much that can be done with public funds in the state that will be more beneficial than buying cars for catholic priests. The governor should concentrate on the business of governing the state and leave those people to sort the business of the gospel out. Mixing politics and religion will only serve a painful reminder of what happens when governance is muddled up with religion.

    Religious leaders in Nigeria must take their responsibilities more seriously. Many of those who have led and who continue to lead Nigeria as politicians identify as adherents of one religion or the other. The fact that leadership has been such a cataclysmic failure in the country should serve as cautionary tale to those who keep God’s gates.

    • Ike Willie-Nwobu, Ikewilly9@gmail.com
  • Human grenades in Gwoza

    Human grenades in Gwoza

    SIR: At Gwoza, Borno State, the image of mother as a guarantor of life spectacularly fell apart in the devastating terrorist attack of June 29. A woman with a baby strapped to her back was said to have detonated a bomb at a crowded motor park in the state. Two other bomb blasts also shook the state on the same day, killing and wounding dozens.

    The woman backing a baby and blasting an improvised explosive device (IED) evokes one of the most heart-breaking victim-hoods of conflict and terrorism.

    For Nigerian women, this insidious initiation into the theatre of war comes much earlier, even before the threshold of womanhood is crossed. In 2014, when Boko Haram observed that it was losing grounds in the ground and propaganda offensives launched by the government, it spectacularly turned the tables by abducting over a hundred girls from a secondary school in Chibok. Four years later, in 2018, the group repeated the devastating trick on another secondary school in Dapchi, Yobe State.

    Some girls from the two attacks are yet to return home or be rescued years later. Many of those returned or rescued have come back with babies and chilling tales of sexual slavery serving as ruthless initiation into womanhood. Many of the girls became women in the hands of their captors, serving as wives and bearing babies for them.

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    In Our Bodies, their battlefields, author and British journalist Christine Lamb, writes of the chilling fate that awaits many women taken and raped by Boko Haram upon their return. Attempts to reintegrate them are often rebuffed by their immediate communities. They are typically shamed, stigmatized and shunned by their families and communities who are too ashamed to see their wives, sisters, or daughters as anything but irreparably damaged goods. Even their babies are marked for life, the ancient and universal covering of infant innocence cruelly peeled away by the daggers of discrimination.

    Nigeria is a country sorely in need of comfort, the kind of comfort that can only come from courage-the courage of its leaders to finally and forcefully confront those responsible for the immeasurable suffering of its people, especially those in the rural areas who have suffered incalculably. This need cannot and must not be corralled by the grim calculus of political expediency. Nigerians deserve to feel safe everywhere in their country. Anything less than this is a failure for the government.

    • Kene Obiezu, keneobiezu@gmail.com
  • Gang-think from Kano

    Gang-think from Kano

    Want an inkling into a gang’s thinking?  And were that gang in government, with a manic obsession to extract revenge, no matter how horribly it bounces back to hurt it?

    Then, race to Kano!  There: what a shrink would find, examining Governor Abba Yusuf and his gang, government or top party hierarchs, would be interesting!

    Or how else do you x-ray this infantile, self-serving, unconscionable threat by Hashimu Dungurawa, Kano State chair of the New Nigerian People’s Party (NNPP), linking the Emirate crisis, which Governor Yusuf has clearly bungled, to sweepstakes in 2027?

    Hear his blather to President Bola Tinubu: “Your perceived stance on the ongoing Kano Emirate tussle would surely work against you in the 2027 presidential polls,” he roared, “because if you think you can use it to secure grounds in Kano, when the chips are down it will dawn on you that you have made costly mistakes.”

    What does this empty yammer even mean?  But wait for the ultimate blackmail: the President should ensure that the “deposed” Emir is banished from Kano!  In other words, the desperado wanted licit forces to press illicit — or even putatively illegal — acts, since the so called deposition of Emir Aminu Ado Bayero hangs in the balance, in a legal challenge still running?

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    Were Dungurawa some playwright in some Ancient Greek drama, he would just work a deus-ex-machina into his self-serving plot — and the police made a forceful dash to Emir Ado Bayero’s mini-palace, and they forcefully ejected and banished him, and Emir Muhammadu Sanusi II reigned happily ever after!

    What a dream!  What a child!  Yet, this one is NNPP’s Kano chairman, throwing childhood tantrums?

    Well, reality check: Governor Abba and gang caused the Kano debacle.  Let them clear it in the court, as penance for trampling on the same law, which created the office of the governor.  Abuja was never part of it.  Let Kano clear up own mess.

    Still, Dungurawa’s blather is hardly surprising.  When Yusuf’s win was under legal challenge, an uncouth fellow in his cabinet threatened the tribunal judges.  When the self-entrapping Emirate crisis first broke out, Yusuf’s deputy ran his mouth, lying that Nuhu Ribadu, the National Security Adviser (NSA) was plotting against Kano, simply because the police won’t do the governor’s rash bidding.  Later, it was Rabiu Musa Kwakwanso himself hallucinating over some federal plot over Kano.

    Let the Kano Emirate process play itself out in court.  As to the political fallouts, Kano voters themselves see, from the reckless acts of Abba and co — the initial demolition spree; and now, this avoidable Kano Emirate crisis — who is deserving or undeserving of their mandate.

    Meanwhile to Dungurawa, happy fresh 2027 hallucinations!

  • ECOWAS and its break away members

    ECOWAS and its break away members

    Sir: It has been a little more than a year since military rebels in Niger Republic struck, ousted a democratically elected president, Bazoum Mohammed, and formed a military government.

    That coup d’état happened when it has been proven beyond reasonable doubt that military rule is ineffective in addressing nation-building challenges is most regrettable. Up till this moment, no one can show any country in this world that developed under military rule.

    In contrast, military rule is the harbinger of political unrest including disruption of succession plan, perpetuation of sit-tight rule, stirring of rebellion, mutiny, more coups, civil war, and human rights abuses, among others.

    The Niger coup d’état has adversely impacted not only the economy of Niger itself, but also on the security, peace and stability of West African region.

    Remember, if the coup did not happen, Niger would still be a member of ECOWAS. Now the coupists are not only undermining ECOWAS, but are also instigating other member-states to do so.

    What is even worse is how the coupists have undermined ECOWAS at every turn. Several times, they have either ignored ECOWAS’s exhortations or called its bluffs. For instance, when the coup d’état occurred, ECOWAS made its stand clear on its zero-tolerance for military takeover. Later the body changed its position by lifting all the economic sanctions and embargo placed on the junta. However, the junta did not acknowledge this gesture. This appears to have bolstered their courage. Now, they continue to display a sense of arrogance, snubbing ECOWAS whenever they please.

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    The resolutions of last extra-ordinary summit of the Authority of Heads of Government and States were violated and vehemently rejected by all the ruling juntas of those countries. In the case of Niger, the junta, instead of releasing President Bazoum, removed his immunity in a bid to arraign him. All the political prisoners, human right defenders and journalists are still behind the bars. Meanwhile, there is no plan for a political transition programme.

    In Burkina Faso, the junta has since extended their tenure to six years.

    Meanwhile, terrorism and violent extremism have continued to escalate in these countries amidst silly propaganda.

    Now all eyes are on ECOWAS to see how it will handle this existential crisis. Whether ECOWAS will be answerable to military dictators and puppets of communists or not, only time will reveal.

    •Comrade Bishir Dauda Sabuwar,Unguwa Katsina.

  • On the quest for more states

    On the quest for more states

    Sir: Creation of states was a common feature of the past military governments in the country. Now the matter of state creation has come up again with members of the National Assembly debating the bill for the creation of some states. But at this critical juncture in Nigeria, and given the happenings in our polity, do we need more states? The indisputable fact is that most of Nigeria’s thirty-six states are economically unviable.

    Before the creation of states started in the 1960s, we had four regions. Regionalism, practised then, was a component of the parliamentary system of government that lasted between 1960 and 1966. At that time, all the regions in the country strove to outpace one another in diverse areas of national development.

    So while the Northern Region was known for groundnut pyramid, the Western Region excelled in cocoa production. And the Eastern Region thrived in palm produce. 

    In order to stop the secessionist bid of the Eastern Region, Yakubu Gowon split the country into a 12-state structure. His deft manoeuvring (creation of states) could be rationalised on the grounds that it was done to prevent the disintegration of Nigeria. But other successive military rulers, who ruled over our country, created more states supposedly to ignite our country’s development and ensure the inclusion of all tribes and ethnic groups in the governance of Nigeria at different strata of government.

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    Cultural and religious affinities, economic viability, landmass, and population were touted to be the factors when they created new states. But a closer scrutiny of the states has shown that our leaders created the states, whimsically. Or they might have created them to achieve their own ends and please their friends.

    For example, there is a town in Enugu State which have kith and kin in Kogi State. So it can be seen that the creation of states has divided a people who share the same ancestral roots instead of uniting them. And a great majority of the states in Nigeria are so financially emasculated that they depend on the centre, perpetually, for their survival and sustenance.

    The proponents of the creation of new states have argued that creating new states would bring government nearer to the people and ensure that there is balance or parity as to the number of states in the geopolitical zones. And they posit that the creation of new states will lead to the establishment of states’ bureaucracy, which will employ new workers, thereby reducing the number of unemployed people.

    But they gloss over the fact that the creation of states brings about the vexed matter of boundary adjustment and the sharing of jointly-owned properties. Matters that border on demarcation of boundaries and sharing of jointly owned properties by two states are not easily resolved. Often times, the matters would degenerate into violence and shedding of blood.

    Again, state creation will, no doubt, lead to increase in the number of National Assembly members, which will jerk up the cost of governance. At present, Nigerian lawmakers receive humongous wages when compared to their counterparts in other countries. Reducing the cost of governance is the clarion call of well-meaning Nigerians. Our leaders should execute deeds that will better the lot of the citizens instead of carrying out policy actions that will stall our national development.

    So the stark fact is that the proponents of creation of new states in Nigeria want fiefdoms or political empires over which they will preside.

    •Chiedu Uche Okoye,Uruowulu-Obosi, Anambra State.