The Nation Newspaper

Tag: Integration

  • Southeast states plan economic integration

    •Ohanaeze leadership endorsed •Umahi leads forum

    The Southeast Governors’ Forum yesterday agreed to work on an economic plan to integrate the region.

    The governors endorsed the executive of the socio-cultural organisation, Ohanaeze Ndigbo, led by Chief John Nnia Nwodo.

    The governors picked Ebonyi State Governor Dave Umahi to lead the forum.

    Umahi, who spoke on behalf of the governors, urged Ndigbo to support the present leadership of the socio-cultural organisation.

    Umahi, who was introduced by Abia State Governor Okezie Ikpeazu, said the governors met with the Ohanaeze leadership and the Deputy Senate President, Ike Ekweremadu, on issues affecting the welfare of the region.

    He said they agreed to work together on economy and security, particularly kidnapping.

    “We decided to have proper economic integration of the Southeast zone.

    “And in this regard we have instructed the economic commissioners  of the various states to come out with a blue print, “ Umahi said.

    Governors of the five southeast states were in attendance.

  • ‘Integration will enhance agric growth in Southwest’

    Development Agenda for Western Nigeria (DAWN) Director General Dipo Famakinwa has said regional integration will achieve agricultural growth.

    Famakinwa spoke at the weekend during the Southwest Agricultural Summit organised by the commission in Ibadan, the Oyo State capital, to discuss ways to develop agriculture in the region.

    He said many agricultural policies failed because they were not well connected and integrated to grow the regional economy.

    Famakinwa said: “So, it is important for us to do this, so that we can couple an atmosphere together that will create and inspire the abilities and actions of everybody and ensure that the business of agric begins to make sense in the Southwest.

    “Also, the agric entrepreneur should do what he is supposed to do to diversify the economy of the region and for government to also take optimal advantage of the sector, not only for revenue generation but also for employment creation or wealth creation and social security.

    He continued: “I think government should not be involved in the business of agric. Government should not go directly into the details of agric, rather government should be an enabler of the space for everybody, who wants to play within the sector to optimise their actions and activities.

    “It is not that government has not been doing enough but perhaps, there should be a process that should create synergy among what everybody is doing, so that we can have a regional economy powered by agric and we know what everybody is supposed to do.”

    He added that the mandate of DAWN is to create a system where all states in the Southwest will work together to grow agriculture and “other areas of our lives”.

    “We think that we take that mandate seriously and we believe that in fulfilling that mandate, we will be able to find a regional economy that benefits everybody, a regional social system that creates a kind of environment that we want and that is the mission and we are concerned about that mission”, he said.

    The Director General, Office of Economic Development and Partnership, Osun and Coordinator, Osun Rural Enterprise and Agriculture Products, Dr. Charles Akinola, said the summit was a welcome development to return the region to its old glory as most productive region in agriculture.

  • They call it regional integration

    A few days before he was killed, the then Premier of Northern Nigeria, Sir Ahmadu Bello, (1909-1966), Sardauna of Sokoto incorporated a company called the New Nigeria Development Company. The company, formed in 1946, was designed to be a conglomerate with spanning interests in agriculture, mining, capital market, telecommunications and education. The last we heard about the company was on August 26, 2013 when the chairman of the Northern Governors Forum at that time, Dr. Babangida Aliyu, of Niger state advised the company to sell 49% of its equity to members of the public.

    Dr. Aliyu explained that the poor performance of the company has necessitated the need for some of its investment such as the Arewa Hotels to be sold to the public. In his words” we should be concerned that after 56 years of operations the NNDC is performing epileptically”.

    It is sad that those who have managed the NNDC have not been fair to the legacy of Sir Ahmadu Bello.

    On May 27 1967,by virtue of states creation and transitional  provision decree 14 of 1967, General Yakubu Dan Yumma Gowon(81) created 12 states in the country—six from the old Northern region, three from the old Eastern region and three from the old Western region. By decree 39 of June 24 1967, he created the Interim Common Services Agency to take over the assets of the old Northern region and the Eastern States Interim Assets and Liabilities Agencies (ESIALA) to take over the assets of the three states of Rivers, East Central State and South Eastern state.

    On assuming power in July 1975, General Murtala Muhammed (1938-1976) disbanded the two agencies.

    What of the assets of the two agencies especially that of ESIALA with financially endowed institutions like the Eastern Region Marketing Board once headed by Sir LoiusOdumegwuOjukwu(1909-1966),Eastern Nigeria Finance Corporation, Eastern Nigeria Development Corporation, African Continental Bank,etc.

    Even till today questions are being asked to what happened to the abandoned properties implementation committee headed by Major David Alachenu Bonaventure Mark(68) set up by decree No 90 of 1978 following the abrogation of several edicts including that of South Eastern state edict No 10 of May 1970.

    There is another story elsewhere.

    On Tuesday January19 this year at Cocoa house, Ibadan, the governors of the owner states of Odua Investment Company met in Ibadan, the Oyo State capital. The current chairman of the Odua Investment Company, Dr. Olusegun Rahman Mimiko (61), of Ondo State announced that the Odua Investment Company has invited Lagos State to join the company as the sixth shareholder of the conglomerate. At present the company is owned by the governments of Oyo,Osun, Ogun,Ekiti and Ondo states. Twenty four hours after the announcement, the governor of Lagos State, AkinwunmiAmbode (53) accepted the invitation and declared his support for the growth of the company.

    The company recorded a revenue growth of N4.2 billion last year as against N4.5 billion in 2013. The spokesman for Dr. Mimiko, KayodeAkinmade disclosed that the company targets N20billion asset base by 2019. He disclosed further that the proposed payment of gross dividend of N167million at its annual general meeting was approved and paid to all the owner states.

    Odua Investment Company was incorporated in 1976 to take over the business interests of the former Western State following the creation of Oyo,Ogun and Ondo states out of the old Western State by General Murtala Ramat Muhammed (1938-1976) on February 3, 1976, who was assassinated 10 days after. The company held its first meeting on March 3, 1976 with Chief Christopher Sunday OlutundeAkande(1924-2005) as pioneer managing director.

    No doubt Odua Investment Company has been a huge success and kudos must be given for those who have kept the flag flying for that company from 1976 till date, including premiers, sole administrators, governors both civilian and military, in spite of their ideological and political differences. It has not been too rosy for the company though, for most of its subsidiaries are no more. A case in point is the National Bank which was acquired by the Western Region on April 1, 1961 and liquidated in 1992 due to mismanagement and corruption. A long time ago, National Bank was the envy of all banks in Nigeria with assets in London and in most parts of Nigeria. Acclaim must be given also to the man who established most of the companies and subsidiaries that are now grouped together as Odua Investment Company including free education, free health services, farm settlements, etc. I am referring to Chief Jeremiah Oyeniyi Obafemi Awolowo (1909-1987) who ruled the Western Region as Premier from October 1, 1954 to December 15 1959.

    Sadly, unlike the era of Chief Awolowo, state governments of the old western region cannot pay salaries of workers now not to talk of establishing industries and factories—a bad legacy of the present generation.

    The invitation to Lagos to join Odua Investment Company is well understood, for Lagos has been part of Western Region until October 1, 1954 when the adoption of the Oliver Lyttelton Constitution detached it from region making it a federal territory. It was the same constitution that detached Southern Cameroons from Eastern Region. Lagos has always been the centre of commerce from the days of T.F. Barker who first administered the city between 1956-1957 to Alhaji Muhammadu Ribadu, (1910-1965) who became Minister for Lagos affairs between 1957-1960 followed by the MutawallinKatsina, Alhaji Musa Yar’Adua who also served as Minister of Lagos between 1960-1966.

    Lagos State now generates N24.5billion monthly as internal revenue although some of us who live in Lagos are over taxed with businesses dying on daily basis and nothing much to show for the over taxation. Lagos State government is getting richer per day through over taxation while the people of the state are getting poorer, an urgent issuewhich must be addressed.  Ogun State is not doing badly too with N6billion every month. On May 25, the Lagos state government signed a memorandum of understanding to start the construction of the 38-kilometre Fourth Mainland Bridge. The bridge, which is expected to cost N844billion will be constructed under the Build, Own and Transfer concession of 40 years under the Public-Private-Partnership initiative of the Lagos State government. At present, Lagos is the sixth largest city in the world and has the smallest land mass in Africa. It is projected to be the third biggest conurbation in the world next year. At present, Lagos is West Africa’s most resourceful single trading market with a population of about 22million vibrant people. What the Odua governors are presently doing is in the words of Governor Rauf Adesoji Aregbesola (59) of Osun State, is, “inter-cooperation, friendship and interdependence”. Regional integration does not offend the spirit of the constitution and the spirit of federalism. If each of the regions should be allowed to develop on its own it will enhance unity, stability and better understanding.

    Regional integration enhances unity even as diverse as we are. And I don’t think it negates the demand for restructuring which has become inevitable. It should be encouraged.

     

    • Teniola, a former director at the Presidency, lives in Lagos.

  • Labour seeks regional integration to improve workers’ welfare

    The Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC) has called for regional cooperation among African countries to improve workers’ welfare.

    Its President, Comrade Ayuba Wabba made the call at the opening of the Organisation of Trade Unions of West Africa (OTUWA) special delegates’ conference in Abuja.

    He noted that past efforts at regional integration had always focused on removing barriers to free trade, increasing free movement of people, labour, goods, and capital across borders, reducing the possibility of regional armed conflict and adopting a cohesive regional stance on policy issues in the sub-region

    He emphasised the importance of OTUWA for regional unity and cooperation of workers in meeting the challenges of globalisation and the increasingly competitive markets.

    He said: “It is our belief that trade unions’ regional solidarity is a possible solution to the continent’s deep and prolonged labour, economic and social crisis, at a time when the working people are experiencing the ‘race to the bottom’, prevalent neo-liberal policies of deregulation and privatization of national economies, while the continuing decline of state-imposed barriers to inter-country flows is paving the way for increased regional trade.”

    Wabba assured that the NLC would continue to play a vital role in the sustenance of  OTUWA and other African regional trade union organisations for the benefits of the workers in the sub-region and Africa as a whole.

    ”We must reflect on the fact that West African countries today are weakly integrated nationally, regionally, and internationally. Ethnic and socio-political divisions are particularly dominant in the region. Our trade unions are small and labour centres significantly fragmented in many of our countries, and these are impediments to regional integration.”

    He said regionally, West African countries are divided by a wide range of institutional, legal, socio-economic and cultural barriers. At the international trade union level, for instance, he said West Africa is increasingly being marginalised.

  • Ecobank ‘champion’ of African economic integration

    The Ivorian Prime Minister Daniel Kablan Duncan has praised the Ecobank Group as “an indefatigable pioneer of African economic integration that continually champions economic development on the continent and in Côte d’ivoire particularly”.

    He spoke when Ecobank Côte d’Ivoire inaugurated its new head office building in Abidjan.

    Established in Côte d’Ivoire in 1988, Ecobank Côte d’Ivoire is one of the 36 subsidiaries of the pan-African banking group Ecobank, under the group’s parent and holding company Ecobank Transnational Incorporated (ETI). Ecobank Côte d’Ivoire finances 13 per cent of the Ivorian economy, having paid 14 billion CFA francs ($ 23.5 million) in taxes to the Ivorian Treasury in 2014.

    With 655 employees and 55 branches across the country, the Ivorian subsidiary has total assets of 850 billion CFA francs ($ 1.4 billion) and recorded profit before tax of 17 billion CFA francs ($ 28.7 million) in 2014.

    Group Chiref Executive Officer (CEO) Ecobank, Albert Essien, said: “Ecobank Côte d’Ivoire is a pearl in our network and we are proud of our subsidiary. It provides us with an important platform through which we can continue to contribute to the economic development of Côte d’Ivoire as we offer our Ivorian customers access to banking services and financial resources.”

    The Mayor of the host district of Plateau, Bendjo Akossi, emphasised that Ecobank Côte d’Ivoire’s new head office building was designed by African architects. The building’s main architect, Ibrahima Konare gave a presentation showing the various stages of construction and highlighted the avant-guard design of the building.

    Chairman, Ecobank Côte d’Ivoire, Pierre Magne, said the new head office was cost 12 billion CFA francs (USD 20.2 million), adding that it “showed the confidence of the Ecobank Group in the future of Côte d’Ivoire and its firm commitment to support the country in its journey to towards the 2020 development horizon”.

    Deputy Group CEO of Ecobank, Evelyne Tall Daouda, said: “This head office building illustrates the firm commitment of the Ecobank Group to consolidate its position in Côte d’Ivoire, to contribute to the development of the Ivorian economy, to take part in the creation of wealth and tangible employment for young people, and to provide banking  services for more and more Ivorians.”

    She also congratulated the Managing Director of Côte d’Ivoire, Charles Daboiko and his team on completing the building.

    Duncan cut the ribbon to declare the building open. He and guests  signed the guest book and took a tour of the building’s banking branch.

  • Path to economic integration in Africa, by Dangote

    Path to economic integration in Africa, by Dangote

    For economic integration to be a real-ity in Africa, barriers  among countries must be broken to allow for free flow of goods, services, and ensure political stability on the continent, Africa’s richest man and President, Dangote Industries Limited (DIL), Alhaji Aliko Dangote, has said.

    Speaking during the inauguration of the new 2.5 Million Metric Tonnes Per Annum (MMTPA) Dangote Cement plant in Mugher District in Ethiopia, A1lhaji Dangote said only 14 out of the 54 African countries, offer visa-free, or visa-on-arrival to citizens of all African countries.

    He listed the 14 countries to include Seychelles, Mali, Uganda, Cape Verde, Togo, Guinea Bissau, Mozambique, and Mauritania. Others are Rwanda, Burundi, Comoros, Madagascar, Somalia and Senegal.

    Dangote noted that on the other hand, American citizens visiting most African countries, get visa at the point of entry. He described this development as unhealthy for business, arguing that Africa must therefore, relax its visa policies to achieve true economic integration.

    While pointing out that Senegal has started the issuance of visas on arrival to all nationalities, he called on all African countries to follow suit.

    Dangote also stressed the need to make deliberate efforts to encourage Africans, not just foreigners alone, to invest in the continent.

    “For instance, Dangote Cement is currently investing in 16 African countries, with plans to invest in many more over the next few years. There are a number of other successful pan-African brands today such as MTN, Shoprite and Ecobank. We need to encourage this trend to see more investments in Africa by Africans,” he said.

    Dangote further noted that above all, there is the need to encourage the private sector to collaborate with governments across Africa to address the issue of infrastructure deficit, which has plagued the continent for decades.

  • ‘Let’s promote peace, national integration’

    They looked like military men in full regalia. They were properly dressed with cadres hanging from the shoulders to their chests. Most were in their late 50s and 60s; some armed with sword tightly fitted to complement their rank; either as a commanding officer or to perfect the amazing outfit. Obviously, from all indications, they are not military men but members of Knight of St. John.

    The day was set aside to celebrate emergence of the first Nigerian and African to be elected into the position of the World Supreme Council of the ancient Christian organisation held at the Supreme Convention in Columbus, Ohio. Members of the knighthood converged on Our Lady Queen of Nigeria Pro-Cathedral Abuja to celebrate one of theirs, Lt. Gen. Dan Anaebo who was unanimously elected into the new position last week as second Vice-President of Knights of St. John International, New York.

    Anaebo, who was former member Board of Trustees (BoT), advanced higher as he became the first Nigerian to attain the rank of Lieutenant-General in the Catholic Order.

    For many, the Christian group is just a pack of old men in knighthood uniform but for those who understand their purpose, Knights are regarded as ‘Soldiers of Christ’. They are a convergence of professionals in various fields, including architecture, ex-military red necks, doctors, engineers and media practitioners, among others.

    They are known for their commitment to spreading the Gospel, vigorously helping the needy, fostering growth and protection of the church, especially the Catholic family.

    Following the end of the Civil War, there was critical need for physical and spiritual healing. This led to the merger of Christian organisations, including the Knights of St. George, the Knights of St Paul, the Knights of St. Louis and the Knights of St. John to form a greater society of Knights in 1879.

    They met in Baltimore, Maryland and formed themselves into the Roman Catholic Union of the Knights of St. John, later shortened to the Knights of St. John. According to reports, the Order was officially incorporated in the State of New York on May 6, 1886. They thereafter worked to care for spiritual, social and physical needs of their members and neighbours. In the pattern of the Knights of the Crusade, they cared for the victims of the war by establishing a Widows’ and Orphans’ Funds.

    The Order continued to grow and expand into Canada, Panama, Ghana, Nigeria, Togo, Liberia, Sierra Leone; Trinidad and Tobago and recently into England. In 1992, the name of the Order was officially changed to the Knights of St. John International (KSJI) to reflect the global nature of the Order.

    During the KSJI’s last convention, Ohio State Governor, John R. Kasich, said in his address that since 1879 when the KSJI headquarters came to the United States, “the Knights have diligently sought to care for the spiritual, social and physical needs of members and neighbours. Your dedication to your communities is remarkable, and you should be proud of the impact you have made. We commend your dedication to religious action, education, charitable benevolence, fraternalism, athleticism, patriotism and community. Your dedication to the mission of KSJI has

    made our world a better place.”

    At the thanksgiving Mass held in honour of Anaebo at the Pro-Cathedral, he attributed his success to commitments to preaching messages of peace in churches and everywhere he goes.

    Within the past 24 years, Okekenta has been serving as an officer of the Order in many capacities, not limited to Parish, Archdiocesan and National levels. He has been a member of the Supreme Council since 2003.

    Anaebo said he felt humbled to be elected into the position. According to him, it was not as a result of being the best of all but solely the grace of God on his life. He expressed concerns on the state of the nation, especially on insecurity and its peaceful co-existence.

    Though several stakeholders had come up with various approaches towards ending the uprising, he said the security situation in the country could only be solved through a collective approach by every individual. He added that it, however, became necessary to avoid split of the nation’s territorial jurisdiction.

    “Today, security is a challenge but I believe with collective efforts, God will grant the grace to seek peace and promote national integration of our country,” Anaebo maintained.

    The Archbishop of Abuja, Revd John Onaiyekan described Anaebo’s promotion as opportunity to promote spiritual interest in the church.

    According to Onaiyekan, Anaebo is the first Nigerian and African to be elected into such position. He expressed optimism the hierarchy would have a great positive impact on the growth and development of KSJI.

    Colleagues of the celebrator, shortly after the thanksgiving Mass, held a special march past (parade) for Anaebo. It was a display of almost a perfect demonstration joined by their female counterparts known as Ladies Auxiliary.

    Other elected officers of the Supreme Council were Supreme President-General, Dale Gossiaux, First Vice-President-Lieutenant General, Ton Deluca, Supreme Secretary/Adjutant-General- Lieutenant General Ton Zdanowicz and Treasurer- Lieutenant General, Terry Mc Cann.

    Others were Trustees –Major-Generals Martin Bela and Dennis Adjei, (Justice of

    Ghana’s Court of Appeal) and Inspector-General –Major-General James Gibbon. They have all been installed and have commenced work.

  • ‘Southwest integration for development not politics’

    Ekiti State Commissioner for Integration and Intergovernmental Affairs, Mr. Funminiyi Afuye, has said the Southwest integration was not conceived to play politics but to boost the development of the geo-political zone.

    Featuring on a Nigerian Television Authority (NTA) Ado-Ekiti Current Affairs programme: In the saddle, Afuye said the country witnessed more developments when operating a regional system.

    The commissioner acknowledged the level of the development experienced in the Southwest under the leadership of the late Chief Obafemi Awolowo. He said the achievements of leaders of the other regions were also phenomenal.

    He said in view of the historical antecedents, regional arrangement was more appropriate in achieving good governance for the qualitative development of the country.

    Afuye highlighted areas of cooperation of the Southwest states under the regional integration arrangement to include education, road network, industrialisation and electric power supply.

    On the peer review mechanism of the regional integration, the commissioner said other states in the Southwest had replicated the Ekiti State Social Security Scheme, while Ekiti had also copied some programmes from other states.

  • Mimiko and South-west economic integration

    Prof Jide Osuntokun’s admonition to Dr. Olusegun Mimiko, governor of Ondo State to eschew from the politics of the South-west Regional Economic Integration (SREI) and join his colleagues in jointly developing the region’s economy through SREI in his Thursday, August 1, column shows how concerned the respected educationist must be about the well-being of this great idea. In the column titled “Appeal to Mimiko on S/West Economic Integration” the former ambassador, who is a repository of the nation’s history, told the governor, in case he was not aware, and those of us who have no idea, that the South-west regional economic integration has a long history. Professor Osuntokun said that “…stretching from Ilupeju, Mushin to some parts of Bayelsa, and including the present five states controlled by the ACN, Ondo State…Edo state…and Delta…, it enjoyed planned development arising from the tremendous agricultural resources and the vibrancy of its people…,” among other things.

    Professor Osuntokun was apparently worried, and rightly so, and as any discerning person of Yoruba extraction should be, that the South-west regional economic integration is being threatened by what appears to be a deliberate exclusion of Ondo State by its chief of state. The regional economic integration is probably the single most important, most effective economic initiative capable of rapidly transforming the socio-economic wel-lbeing of the people and leap frog the region into modernity as we know it. It is an initiative whose time is well overdue especially in light of the current global economic trend in which the much bandied mantra of the world as one global village is only in Information and Communication Technology (ICT) and not much on trade.

    As ICT is forcefully opening and expanding the business space among nations, these nations, especially the developed ones, paradoxically, are also ganging up and closing their markets against those they consider outsiders for more competitive advantage. And this is why we have clusters of nations in relative close proximity with each other with such names as the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA), the European Union (EU); BRICS comprising Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa, Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) even though the latter do more talking than trading as there’s hardly anything to trade with among these underdeveloped countries.

    Although Mimiko said on several occasions in the run up to his re-election that he doesn’t have to be in the same political party with his brother governors to embrace the region’s economic integration, which in theory, may be right. The opposition political parties even sort of agreed with him then. But I disagree. Aside from the fierce and bitter electoral battle which may have dampened his enthusiasm for the regional economic integration agenda, as a brutally calculating, Machiavellian political operative, the personal political road Mimiko has chosen to travel and his intended political destination makes it counter-intuitive, if not counterproductive for him to embrace the economic integration agenda. Mimiko’s political rivals in the region will be better served if they listen to what he is NOT saying rather than what he says.

    Mimiko’s political predilection has no room for regional economic integration agenda, it seems to me. He cares nothing about the progressive political party, even though “progressivism” is his self-described political ideology. Neither does he care that much for the conservative political philosophy that the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) represents. The real political interest of the Ondo chief of state is to grow and nurture his Labour Party to where it can have some traction in some states in the federation, most especially in the South-west, where this party can be leveraged with whoever happens to be in control at the centre in order to advance his personal political relevance and opportunity. The other leg of this mid- to long-term goal is for his Labour Party to act as a bulwark against the progressives in the South-west, which ultimately will lead to the first end goal of gaining more political relevance and opportunity, and for his party to be seen, at least in the South-west as the alternative ‘progressive’ party just in case the progressives drop the ball. In an environment where political parties are built around personality and/or a handful of people because the country’s politicians are still largely at the very rudimentary stage of political, if not human evolution, it should be clear why Mimiko should prevaricate on the economic integration agenda.

    Mimiko must also dilly-dally on this all-important regional economic initiative because a coterie of his current political associates and bedfellows would be absolutely hell-bent against this idea, not because it lacks merit, but because of the collective political vendetta they have against a former National Leader of the party that controls the South-west except Ondo, who, they believe, will take the credit for the success of the economic integration when they’re currently too busy trying to cut him down to size. He cannot afford to invite the ire of these people and that of Jonathan Gullible whose bidding in the South-west he now must do.

    There is no doubt that the road to the regional economic integration destination would be bumpier and therefore more strenuous if any of the component part of the South-west region is not on board the integration boat, most particularly Ondo State because of its unique place in this integration matrix. Ondo is relatively more strategically positioned because of its contiguity to all the South-west states except Oyo. It shares boundaries with Edo and Kogi states to the east and north respectively. Its coastline is almost a stone throw to Lagos, the economic nerve centre of the nation, a coastline that also extends to the South-south geo-political region. More importantly, the state is the second richest after Lagos in the South-west. Its financial wherewithal can be brought to bear and effectively utilized in bankrolling some projects that are very critical to the economic integration agenda, which must of necessity, be situated in the state for the overall benefit of the South-west region and its people.

    Rather than the South-west governors and Dipo Famakinwa’s commission, which is saddled with actualizing the regional economic integration agenda waiting for the Ondo State governor to change his mind and embrace this important initiative, they should just march on and set aside the state’s own piece of the puzzle for now until, hopefully, the Supreme Court decides in their favour in the on-going electoral litigation to reclaim Akeredolu’s mandate. What is even more important is for the progressives to keep the South-west under their political control into the foreseeable future. An initiative of this magnitude would need about a couple of decades of uninterrupted political control to grow into full maturity otherwise it would be quickly jettisoned if another party takes control of the region. The only way Ondo can participate in this initiative is for the progressives to gain political control of the state, otherwise, sitting around and waiting for Mimiko to do the needful for posterity by embracing this agenda would be like Waiting for Godot.

     

    • Odere is a media practitioner. He can be reached at femiodere@gmail.com.

     

  • Southwest regional integration commendable, says Maduekwe

    Southwest regional integration commendable, says Maduekwe

    Nigeria’s Ambassador to Canada, Ojo Maduekwe, has hailed the efforts of governors in the Southwest at fostering regional integration and development in the area.

    He said the development was compatible with the ideals of federalism and should, therefore, be encouraged.

    Maduekwe spoke at the launch of the Canada chapter of Afenifere Renewal Group (ARG-Canada).

    The event also featured the maiden edition of the Southwest Investment Conference of ARG-Canada.

    The organisers – Dr Lateef Adewoye, Dr A. G. Ahmed, Dr Sola Womiloju, Ezekiel Fasheyiku and Olanrewaju Rasheed – led by the Coordinator of ARG-Canada, Mr. Bayo Aregbesola, a Manager at Natural Resources, Canada, in assembling a cast of distinguished speakers and guests.

    The theme of the event was: Investment Opportunities in Southwestern States of Nigeria.

    Among the distinguished speakers at the conference were Nigerian High Commissioner to Canada, Ojo Maduekwe; Ekiti State House of Assembly Speaker Albert Adewale Omirin, who represented Governor Kayode Fayemi; Mr Ayo Afolabi, ARG National Secretary-General, who represented Osun State Governor Rauf Aregbesole;, Mr Kunle Famoriyo, ARG National Publicity Secretary; Mr Tokunbo Ajasin, who represented ARG National; and Prof Nour El Kadri of Ottawa University, who represented Jim Karygiannis of the Canadian Parliament.

    The ceremony was anchored by Penguin Prize for African Writing laureate, Prof Pius Adesanmi of Carleton University. Also present were representatives of Egbe Isokan Yoruba, Ottawa; Ekiti Kete in Canada; Nigerian Professional Business Network, Ottawa and ARG-USA.

    Maduekwe listed the benefits of regional economic integration, being pursued by Southwest state governments on the basis of DAWN – Development Agenda for Western Nigeria.