The Nation Newspaper

Tag: marginalisation

  • ‘North’s cry of marginalisation unfounded’

    Niger Delta activist and former Secretary General of Ijaw Youths Council (IYC), Mr. Udengs Eradiri, in this interview with reporters said the North’s allegations that they are currently marginalised was baseless. Excerpts

    Former Minister of the Federal Capital Territory, Mallam Nasir el-Rufai, recently accused President Goodluck Jonathan of playing ethnic and religious politics. What is your take on that?

    The claim by Mallam Nasir el-Rufai that the North is marginalised is unfounded because most of the key agencies and parastatals of the Federal Government are headed by northerners: is it the Customs, Immigration, Central Bank or the Police? Most of the main agencies of government are manned by northerners. Also, 95 per cent of oil blocs in this country are owned by northerners. How would you describe that as marginalisation of the North? If we say there is federal character; how come that a few individuals from one ethnic group own more than 95 percent of oil blocs?

    They have always tried to frustrate the efforts of the Jonathan administration from day one, so I am not surprised. But I am challenging Nigerians to insist that Jonathan should be the oldest president that we would have henceforth. After Jonathan, we cannot go back to someone who is over 70 years.

    We see Jonathan as a young president and if there are lapses on his side, the youths who are majority of the electorate in this country should rise and tailor him to the right track because there is no perfect being.

    The trend across the world is that young people are taking over, why should ours’ be different? Don’t we have intelligent young men and women who can lead this nation out of the woods? These people parading themselves today should not fail to realise that we have not forgotten that they are responsible for the precarious situation that we have found ourselves in.

    When you talk about looting of the treasury, Jonathan administration has made claims to doing its best in the fight against corruption. How would you assess the administration in that sector?

    You should realise that it takes time to achieve result and there are steps that a true democratic government cannot take. You don’t expect a government that respects the rule of law to be tying people on the stakes like the military junta. Besides that, I ask the question: Are we ready for change? How can we swallow western practices hook, line and sinker? Can’t we adopt the Chinese model which is anchored on their culture? Like I have always said, a true federal system is the only way forward for this country. The process for Nigerian foundation is and until we correct that anomaly, we will continue to see indices from international organisations reminding us of the level of poverty and corruption in Nigeria.

    How do we correct the faulty foundation when the National Assembly has refused calls for a national conference, insisting that it is constitutionally empowered to amend the constitution?

    For me, the ethnic nationalities should refocus their agitation towards a unified agitation for the convocation of a sovereign national conference. If Nigerians rise and insist on a national conference, the members of the National Assembly cannot stop it. What credibility do they have to say no to that request, a group of people who will sit down and pass a bill for my three-year old daughter to be married by a 70 year old man? They have really lost credibility and I don’t see them being in a position to decide whether we should have a sovereign national conference or not.

    We should realise that power is not given on a platter of gold. We should stop window-dressing the issue as we are doing now. Also, we should beware of those who use the agitation to gain recognition. We have seen what happened in other parts of the world where the people came out to demand for their right, but in Nigeria, it is a different thing. For now, we are not ready; may be when the suffering gets worse, we may rise to demand for our right.

    What are the chances of the President in the 2015 elections?

    He stands a better chance than any other candidate that would be contesting the presidency because we are talking about achievements. Also, thanks to God that Nigerians are becoming more politically enlightened. He recently presented the scorecard of his first two years and asked for more support for the last lap of his first tenure; that’s how it should be. Don’t forget that we are coming from a background of decayed infrastructure, which those who are parading themselves as saints at the moment were responsible for.

    Don’t forget that Jonathan is building Almajiri schools in the North, so that those kid-beggars will not continue to depend on the so-called past leaders for survival. Northern youths have started questioning the positions of their so-called leaders and the credit must go to Jonathan. Nobody wants to beg and see his children beg in the future.

  • ‘Jonathan should tackle marginalisation’

    President Goodluck Jonathan has been urged to redress the imbalance in the oil block allocations to erase the feeling of ethnic marginalisation and domination.

    A political scientist, Prof. Opeyemi Ola, said that the skewed allocation should be investigated further by the National Assembly, adding that other stakeholders, including the labour, bar association and civil society groups, should speak out against the discrimination and injustice.

    Ola, a Second Republic member of the House of Representatives, said the “outrageous, provocative and devastating” revelations by the National Assembly have vindicated the agitations by militants that the oil-producing states have been short-changed by the Federal Government for too long.

    He hailed the legislature for enlisting on the side of equity and fairness, urging the progressive wing of the National Assembly to ensure that the matter is not swept under the carpet.

    Ola enjoined the federal government to seize the oil blocks from those who have possessed them through foul means, adding that they should be re-allocated in accordance with due process.

    “This is the revelations of all revelations. It has revealed the inequality between the North and the South. Politics is the science of allocation of values and sharing of the commonwealth. Equity should prevail. Why should the ownership of the allocation of the oil situated in the South be entirely in the North where there is no oil well? Those who did it do not mean well for Nigeria. This cannot augur well for national integration”.

    The former university don urged the National Assembly to resist pressures from powerful quarters in the course of investigating the skewed allocation. He queried: “Who did the allocation? The President or NNPC? Who owns these oil blocks? How much wealth have they made from this imbalanced allocation? Have they used them to develop the economy, the manufacturing sector? How many youths have they employed?”

  • ‘Jonathan should tackle marginalisation’

    ‘Jonathan should tackle marginalisation’

    President Goodluck Jonathan has been urged to redress the imbalance in the oil block allocations to erase the feeling of ethnic marginalisation and domination.

    A political scientist, Prof. Opeyemi Ola, said that the skewed allocation should be investigated further by the National Assembly, adding that other stakeholders, including the labour, bar association and civil society groups, should speak out against the discrimination and injustice.

    Ola, a Second Republic member of the House of Representatives, said the “outrageous, provocative and devastating” revelations by the National Assembly have vindicated the agitations by militants that the oil-producing states have been short-changed by the Federal Government for too long.

    He hailed the legislature for enlisting on the side of equity and fairness, urging the progressive wing of the National Assembly to ensure that the matter is not swept under the carpet.

    Ola enjoined the federal government to seize the oil blocks from those who have possessed them through foul means, adding that they should be re-allocated in accordance with due process.

    “This is the revelations of all revelations. It has revealed the inequality between the North and the South. Politics is the science of allocation of values and sharing of the commonwealth. Equity should prevail. Why should the ownership of the allocation of the oil situated in the South be entirely in the North where there is no oil well? Those who did it do not mean well for Nigeria. This cannot augur well for national integration”.

    The former university don urged the National Assembly to resist pressures from powerful quarters in the course of investigating the skewed allocation. He queried: “Who did the allocation? The President or NNPC? Who owns these oil blocks? How much wealth have they made from this imbalanced allocation? Have they used them to develop the economy, the manufacturing sector? How many youths have they employed?”

     

  • Poverty of the marginalisation discourse

    Poverty of the marginalisation discourse

    There are two aspects to the issue of the alleged marginalisation of the Yoruba in the country’s contemporary political economy by the President Goodluck Jonathan administration – a matter of topical discourse in recent times. First is that raised by the reform-minded Afenifere Renewal Group (ARG) and has to do with the perceived persecution or bias against the South-West states in recruitment into different arms of the public service including the alleged mass retrenchment of officers from the region in certain ministries, departments and agencies of the Federal Government. This perceived marginalisation is of an essentially purely constitutional and legal nature as it revolves around the Federal Character principle provided for in the constitution. The imperative of reflecting the country’s federal character in appointments and recruitment into public agencies is meant to meet the criteria of fairness and balance in an ethno-culturally plural polity like ours without negating the critical factor of merit. To demonstrate this allegation of marginalisation of the South West, the ARG cited the example of 792 cadet officers recently recruited for training at the Customs Training College, Kano, with 263 from the North West, 168 from the North Central, 157 from the North East, 91 from the South-South, 68 from the South East and 45 from the South West. It would, of course, be important to know the total number of applicants from the various geo-political zones involved in this particular exercise as well as the criteria for recruitment before an objective and informed conclusion can be reached. There will also be the need for more detailed information on the recruitment, elevation and attrition statistics across a wider cross section of the service for a scientifically rigorous position to be taken. However, this form of marginalisation depicted by the ARG can be challenged legally as it involves constitutional issues and the Federal Character Commission can be taken to task on the discharge of its responsibilities. In the same vein, anyone unjustly dismissed from the public service simply for reasons of alleged ‘ethnic cleansing’ can seek legal redress.

    However, the second form of marginalisation complained of by the Yoruba Unity Forum (YUF) is largely political and far more controversial. The YUF is largely made up of progressive politicians of the older generation, mostly identified with the late Chief Obafemi Awolowo’s political thought and practice. They include respected elder statesmen such as Chief Reuben Fasoranti, Chief Ayo Adebanjo and Chief Olu Falae. Speaking on behalf of the group recently, Chief Olu Falae lamented that the pattern of political appointments by the Jonathan administration “is an attempt to excise the zone out of the federation.” He specifically contended that the interest of the South West had been negatively affected by the “side-tracking” of the Yoruba from such key positions as President, Vice-President, Senate President, Speaker of the House of Representatives, Deputy Speaker of the House, Acting President, Court of Appeal, Secretary to the Government of the Federation, Chief of Staff to the President, Office of the National Security Adviser and the Head of Service of the Federation. I personally do not see what the millions of ordinary people in Yoruba land are missing because a member of their ethnic group is in none of these so-called key positions to “eat” on their behalf. After all, there are several illustrious Yoruba indigenes in the Federal Executive Council even if some would complain they are not in the so-called ‘juicy’ ministries (whatever that means).

    It is indeed not difficult to demonstrate the poverty of the kind of marginalisation discourse pursued by the YUF and Chief Olu Falae. A Yoruba man occupied the most important office in the land between 1999 and 2007. Did that improve the fortunes of Yoruba land? Did it reduce the level of unemployment and abject poverty in the region? Did it help in upgrading infrastructure? Despite Obasanjo’s dismal first term performance, the ‘progressive’ leaders of the region urged support for him in 2003 simply because he “is our son”. Of course, the wily soldier-farmer exploited the opportunity to rout the opposition and install PDP ‘mainstream’ governors in five of the six South West states excluding Lagos. The fortunes of the region continued to nosedive abysmally until the progressive resurgence that has resulted in the current developmental renaissance across the ACN states. The poverty-stricken state of most of the north today, despite the dominance of power at the centre of the region’s power elite for most of our post-independence history, makes nonsense of the notion that having your kinsmen occupying ‘juicy positions’ is a guarantee of development. It is equally as fallacious to contend that because Jonathan, an Ijaw man, is President today, means that the Niger Delta is any less marginalised than before he got into office.

    The truth of the matter is that the vast majority of Nigerians, irrespective of ethno-regional origins or religious faith, will continue to be marginalised from prosperity, excellent health care, qualitative and affordable education, effective security, first class infrastructure and jobs for as long as we maintain this monstrous structure that enables a few parasitic and ravenous elite to congregate at the centre through “key appointments” to engage in a feeding orgy ostensibly on behalf of “their people”. I identify fully with the view that we must substantially restructure this deformed federation to ensure substantial decentralisation of powers, responsibilities and resources to the lower levels of government to stimulate development from bottom up and not the other way round. Chief Falae argues that the South West supported Jonathan massively in the 2011 elections and that the President “got the endorsement of many Yoruba progressives, especially the leadership of the Yoruba Unity Forum”. Now, was this support given to Jonathan because the Yoruba voters wanted their kinsmen given “key appointments” or because they believed Jonathan could offer the nation effective and transformational leadership? Similarly, the argument has been made that Yoruba activists were prominent in the Save Nigeria Group (SNG) that insisted that Jonathan assume office as President in accordance with the constitution following the late President Jonathan’s incapacitation. Again, was this advocacy that the constitution should be adhered to borne out of principle or to secure future appointment favours?

    I see absolutely no reason why a Mrs.Mulikat Adeola-Akande should be preferable as Speaker of the House to an Aminu Tambuwal. All that matters is that the dynamics of the political process was allowed to play itself out in accordance with the constitution and stipulated rules. It does not matter one bit to the welfare of the vast majority of the people in the South West if a Yoruba is Senate President, Chief Justice of Nigeria, Head of Service or any of those other positions. What matters is that all positions be filled on merit, fair play and due process. In any case all this distracting marginalisation discourse does little credit to the amazing competitive developmental strides being undertaken today across the South-West including Edo State. That matters more to me than some parasitic “come and eat” appointments at the centre. Let us end with the following extract from a message sent to the Western Regional Conference of the Action Group in Ibadan on 6th July, 1963, by Chief Obafemi Awolowo who said “It has been suggested with unabashed falsity, that the Yorubas are being relegated to the background in the affairs of the Federal Government, partly because the Yorubas are not united, and partly because the Action Group has not participated in the affairs of the Federal Government like the NCNC and NPC…whilst the Action Group does not participate in the Federal Government since January 1960, some outstanding Yorubas have been in the Council of Ministers since the last Federal elections…It must be recalled that the Action Group did participate in the Federal Government from 1957 to 1959; and it would be interesting to know what the Yorubas gained especially because of this participation”.

  • Southwest’s battle against marginalisation

    Southwest’s battle against marginalisation

    With facts and figures, Yoruba elders have cried out over the marginalisation of the Southwest. But while a section wants this anomaly rectified immediately with apology to the people, another is canvassing true federalism as the panacea to all forms of marginalisation in the country. Augustine Avwode and Jeremiah Oke report.

    Should the Yoruba nation waste precious time lament Sing alleged marginalisation in the scheme of things at the federal level or should it push for the realisation of true federalism at all cost?

    This was the poser raised by the former Publicity Secretary of the Afenifere Renewal Group (ARG), Yinka Odumakin, when The Nation sought his reaction to the allegations of marginalization of the Southwest in national politics.

    His position differs significantly from the views of some Yoruba elders. In Odumakin’s opinion, it is no use crying marginalisation, but working assiduously to ensure that the Southwest, with its high level of intelligentsia, does not depend on the centre before the region moves ahead in every aspect of development.

    “We are not interested in talking about marginalisation; we are particular about true federalism,” he said.

    Odumakin argued that, for eight years, the zone had one of its own in the number one seat, but the former President Olusegun Obasanjo failed to lift the region. “Why should we be talking about appointments at the centre, after all we had a President of Yoruba extraction for eight years, what did he do for the Yoruba? It is not about who is there; it is having the structure that will foster unfettered development. So, forget about who is there. What is important is the system that will allow us to function and direct our affairs the way we want it”, he said.

    Odumakin maintained that Nigerians, from all the zones, should make the call for true federalism their watchword.

    “What we should be talking about, irrespective of the zone we are from, is how Nigeria can practice true federal system that will allow each and every section or unit to direct its own affairs. That has always been the position of the Yoruba; they don’t want to lord it over anybody, neither do they want anybody to treat them like slaves in their own country and land”.

    For him, good leadership that will be able to harness the full potential of the people should dominate discourse and not allegations of marginalization. “It will interest you to know that Papa Awolowo was able to make the Western Region a beacon in the whole of Africa when he was not at the centre. Or was he at the centre?” he queried.

    Afenifere chieftain Chief Ayo Adebanjo is worried by the loss of a sense of belonging by the Yoruba. He told The Nation that the President should as a matter of urgency rectify the situation as the figures reeled out by the Yoruba leaders are in black and white. He said that, if they are not true, and anybody feels they are not correct, such a person should come up with what he thinks is the true position of things. But once anybody cannot fault those figure, then, the government should immediately rectify the situation just as it should apologize to the Yoruba race.

    “This is not a matter for logic or semantic. The figures are in black and white, if anybody feels that they are not correct, let him bring his own figures. But once they are found to be incontrovertible, President Jonathan should immediately set about rectifying the situation and apologise to the Yoruba”.

    Recently, some Yoruba leaders under the aegis of the Yoruba Unity Forum (YUF), met in Ibadan, the Oyo State capital. The meeting reviewed the state of the Yoruba nation as the second largest ethnic group in Nigeria.

    Their verdict was damning. With verifiable proofs, the most sophisticated race in the country has been marginalised. The marginalisation, they alleged, is noticeable in the distribution of appointments into the ‘Ministries, Departments and Agencies (MDAs)’ of the Federal Government.

    The convener of the meeting at the Premier Hotel, Ibadan, Bishop Bolanle Gbonigi, the retired Anglican Bishop of Akure, regretted that the marginalisation of the region in the distribution of political positions was an attempt to relegate it to the background in the scheme of things. “Seeing what is happening now is very painful, for someone of my age”, he lamented.

    This is not the first time the region will be complaining about the marginalization of its people. They complained shortly after the inauguration of the Seventh National Assembly when it lost the Speakership of the House of Representatives. The position had been zoned to the region by the leadership of the peoples Democratic Party (PDP). Hon. Mulikat Akande-Adeola, who was penciled down by the party’s leadership, lost it to another lawmaker from the Northwest.

    The President and the party did not see the need to enforce its position; nor were they able to do anything to remedy the loss. With the loss of the number four position, the region was left in the cold. The first six top political offices in the country are held by Nigerians from outside the Southwest. These positions are the President, Vice President, Senate President, Speaker of the House of Representatives, Deputy Senate President, and Deputy Speaker of the House of Representatives.

    Apart from Adebanjo, other prominent Yoruba sons feel the alleged marginalization should be rectified by the Jonathan Administration. The founder of the Oodua Peoples Congress (OPC), Dr Fredrick Fasheun, told The Nation that the development is dangerous for the country, given the place of the ethnic group in the country. He described the marginalisation as another form of social injustice.

    He recalled that he had on some occasions discussed the issue with the President. But he lamented that, up till now, nothing has been done to correct the situation.

    “The marginalization of the Yoruba race is very dangerous for the county because of the position of the region in the country. Besides, we cannot accept to go back far beyond what we have had in the past. It is not a sign of progress and we are not the type of people that rejoice and clap when no progress is being made.

    “I have spoken to the President on the issue on several occasions and he promised to look into it, but unfortunately, Yoruba people are more and more marginalised. For the stability of this country, sidelining the Yoruba people in the scheme of things could be very dangerous. It is expected of the government of the day to make the country easy for the people to live in with the full sense of belonging, regardless of the area or the part of the country they represent or come from. I have been clamoring for this for long even in my book. This should be looked into and I think the time to do that is now. It should not be postponed”, he said.

    Another politician from the zone, Dr. Olapade Agoro, aligned with Fasehun. He described it as a bad omen for a region not to have any body in the first 12 political offices in a country, despite its rating as a highly educated, and sophisticated ethnic group. He called it a diabolical plot to ‘silence’ the ethnic group by those bent on disloging them from both political and economic relevance.

    “If those who are in power could have their way, they would have silenced the Yoruba form taken part in every sector. But it is bad that, in almost all the sectors, Yoruba is nowhere to be found.

    Agoro hilariously referred to the just concluded African Cup of Nations tournament in South Africa as an apt example of the fear of the zone.

    “Also, if you look at it from the just concluded African Cup of Nations, no Yoruba was among the Super Eagles that represented the nation. We called them supper eagles of the Igbo because no Yoruba was among them. Though, we have one Hausa among them, but where is the Yoruba nation? We may laugh at this, but it is one of those things. Does that mean that we don’t have any Yoruba man who can play football? We all still remember when they first won the cup in 1980. Look at that squad; it was representative of all the major groups in this country”.

    Agoro also blamed former President Olusegun for not doing anything to better the lot of the people. He said that the race has been relegated to the background.

    “Yoruba have been relegated from the scheme of things. This is not the first time the Yoruba are being marginalized. During the Obasanjo Administration, he did the same thing. Why are we now making a noise? It is so obvious that we are not wanted and we are now talking about it.

    He singled out former Lagos State governor and national leader of the Action Congress of Nigeria (ACN), Senator Bola Tinubu, for turnig the political fortune of the Yoruba around.

    “If not for the struggle of Asiwaju Tinubu, Yoruba would have been forgotten. We would not have been found, even in the Southwest’s political affairs. Economically, Yoruba are not there; the Igbo dominate Abuja today. So, we have to revisit the national question. If the Yoruba are not wanted in the country again, let them tell us. We are not just marginalized, but we are kicked about. I pray it should not be worse for the race in the future”, he said.

    Apart from the President, Vice President, Senate President, Speaker of House of Representatives, Deputy Senate President, and Deputy Speaker, Yoruba has also lost out in other positions, including those of the Acting President of the Court of Appeal, Secretary to the Government of Federation, Chief of Staff to the President, National Security Adviser, and the Head of Service of the Federation.

    Besides, Gbonigi pointed out that only three out of the 36 principal economic and financial agencies, including key industries, departments and agencies are headed by Yoruba. In the judiciary and anti-corruption agencies, none of the 11 agencies is headed by Yoruba. The positions include; Chief Justice of Federation, Judicial Service Commission, National Judicial Council, Attorney-General of the Federation, National Drug Law Enforcement Agencies, (NDLEA) and the Economic and Financial Crime Commission (EFCC).

    Also, Yoruba is represented only in two of the 17 education management agencies. It has a representative one of the 10 security agencies and one of the four bureaucracy agencies. But it has no place in the three broadcasting agencies and three election agencies .

    Adebanjo warned that this state of affairs could generate nasty thoughts among the marginalised. He said the race is irked by the neglect, although the race accounts for 22 per cent of the total population of the country.

    The question is: will the trend be reversed soon, or will it persist?

  • Evidence of further marginalisation of core Southwest

    Evidence of further marginalisation of core Southwest

    As is often the case when there are matters of great moment, this column is being yielded today to Chief S.B Falegan, Economist and Banker, former CBN Director of Research, and governor Kayode Fayemi’s deliberate pick for the Chairmanship of the Ekiti State Sure-P Committee, who takes a deep and dispassionate look at other areas of South-West marginalisation by the Jonathan administration. Happy reading.

    I hope and believe those who are speaking about the marginalisation of southwest Nigeria are not limiting their comments to human capital alone, but should look also at structural capital especially infrastructural development. The recent announcement by the Federal Government to construct 10 new rail lines as appeared in PUNCH of Monday December 24 2012 page 26 (business and economy) further confirms and reinforces the discrimination by the Federal Government against the Southwest of Nigeria especially the Core south west of Ondo, Ekiti, Osun and Oyo States. The information as contained in page 26 of that paper is partly reproduced below

    The Federal Government has announced plans to construct 10 new rail lines to cover other parts of the country currently not linked by rail. The Minister of Transport, Senator Idris Umar, said on Friday that already feasibility studies had commenced on seven of the proposed railway lines. Umar, who spoke in Lagos at the inauguration of the Lagos-Kano train service and resumption of fuel haulage by train from Lagos to Offa, said that the feasibility studies on three other planned rail line would be done in 2013 . He gave the total distance of the areas to be covered by the seven rail lines as 3,421kilometeres. The minister said that at the completion of the feasibility studies, the railway development project would be undertaken through public private partnership arrangement. “Upon final construction of these lines, it will improve mass movement of Nigerians and open windows for rapid economic development and regional interaction,” he said Umar stressed that all the new rail lines would be constructed as standard gauge track for the movement of fast trains. According to him, the new lines will cover Lagos-Sagamu-Ijebu Ode-Ore-Benin (300km); Benin-Agbor-Onitsha-Nnewi-Owerri-Aba, with additional line from Onitsha-Enugu-Abakaliki (500km).

    It also included a 615km-high-speed rail track from Lagos to Abuja, passing through Lagos, Oshogbo and Baro. The minister listed Ajaokuta (Eganyi) – Obajana-Jakuru-Baro-Abuja, with additional line from Ajaokuta to Otukpo (533km); Zaira – Kaura Namoda-Sakoto-Ilela-Birnin Koni (520km) as other areas to be covered. Others are costal rail line linking Benin-Sapele-Warri-Yanogoa-Port Harcourt – Aba-Uyo- Akampa-Ikom-Obudu Cattle Ranch (673km); and Ajaokuta- Eganyi- Lokoja Abaji-abuja line (280km). The other three lines, whose feasibility contracts would be awarded next year, are Port Harcourt Unuahia-Enugu-Makurdi-Lafia-Kaduna-Bauchi-Gombe-Biu-Maiduguri; Ikom-Ogoja-Kastina Ala-Wukari-Jalinhgo-Yola-Maiduguri and Kani-Nguru-Gashua-Damaturu-Maduguri-Gamborun-Ngala.

    With ten new railway lines, that exclude the core southwest, pray does the phrase “other parts of the country currently not linked by rail” include Oyo-Ekiti-Ondo? Pray why is such planned railway not extended between Oyo State (Ibadan) and Ekiti State (Ado-Ekiti) to Ondo State (Akure)? Pray how will these economic benefits extend to those neglected states? Pray how do they benefit from economic integration so orchestrated? Indeed, this deliberate policy has further shifted the operations of companies like Lafarge Wapco Cement, Dangote Cement etc who operate enormously heavy duty trucks and trailers to the neglected states to further destroy the few federal roads and those being reconstructed by these neglected states from their meager funds. You need to travel Ilesha-Akure-Owo-Benin road to see the daily carnage. Ekiti State is completely caught off between Akure and Ado—Ekiti unless you go via Akure-Igbara Oke-Igbaraodo-Ado in a circular way. Why should Okitipupa-Ondo-Akure-Benin road not be dualised? Or the Akure-Ado-Ekiti-Omuaran road from the same SURE-P? More questions are begging for answers.

    The Role of SURE-P As an instrument of nation-wide intervention development strategy.

    In its decision to remove oil subsidy, the Federal Government set up a subsidy withdrawal organ (SURE-P) which is to use the proceeds for financing development projects nationwide While each state is free to use its own share for projects of its choice, the federal share is to cover the whole federation in key areas. SURE-P, in concept, coverage, and policy implementation discriminates against the Southwest, especially the Core Southwest as shown in SURE-P documentation.

    Item 2.9 List of Road Projects: of the 1,326km roads, the 295km allocated to SW/SS covers Benin-Ore-Sagamu dual carriage way. It should be observed that the Benin-Ore-Sagamu dual carriage way has always been in the annual federal budget for the past 20 years. The NATION of Saturday 16th February 2013 page 6 has the story that the Federal Government has obtained fund from the SURE-P to construct the dualisation of Abuja-Benin Road. Yet the federal authorities are aware of the appalling state of federal roads in middle and core S/W (Ondo-Ekiti-Osun): Akure (Ondo State) to Ilesha in Osun State. The same is true of Iyamoye (Kwara State) to Omuo, Ikole, Ogotun in (Ekiti State) to Osun State. Ekiti State has the shortest federal roads in the federation and yet not one km of these roads is considered worthy.

    Item E1:33 Irrigation Projects: 19 irrigation projects are listed with 4 going to NE, 3 for NW, 3 for SE and 3 for SS. The two listed for SW go to Ogun and Oyo State as if those are the only states in SW. The Ero Water Dam and Lake, covering 11kilometres in Ekiti State is one of the largest water/irrigation projects in Nigeria established at the same time as those listed above in other parts of the country which are to benefit from SURE-P. Why should it not qualify for SURE-P like others listed above?

    Item E2:34 Rural and Urban Water Supply Projects: The little Osse mentioned in Ekiti State is put there merely to demonstrate federal presence and involvement. The Ero Water dam mentioned above can combine both irrigation for agriculture and water supply while Arinta Water falls should quality for tourism under the federal scheme. Item 36&37: Selected Power Projects: What is needed here from the Federal Government is a second 132/33KV power substation project in the northern part of Ekiti and the urgent completion of the on-going one which is no more adequate for the state capital not to talk of its adequacy for the whole state. If the Federal Government can embark on all these projects with or in addition to SURE-P funds, why is none of the federal roads as shown earlier in these core southwest not receiving federal attention?While our legislators must continue to be vigilant and alive to their responsibility to the electorate, they must not underestimate the power of policy formulators who deliberately and mischievously plan and execute such policies of discrimination to their sectional advantage. That is why I appreciate the action and vigilance of Senator Femi Ojudu (Ekiti Central) in detecting the fraud in the 2013 budget proposal for road construction where one or two roads in other states were shown as Ekiti State roads.

    Senator Femi Ojudu should go and take a critical look at the Dredging and Canalisation work at Ureje River under the Federal Ministry of Environment in Abuja. The contract was awarded for N1.2billion and reported to have been completed and paid for in 2010 whereas no work has been done on the site which is already overgrown with weeds. The contractor who quoted for N890 million for the job lost out.

    I have at my disposal a list of 44 Water Pump Projects by the Federal Ministry of Water Resources for Ekiti Local Government areas in the 2012 appropriation act which a detailed examination shows are mere repetition of previous years’ appropriation. Yet there is the impression that the projects for the bore holes have been executed and completed. That brings into question the role of Benin-Owena River Basin authority in Ekiti State development.

    Walls have ears, windows have eyes.

     

    MUYIWA IT’S YOUR DAY.

    With thanks to the Almighty God, here’s wishing my dear friend and brother, Chief Olumuyiwa Runsewe of Singafrique Engineering Ltd, Lagos, happy birthday as he celebrates the 65th of his glorious and chequered life today. Long may you live in great health, my brother.

  • Yoruba marginalisation: To what effect? 2

    Yoruba marginalisation: To what effect? 2

    Another aspect of actual marginalisation is the type that affects all Yoruba citizens. This pertains to direct and indirect neglect of infrastructure in the Yoruba region. Such neglect appears to be designed to disempower and discomfort the generality of Yoruba people. All the federal roads in the Yoruba region are in a state that destroys Yoruba business and frustrates citizens that travel on such roads. Even federal roads in Yoruba states that contribute significantly to non-oil revenue for the country are generally neglected. For example, the roads to Apapa, the country’s largest port for goods into Nigeria, Niger, and even Mali, are all neglected by the federal government. Most businesses that bring VAT revenue to the federal government from Lagos, Ibadan, and other Yoruba cities where consumers abound are slowed down by badly maintained federal roads that connect various Yoruba states: Lagos-Ibadan; Lagos-Benin; Ibadan-Ilesa-Akure; Ibadan-Osogbo-Offa; Ife-Ore; Ibadan-Ogbomoso; Agege-Abeokuta; etc. Most Yoruba states that produce cocoa, coffee, and other exportable produce are hobbled by the neglect of the roads from such states to the port city of Lagos.

    In addition, the Jonathan administration gave the impression during his campaign for office in 2011 that his government would deregulate or privatise establishment of rail transport system. It has not happened since he got elected. It is even being rumoured that some Nigerians selected to meet legislators during the one-day consultation over constitutional amendments last November have said (who,where and how?) that they do not want the federal government to allow states to have any role in establishment and running of rail transport. To be fair to Dr. Jonathan, he did not create most of the problems, but what can be honestly held against him is that the core of his election promise was (and still is) Transformation. Certainly, the Yoruba region has seen in the last few years more of regression than transformation in terms of infrastructure.

    We said last week that Jonathan’s main problem with regards to exclusionary government policies and practices is that he sings the promise of transformation to the nation while his government excludes the Yoruba region (more than any other region) from access to federal government jobs and federally-funded infrastructure. And this is despite the fact that the Yoruba region constitutes about 22% of the nation’s population.

    A lot has been said in the media about Jonathan’s direct exclusion of Yoruba from the federal public service. There have been reports that many of the federal ministries and agencies under the president’s watch have encouraged retirement of more Yoruba (than people from other regions) from the country’s public service and hiring of fewer Yoruba (than people of the other five regions) into the service. But very little is reported about indirect disempowerment of the Yoruba region under President Jonathan. There have been several subtle but striking efforts by the Jonathan administration to slow down development in the Southwest.

    It is obvious that Lagos State is the country’s most cosmopolitan state. It is generally referred to by politicians and regular citizens as Mini Nigeria, a state that has more people from all the nationalities in the country than any other state. It is also common knowledge that Lagos State has more Yoruba people than any other state in the federation. It is no exaggeration to say that all extended families in Yoruba section of the country have their most-endowed sons and daughters in Lagos State. In terms of intellectual and material resources, Lagos State stands out as the most developed state not only in the Southwest but also in the entire country. In effect, any effort to unhinge the economy of Lagos State is a sure way to unsettle the average Yoruba family.

    In a way similar to Obasanjo’s hostile attitude to growth and development in the Yoruba region in general and Lagos State in particular, the Jonathan administration appears to relish unsettling of Lagos State’s economy and by extension the economy of the entire Yoruba region. In the time of Obasanjo, the federal government did everything possible to stop federal allocations to Lagos State on the excuse that the state created additional local governments. In the case of Jonathan, he demonstrates insensitivity to efforts by his government to disrupt development efforts by Lagos State government.

    There is a report that the Jonathan administration is set to introduce a special petrol consumption tax that is to be collected and spent by the federal government or its agency. If more than 30% of all vehicles in the country are used in Lagos and over 50% of all vehicles in the country are used in the Southwest, it is clear that any effort to introduce petrol consumption tax that is to be controlled by the federal government is tantamount to denying the Southwest of additional revenue that should come to the region from such consumption tax. As if the loss of revenue by Lagos State and other Yoruba states via federalisation of VAT and issuance of driver’s licence and vehicle registration is not bad enough, President Jonathan’s government is eager to impose another consumption tax that may not be used to service the communities from which such tax is collected. The parlous state of so-called federal roads in the Southwest does not indicate that revenues collected from petrol consumers in the Southwest and put under control of the central government in Abuja would be used readily to fix the roads in the region. Such policy to further de-federalise the country is more damaging to the economy of the region than direct reduction of Yoruba presence in the federal service. Using petrol consumption tax to rob the Southwest of funds that should be used for infrastructure development and improvement of the welfare of citizens in the Yoruba region is an indirect way of additional disempowerment of the region.

    Shortly after complaints by several groups about marginalisation of the Yoruba, the Jonathan administration announced its intention to build another sea port in Badagry. Lagos State may be the largest state in the country in terms of population but it is the smallest in terms of land area. The federal government under Jonathan has ignored requests from Lagos State for special status to enable the state improve the welfare of the teeming population of migrants from other states. Even efforts of the Lagos State Government to get the Jonathan administration to guarantee a foreign loan to enable the state provide modern mass transportation to move over 18 million Nigerians that live in the state in a safer and more orderly manner have been rebuffed by the current federal government.

    It is, therefore, amazing that the same federal government is suddenly interested in building another port in Lagos State. Is this a part of the strategy to respond to charges of marginalisation, just as the superficial repair of Lagos-Ibadan and Lagos-Ore roads were put on the federal list of must-do items before 2012 Christmas to ward off complaints of neglect of the Southwest? How much space does Lagos State have for it to host another port in a country that is in a position to establish elsewhere several sea ports that can carry some of the burden that Lagos has carried for over a century?

    Lagos State needs special intervention to make existing wet and dry ports in the small state run well, without having to damage business and residential opportunities in the state. The state needs to be given derivation benefits for existing wet and dry ports that have taken so much of the state’s limited land area. It is in the interest of Lagos State for the federal government to make ports in other parts of the country work and create jobs that can reduce the exodus of migrants to Lagos every minute. Lagos is already suffocated. What the federal government needs to do is to reduce the suffocation through special grants and policies that assist the state to improve its mass transit system, not another port that shrinks the place for indigenes and residents or damages roads that the state has built for the benefit of its residents.

    Without listening to calls from Lagos State for Jonathan’s government to repair the road to Apapa and Tin Can ports, the Jonathan administration is planning surreptitiously to make nonsense of the investment Lagos State has put into modernisation of the road between Badagry and Oshodi. This is after heavy trailers going to other parts of Nigeria and even to Niger and Mali have made the road between Apapa and Ibadan dangerous for vehicular movement. If President Jonathan wants to reduce the burden on Lagos State, it should revive the rail line to Apapa and thus reduce the wear and tear on Lagos roads, not to use excuse of another federal sea port in Badagry to damage the soon to be commissioned Oshodi-Badagry road.

    Apart from praying for federal governments under leadership of men and women that can respond to the demands and challenges of administering Nigeria’s multiethnic state in a way that gives each nationality a sense of belonging, it is also possible to provide structural changes that can reduce fears of marginalisation of any of the groups in the federation. Such structural changes will immunize the federation against leaders or federal governments that may lack the sensitivity needed to run a truly united multiethnic federation.

    To be continued

     

  • Yoruba marginalisation: Myth or reality?

    Yoruba marginalisation: Myth or reality?

    Elders and leaders of the Southwest geo- political zone have been complaining of glaring marginalisation of the Yoruba in today’s Nigeria. In this report, Assistant Editor, Dare Odufowokan, takes a fresh look at the claims

    It started like a subtle complaint. Not many people gave it a thought. But in no time it assumed the dimension of an agitation. That was when Nigerians started paying attention to what was then an emerging issue. Today, the issue of Yoruba marginalisation is nothing short of a burning national issue with more and more people lending voice to the raging debate.

    First, it was the Afenifere Renewal Group that formally called for discussion on the issue a few months ago. A few days after that, a group of older Yoruba professionals and politicians, held a press conference and reeled out details of efforts by the Jonathan regime to neglect and relegate Yoruba interests to the back burner of Nigeria’s socio-economic process.

    Shortly after that, a delegation from the zone visited President Goodluck Jonathan to complain about non-inclusion of Yoruba politicians in top-notch positions in his government. Though the delegation met with the President, it was not clear what was achieved with the trip as the allegation of a systematic marginalisation of the Southwest continued long after the team returned home.

    Checks by The Nation revealed that the alleged relegation of the Yoruba is not just about the composition of the federal government. Concerns are also being raised about how the region is left out of appointments in several agencies at the federal level.

    Comrade Soji Korodo of the Oodua Liberation Movement (OLM) said. “A situation where the total appointment for the entire Southwest falls short of those of a certain states speaks of either a deliberate effort to ignite ethnic resentment or a glaring outcome of total collapse of coordination in the machinery and records of government.

    “Available data indicates that the Yoruba have lost more than half of their appointive positions since former President Olusegun Obasanjo left office. This is why we are alleging that this is a deliberate attempt to shortchange us for reasons best known to the people perpetrating this.

    “Obviously, the situation is not due to lack of qualified and experienced men and women of integrity in their numbers and quality across all spheres of human endeavour in the Southwest.”

    However, there are others who saw nothing in the allegation of being marginalised, as claimed by Yoruba leaders. According to this school of thought, the situation is not as bad as ARG painted it.

    “It is bad sportsmanship for the Southwest to claim it is being marginalised now. This is a zone that was in the presidency for eight years just a couple of years ago. Aside the presidency, the Yoruba occupied several other juicy positions for years. Nigeria is not for one tribe and it should be understandable that these things will move round all the federating units. That is the principle of rotation. That is what is keeping us together as a nation,” Sanni Abba Yerima, a chieftain of the Northern Union said.

    Yerima, who was quick to remind the Southwest that the position of Speaker was zoned to the region by the ruling party but was lost because the zone voted for the opposition party, added that the issue of marginalisation is being championed by politicians who failed in their bid to corner certain positions in the current dispensation.

    But for a fact, no Yoruba man occupies any of the top six political positions in the country. This forms a major grouse of those promoting the allegation that the region has been shut out of the nation’s power corridor. These top six positions and how they are currently distributed are as follows:

    President (Southsouth); Vice President (Northwest); Senate President (Northcentral); Speaker (Northwest); Deputy Senate President (Southeast) and Deputy Speaker (Southeast)

    It is also instructive to know that currently, the Chief Justice of Nigeria is from the Northwest; Secretary to the Government of the Federation ( SGF), Southeast; Head of the Civil Service of the Federation (HCSF), Northeast; Chief of Staff to the President (COS-P), Southsouth; Chairman Federal Civil Service Commission, Southeast; Chairman Police Service Commission, Southsouth; National Security Adviser (NSA), Northwest. Non of these is a Yoruba.

    “It is so bad that there is no Yoruba person in the CJN succession radar for the next ten years,” a judiciary source said.

    Findings by The Nation also revealed that there is no Yoruba man among the chairmen of the 10 key federal agencies listed in section 153 of the constitution. These bodies include Code of Conduct Bureau (Northeast) and the  Federal Character Commission(North central)

    The others are Federal Civil Service Commission( Southeast); Independent National Electoral Commission( Northwest); Revenue Mobilisation Allocation and Fiscal Commission(Southeast); Independent Corrupt Practices and Allied Offences Commission( Southsouth); Economic and Financial Crimes Commission(Northeast)

    This was the situation when some Yoruba elders met recently in the rocky city of Ibadan, Oyo State, to once again take another look at the place of their race in the nation’s political configuration. And by the time they were through, it was no longer easy to believe that the issue of Yoruba marginalisation is being raised by a few politicians.

    At the end of the February 7, 2013 meeting, the gathering, which had eminent sons and daughters of Yorubaland across party and religious divides, unanimously submitted that the people of Southwestern Nigeria have been shortchanged in the scheme of things politically.

    In what can best be described as a collective lamentation of woe, the leaders rose with a demand that what they described as the socio-political marginalisation of the Yoruba race should stop forthwith.

    The current situation was worrisome for the elderly men and women that gathered that day. The leaders, under the auspice of the Yoruba Unity Forum (YUF), buttressed their position with examples of how the race has been less favoured in the sharing of leadership positions at the federal level, especially in the current dispensation where, according to them, a Yoruba man was not considered good enough to occupy any of the first 10 leadership positions in the country.

    The gathering also lamented how the Yoruba race has allegedly been sidelined in the distribution of appointments into Ministries, Departments and Agencies, MDAs of the federal government.

    Leading lights of the race who were part of the Ibadan declaration included Bishop Bolanle Gbonigi, Senator Bode Olajumoke, Senator Kofoworola Bucknor-Akerele, Senator Mojisoluwa Akinfenwa, Senator Femi Okurounmu, Chief Tokunbo Ajasin, Chief Olu Falae, Sen. Tony Adefuye and Dr. Kunle Olajide.

    Others were; Chief Charles Ekundayo, Chief Akin Omojola, Alhaji Rasak Folunso Chief Yemi Falade, Mr. Tola Noibi, Chief Biola Ogundokun, Chief Dipo Jimilehin; Prof. Adenike Grange, Chief Biola Ogundokun, Chief Dipo Jimilehin; Chief Akin Omojola, among others.

    According to Professor Grange, the pedigrees as well as the important positions held previously and currently by those at the meeting served as reminders of a once glorious past of a race that was always in the forefront of the socio-political development of the country.

    Speaking to The Nation on the issue, Bishop Bolanle Gbonigi, who convened the Ibadan meeting, regretted that the marginalisation of the Southwest geo-political zone in the distribution of political positions was an attempt to relegate the zone in the federation.

    “There is no argument about whether we are being marginalised or not. It is a fact with evidences all over the place for us all to see. What we are witnessing now is very painful, particularly for people of my age. And this is happening because some of us are very selfish because we do things only because of money.

    “Take a good look and show me a Yoruba man in any of the apex positions like the President, Vice President, Senate President, Speaker, House of Representatives, Chief Justice of the Federation, Deputy Senate President, Deputy Speaker of the House of Representatives, the Acting President, Court of Appeal, Secretary to the Government of the Federation, Chief of Staff to the President, National Security Adviser and Head of Service of the Federation.

    “You will find none and we say we jointly own the country. It has never been this bad. The degree of marginalisation of the Southwest zone borders on attempts to excise the zone out of the federation,” the retired Anglican Bishop of Akure Diocese said.

    But the Senior Special Assistant to the President on Public Affairs, Dr Doyin Okupe, said the political leadership of the Southwest is to blame for the marginalisation of Yoruba people, not President Jonathan.

    “The issue of marginalisation of the Southwest was a political misadventure and political accident, brought about by the Yoruba themselves. If you would recollect, the Yoruba were supposed to produce the Speaker of the House of Representatives, which is the number four position in Nigeria.”

    “But due to the political mishandling of the leadership of the Yoruba and also the sabotage of the Yoruba people by the Yoruba leadership, I am talking about the people in the political party now, the Yoruba people in the opposition conspired against the Yoruba people and allowed the position to be taken away. That is the beginning of marginalisation.

    “You see, when people sit down to share what is not enough and you don’t have anybody to speak for you, there is a problem,”  he said.

    However, Senator Femi Okunrunmu, chieftain of the Yoruba Unity Forum wants the issue of Yoruba marginalisation to be taken very seriously in the interest of the country. He is of the opinion that the President should promptly address the matter.

    “We met with Jonathan to complain about the marginalisation of Yoruba, but he has not done anything about it. So, we have decided to pay him another visit. We have already made our intention known to the Presidency. We are now waiting for the President to give us an appointment.

    “We have the details of the situation which we intend to present to the President. It is as if the Southwest has been excised from the country. If you look at all the top political positions and appointments in the country, it is not hard to see that Southwest has been marginalised in this administration.

    “Check from number one, which is the President, to number 15, you won’t find a Yoruba person there. Look at the people controlling the economy, the finance minister, the Central Bank Governor, no Yoruba person is there. The first lawyers in this country were Yoruba. Today, Yoruba are marginalised in the judiciary. In the National Assembly, the Senate and the House of Representatives: Yoruba people are not in leadership position. It is bad. It’s as if Yoruba are not wanted,” he said.

    Speaking in the same vein, another prominent Yoruba leader, Chief Ayo Adebanjo, said the present arrangement is very unfair to the Southwest. He added that even in the distribution of projects like the repair of federal roads in the country, the Southwest is being marginalised.

    ‘While others would be enjoying roads built with money from our national treasury, we, in the Southwest will have to pay for the repairs of the federal roads in our region as our own federal roads are given out to concessionaires who would collect toll from users.

    “The Lagos-Ibadan Expressway concession is an example. That is unfair. Why are there not roads under concession in the North, Southeast and Southsouth? Yoruba people have been marginalised,” he said.

    “While Okurounmu and people like him continue to wait on Jonathan to address the alleged undue shortchanging of the Yoruba in the scheme of things today, the agitation for an immediate solution continues among several other groups and individuals who daily remember the glorious days gone by when the region held its own in the comity of federating units in the country.

     

     

  • Yoruba marginalisation: OBJ and PDP greed

    Yoruba marginalisation: OBJ and PDP greed

    “In things that are not enough, when people sit down to share and take decisions, if there is nobody to speak for you, there is problem,’’  Dr Doyin Okupe

    Shame on to all those who have said PDP has neither a philosophical foundation nor an ideological orientation. There you have it at last from a PDP leading light who should know having seen it all. As Obasanjo media spokesman, he legally secured contracts from Imo and Benue states. It did not matter that EFCC had to be invited to resolve how the ‘sharing’ was done applying the usual PDP ‘family affair’ approach. The important thing was that both PDP governors involved and Dr. Doyin Okupe were happy and maintained their peace while their political enemies wasted so much energy on non-implementation or non-completion of the road contracts.

    Except for a few cynical Nigerians and other PDP detractors, ‘sharing’ has long been accepted as PDP prevailing ideology even beyond our shores. Long before Okupe’s testament, John Campbell, former US envoy had during proceedings at a hearing on the topic “Nigeria in Turmoil” in the British House of Commons on the 19 March 2010 presented PDP as ‘an elite cartel at the centre of power in Nigeria’; ‘a political party that came together … as essentially a club of elites for sharing of oil rents and political spoils.’

    As if Okupe’s and Campbell’s thesis needed further validation, Audu Ogbe, a former chairman of PDP who claims ‘corruption is the only thriving sector in the country’, has further consolidated the views of Okupe, a PDP insider and Campbell, a detached political analyst. Hear Ogbe, “When I was chairman of PDP, my son never got involved in oil but two PDP national chairmen after me, their sons pocketed over N400 billion without supplying a tea cup of oil.”

    I also find myself for once supporting Okupe’s admonition that Yoruba Council of Elders, Afenifere (both old and renewal) absolve Jonathan from the war of attrition among South-west PDP greedy members. If they feel short-changed, they should look inward towards their greedy representatives in the PDP. Don’t our people say, the insect that feeds on yam lives as a parasite on the yam?

    Stripped of an attempt to rope in ACN whose ideology everyone knows is ‘Afenifere’, translated “prosperity for all through creation of an enabling environment for self actualization of each ethnic groups’ potentials”, Okupe a man who thrives in mischief and survives on exploitation of human frailty of leaders like Obasanjo and Jonathan will be right to say Yoruba members of PDP are the architects of the fortunes or misfortunes of the Yoruba nation.

    I think the Yoruba Council of Elders who has been trying to blame others for the sins of the wing of Yoruba political tendency that imbibes the PDP ideology of ‘sharing’, should listen more to Okupe. Our revered elders “fi ete sile, nwon npa lapalapa’ (leaving undone the pertinent while expending energy on the inconsequential). Instead of confronting Obasanjo the father of Yoruba PDP, who as president deprived the Yoruba of what rightly belong to them, imposed men without character even by PDP’s standard.

    After all it wasn’t ACN but PDP that masterminded the judicial indictment and imprisonment of Bode George and late Afolabi. It was PDP that took Adebayo Alao-Akala, Gbenga Daniel, Rashidi Ladoja, Ayo Fayose, and Dimeji Bankole to court for alleged, and in some cases, proven financial malfeasance. It was Yoruba PDP members that told a judge that both Obasanjo and Oyinlola have no respects for rules and judicial pronouncements, and the judge agreed with them.

    During the eight years of Obasanjo mainstreaming, Lagos- Ibadan and Sagamu Benin, the two most important roads in the country were abandoned because Obasanjo wanted to prove the point that he was president in spite of the Yoruba. Under his imposed state governors, there was virtual collapse of the educational sector.

    I think our leaders that have been paying solidarity visits to their troubled children who PDP acknowledged as having contributed to the eight years of criminal neglect of the West should ask Obasanjo, PDP legislators of both the upper and lower Houses during PDP years of locusts to account for their stewardship before taking on Jonathan.

    Senator Babafemi Ojudu, my younger colleague at The Guardian in whom I am very proud gave us an account of his two years stewardship as a senator during our last state association meeting in Lagos. He disclosed that he and his two other colleagues representing the state had decided to ensure N750m (N250m per senator) budgetary allocation for constituency projects is deposited with UNDP that has in turn promised to double the amount and invest same on a project that would provide jobs for the state youths.

    Ojudu further disclosed that while some states of the federation have as many as 10 federal roads slated for reconstruction or rehabilitation in the current budget, the only federal road listed against his state was a road in Nassarawa or somewhere. He also disclosed that while his state could boast only of one lonely driver or none at all in many of the federal parastatal, some states have between 12 and 20 in spite of the existing federal character principle. PDP sharing philosophy is based on neither existing law of the land, nor justice, fairness and equity. It is not surprising that Afe Babalola, Obasanjo’s friend and lawyer not too long ago claimed that the state of Ekiti roads all through PDP 12 years were in a worst state than what existed during the colonial days.

    Obasanjo in power was more interested in empowering non-Yoruba. Even Asari Dokubo, leader of a militant group in the Niger Delta recently told a newspaper reporter that he secured bigger contracts under Obasanjo than he got under Jonathan his kinsman. Nasir El Rufai, his former BPE Director General, has just told us he personally borrowed money to buy into state owned companies and used his position to attract donations from contractors towards the building of a private library. While this was going on, he presided over the sales of some Yoruba owned companies like Daily Times, National Bank, and choice properties in Ikoyi allegedly to his in laws and PDP cronies under the dubious privatization and commercialization policies.

    Okupe also lamented the loss of the office the speaker-ship zoned to Yoruba because of what he and Bamanga Tukur, the current PDP chairman described as internal squabbles among the Yoruba members of PDP. But apart from Dimeji Bankole’s possible enrichment of self and PDP members, the only legacy the Yoruba can point to was his shameless public fisticuffs with Gbenga Daniel over who would take credit for an uncompleted 10-year old Ota Bridge.

    Two years into the Jonathan presidency, it has become apparent that Jonathan does not give a damn about either the Yoruba, Fulani, Kanuri nor any group for that matter. Jonathan only cares about Jonathan. The shoeless boy, as president, does not see a difference between exploiting his Azikiwe Igbo middle name to secure votes in the East, disparaging the better focused Yoruba governors as ‘rascals’, or instigating the non-Yoruba residents in Lagos against high performing governor Fashola or sacrificing his party constitution after trade off with northern governors to secure the party’s ticket. Similarly President Jonathan did not see anything wrong in channelling his presidential campaign funds through a Labour governor of Ondo State or allowing him free hand to nominate ministers to fill the state slot. To Jonathan all is fair in war as in politics and the end justifies the means.

    Our elders may have no control over Jonathan policies, but they can at least remind Obasanjo and those who share the PDP ideology of ‘sharing’ that Awo whose legacies they have tried to obliterate built schools, universities, libraries, financial institutions, manufacturing companies housing estates and plantations, not for self but for the people.

  • Yoruba marginalisation: to what effect? 1

    Yoruba marginalisation: to what effect? 1

    Yoruba marginalisation as a theme of public debate is gaining more attention by the day. Afenifere Renewal Group first raised the issue formally a few months back. Just a few days ago, a group of older Yoruba professionals and politicians (than those in Afenifere Renewal) held a press conference on the topic, at which the group’s spokesmen reeled out details of efforts by the Jonathan regime to neglect and relegate Yoruba interests to the back burner of Nigeria’s socio-economic process. Members of the Ikenne front for Yoruba unity had also visited President Jonathan to complain about non-inclusion of Yoruba politicians in top-notch positions in his government. Media pundits have also come on board to analyse and find reasons for this condition of the Yoruba under Jonathan’s presidency.

    It is hard to identify why any president would choose to diminish the significance of the Yoruba in a federation in which they form close to 22% of the population. But if there is no surprise in third-world politics, then where should anyone expect to be startled and confused? But this phenomenon, as volatile and dangerous for the country’s unity as it might be, needs to be understood in all its ramifications, to prevent the Yoruba from being associated with cry-baby syndrome by other regions.

    What has been observed as marginalisation can be broken into two types: apparent and real neglect. Apparent marginalisation is evident in absence of Yoruba in the political pantheon that directs the life of the country. All appointive positions are essentially political. In a winner-takes-all ethos, political appointments are restricted to trusted members of the ruling party. It is true that there are many Yoruba in the PDP that controls all political appointments, but it is also clear that those in the power house in Abuja know that such Yoruba represent mostly themselves. If they represent anybody else, it must be a tiny minority of the Yoruba nation. And this feeling is despite the fact that Jonathan won more votes than Buhari in most Yoruba states in 2011 presidential election. It is, therefore, easy for those holding the lever of power in Abuja to ignore Yoruba individuals in the PDP, just as it was when Obasanjo had more Yoruba votes than Buhari in 2003 presidential election.

    Jonathan’s men and women must know that the heart of the average Yoruba is not in the ideology that subtends policies and actions of the PDP, even though their votes came into his ballot boxes in 2011. They know that Jonathan’s party is not ready to give to the Yoruba region what it needs. They probably know that the value of the Yoruba had disappeared after the election, more so that they are sure that Transformation, which the Yoruba must have voted for had also lost its edge after the election. The current travails of Olagunsoye Oyinlola is a graphic illustration that leading Yoruba in President Jonathan’s party have more nominal than substantive value, because they are deemed to have only a handful of Yoruba voters behind them. Should it have been so? Not necessarily. But anyone that can be ignored in politics without any threat to the party’s consolidation of power is generally the first to be neglected in the competition for appointive posts. If there is any group that should complain about marginalisation of Yoruba by Jonthan, it should be Yoruba men and women in his ruling party. Is anyone surprised that Yoruba members of the PDP are not complaining about neglect?

    Therefore, marginalisation of Yoruba in political appointment cannot be held against Jonathan, more so that his party members from the Southwest are not complaining. Jonathan is only upholding the values of winner-takes-all political culture. Even if Yoruba PDP members have been appointed as some of those that actually rule the country, this may not filter down to Yoruba people. A few Yoruba were so appointed during the administration of General Olusegun Obasanjo without any noticeable impact on Yoruba life. Organisations that are sending delegations to Jonathan for redress should not worry about appointive positions. The Yoruba have gone that route before. Yoruba thrived in the days of NPC and NPN, when those that held most political appointments were largely Hausa-Fulani, Igbo, and representatives of the so-called minority groups across the country, just the way it is today. It must be added though that in the days of NPC and NPN, the leaders of the two parties did not ever think that they could take the Yoruba for granted, as it appears to be the case today.

    Actual marginalisation concerns unfair hiring or firing policy. If Yoruba people are retired unduly from the public service or are jumped over in hiring to the public service for career and professional positions in a federation to which they belong and pay taxes, there are other ways to address this issue, in addition to sending delegations to President Jonathan or creating media events about it. There is a need for individual Yoruba individuals, retired without just cause or disregarded in the hiring process, to engage the Federal Character Commission by going to court to challenge any manner of injustice against the Yoruba.

    To be continued