The Nation Newspaper

Tag: Northern Governors’ Forum

  • A peace tour amid chaos

    The northern states governors’ trip to Southeast and Southsouth played a major part in calming
    tensions when crisis brewed, writes OKODILI NDIDI

    There is no sacrifice too much for peace. This much was demonstrated by the northern governors when they left the challenges in their home states to embark on a truce mission to the Southsouth and Southeast states.

    They traversed major cities in Rivers, Anambra, Abia and Imo states preaching the massage of national unity and peaceful coexistence.

    The presence of the delegation led by the chairman of the Northern Governors’ Forum and governor of Borno State, Alhaji Kashim Shettima soothed frayed nerves and restored confidence in the people, especially after the Python Dance scare.

    The mission, according to the governors, was to emphasise the need for one indivisible Nigeria, “where every Nigerian can freely live in any part of the country without fear or molestation”.

    The delegation, which comprised governors Aminu Tambuwal (Sokoto), Abubakar Bagudu (Kebbi), Simon Lalong (Plateau), and Aminu Masari (Kastina), was received in Imo State by the ecstatic Hausa community, traditional rulers and other stakeholders.

    In the past, similar agitations like that of the Indigenous People of Biafra (IPOB) had resulted in killings and reprisals but the proactive measures adopted by leaders in the North and South saved the nation another bloodbath.

    The visit reassured the Hausa communities in the Southeast who were already apprehensive that no harm will befall them. Before the truce tour, the number of Hausas that crowd the streets plying one trade or the other had thinned down remarkable as majority of them had returned to the North for fear of possible attack.

    Receiving the delegation at the Government House, the Imo Governor, Rochas Okorcha said that “Nigeria’s problem has remained largely lack of communication and not being able to socialise with each other. Even in families with husbands and wives, when we don’t have good communication, breakup is inevitable. It is necessary that we communicate amongst ourselves as governors. We should equally communicate with the ordinary citizens on the streets.

    Speaking further, he said, “Today, you have come to Igbo land, I know you will be surprised with the kind of warm reception you have got. Your coming now bridges the gap and it can best be described as the right step in the right direction. We as leaders have not made enough effort to assure the Igbo, Hausa and Yoruba that we are one, meanwhile we meet at our houses and hug, interact with each other. To what extent have we encouraged the ordinary people on the streets of Igbo land or Hausa land to hug these brothers from the west and vice versa?  It is duly incumbent upon us as you have done today to reach out and give each other a sense of belonging”.

    He continued, “I want to state categorically that the Hausa living in Imo State are not different from Imo people living in the state.  Most of these Hausa can only be distinguished not by their conduct or character but only by their dress code. Most of them were born here and have lived here all their lives. So they are more of Igbo than Hausa despite having Hausa parentage. Having seen this, you can understand that we have no other option than to live as one united Nigeria.

    “Nigeria is passing through a very difficult time which many great nations have passed through before reaching to their points of greatness. We must see the happening now as a trial that will bring us to a level of triumph.  We are only passing through a moment and this moment will not last for long, when Nigeria will arrive at the Promised Land.

    “Your visit here is a reminder to all of us that we are one in blood and flesh, inseparable, despite the activities of those who have offered themselves as satanic instruments for the division of our lovely country.  Nigeria is better off as one united nation.  That is the pride with which we command respect in the whole of the African continent.

    “Many nations of the world especially the black race make reference to us as Nigerians, they respect us because of our population and sense of unity.  This is our place in history that we can never afford to lose”.

    “Let me remind all of us, that it does not only take government to speak about peace, it behooves on all of us to speak about the peace and unity of this nation wherever we find ourselves.  Peace is expensive but we must pursue it at all cost.  I salute no man who is so purposeful in destruction but I salute a nation builder”.

    Governor Shettima said that the challenge posed by IPOB is far more dangerous than that of the dreaded Boko Haram. He said while the Boko Haram insurgency is restricted to the Northeast, IPOB is a national threat that has the capacity to cause the nation to implode.

    He said, “We are here due to the seriousness of this challenge, we cannot afford to sit in our comfort zones and watch our country breakup because everybody will suffer the consequence. So it is everyone’s duty to ensure that we remain together as one united Nigeria.

    “We are here as a delegation from the Northern Nigeria to identify with the uncommon and exemplary leadership of the governors of the Southeastern region in this trying moment. In politics, perception counts especially in serious matters like this. We are here largely to identify with our governor colleagues, to visit the northern communities in the Southeast and reassure them that the governors are equal to the task.

    “This visit will equally help us to forestall the chances of mass exodus of Nigerians from one region to the other as it will send a very wrong signal.  We are equally inviting our brothers from the Southeast to visit the Igbo that are in large numbers in Kano, Kaduna and Katsina among other places to assure them of the safety of their lives and properties. “Nigeria belongs to all of us.  A small country like Syria with 23 million people knocked at the doors of Europe because of crisis and Europe started shaking and so Nigeria with over 200 million will cause a disaster in the event of crisis.

    ”The much maligned and demonised Owelle Rochas Okorocha is one of the few that stood his ground for national unity, togetherness and this has brought some developmental initiatives for the Southeast.

    Governor Lalong restated: “Nigeria is one. We have criminal elements everywhere. If somebody is giving a quit notice, we should ask, at what time did we agree?  That’s the beauty of democracy.  Ours as governors and leaders is to maintain peace and see to an indivisible Nigeria. Our political differences must not divide us. Before we go into politics we must have a country called Nigeria.”

    Governor Tambuwal said, “The work of making Nigeria one did not start today, it started with our elders and it is incumbent on us to sustain it and that’s one of the reasons His Eminence Sultan Maccido of blessed memory was able to confer on Governor Rochas Okorocha the title of Dajikan Sokoto, the foresight is to make us realise that Nigeria is one.

    “Nigeria is a country like no other where you have over 300 tribes with many languages spoken, yet have a single country.  No other nation in the world where you have 50% practicing one religion and another 50% practicing another religion.  Nigeria is a special creation for us to make it work.”

    Governor Bagudu said, “We as leaders must bequeath to our children a better heritage that we inherited because our young men and women will face stiffer competition in the world than the ones we are facing.  If we waste our time and energy fighting on those issues that should not even be dividing us, we will be doing harm to subsequent generations.”

    Governor Masari said, “The Hausa community living in the East should live in peace and support the various governments in their developmental strides as they stand to bequeath in their areas of residence more than in their areas of birth, since they make their living in the East.  There is need for the sustenance of these peace overtures across the length and breadth of this nation”.

    At the end of the parley, the tense atmosphere at the Sam Mbakwe Exco Chamber, venue of the meeting, was illuminated by smiles as Hausas hugged their Igbo brothers. It was an emotional moment that healed the pains and mended broken walls of friendship.

    Before the curtain was finally drawn on the historic meeting, there was an unspoken resolve to leave in harmony henceforth as one united people bound by brotherly love and unity.

  • Restructuring fever

    It seems everyone in Nigeria is talking about restructuring these days, as if it is a silver bullet to end all contentions and achieve the ultimate synthesis.  The Chairman of the Northern Governors Forum,   Borno State Governor Kashim Shettima, captured the various campaigners and the range of the campaigns: “We have witnessed in the last few months, all manner of political agitations, ranging from the sublime to the ridiculous. While some arguably more moderate and mature voices have advocated for the scrapping of the 1999 Constitution and a return to the 1963 Republican Constitution with its emphasis on regionalism, others have called for the practice of “true” or “fiscal’ federalism. Yet another group is aggressively seeking to commit the nation to adopt the Report of the 2014 Constitutional Conference as the authoritative basis for discussing restructuring, while at the extreme end of the scale, we have the champions of a separatist agenda who are hell-bent on balkanising the country.”

    Interestingly, Acting President Yemi Osinbajo said the Federal Government was following the nationwide fever: “We are looking at all contributions made by Nigerians across the country. Very soon we will come out with policies to address the call for restructuring of the country.” It is noteworthy that the ruling party, the All Progressives Congress (APC), on July 19 formed a nine-member committee headed by Governor Nasir el-Rufai of Kaduna State to come up with a response to the issue.

    It is striking that another committee was created on July 28 by the 19 Northern states “to collate the views and comments of the people of the Northwest, North-central and Northeast ahead of any conference on the restructuring.” This committee is headed by Governor Aminu Waziri Tambuwal of Sokoto State.

    As things stand, it is predictable that there will be other committees on the restructuring controversy set up by other groups to take a position on the increasingly divisive subject.    In the storm, there are many loud voices that seem to miss the point. For instance, the former APC Interim National Chairman, Chief Bisi Akande, said:  ”The 1999 Constitution is Nigeria’s greatest misadventure since Lugard’s amalgamation of 1914. The constitution puts emphasis on spending rather than making money, thereby intensifying the battles for supremacy between the legislature and the executive while the judiciary is being corruptly tainted and discredited. The constitution breeds and protects corrupt practices and criminal impunities in governance. The 1999 Constitution can never be beneficially reviewed and the ongoing piecemeal adjustments or amendments can only totally blot the essence of national values and accelerate the de-amalgamation of Nigeria. All the angels coming from heavens cannot make that constitution work for the progress of Nigeria. It should only be scrapped as bad relics of military mentality; and it ought to be temporarily replaced with the 1963 Republican Constitution to enable a transition for the writing of a suitable constitution.”

    Taking the same path, the Yoruba Council of Elders (YCE) argued: “A constitution that virtually neutralises the local government system, which is the nearest to the people has invariably consigned the people to irrelevance and put development at the grassroots in reverse gear. A constitution and system of government that continue to explore natural resources to enrich the ruling class at the expense of the people cannot endure. This constitution compels corruption. Our country is presently confronted with daunting challenges of increasing youth unemployment, which is fueling insecurity, kidnapping, armed robbery and separatist agitations. These challenges clearly show that Nigeria’s problems are foundational and structural, therefore, constitutional. Unending piecemeal amendments of the 1999 Constitution cannot work. It will merely be postponing the doomsday. The constitution must be discarded, and the 1963 Constitution and the resolutions of the 2014 National Conference should be used as a template for a new ground rule, which will be submitted to the people in a referendum.”

    Arguments for restructuring the country in specific ways tend to downplay perhaps the most fundamental requirement for reform, which is the human factor. It goes without saying that no constitution is self-operating, meaning all constitutions depend on operators for success or failure. This reality is so real that any argument for restructuring that fails to take cognisance of it is so unreal.

    The country’s political evolution shows that the constitution may not be the most problematic problem. When those empowered to operate the constitution use their powers to cripple the constitution, the resultant failure cannot be the fault of the constitution.

    The people may well have issues with the current constitution because there will always be constitutional issues needing resolution; but there will always be further issues to resolve after resolution. A constitution is necessarily work in progress because of social dynamism. It is a contradiction to have an unchanging and unchangeable constitution in a changing and changeable social context. Any restructuring of the country must, therefore, be informed by the reality of contextual changeability.

    It is easy to identify the critical importance of the human factor in the operation of the country’s constitution; it is difficult to make the human operators of the constitution do so with utmost good faith. In the final analysis, the kind of restructuring that will advance the country’s interest is an ethical question.

    There is a tragic aspect of the restructuring debate, which is that it represents a primary moral failure. Without sounding romantic, the ultimate restructuring must happen in the mind. It is obvious that the mind is where the unprogressive operation of the constitution begins, and the mind is where it will end.

    Restructuring became a hot front-burner issue on account of unprogressive governance, meaning that if the country’s political operators got governance right the idea of restructuring that is spreading like a dangerous fever would perhaps not have been presented so explosively.

    The questions are: If the constitution is operated with good faith, and that is possible, will the grounds for extensive restructuring still exist? Is the elevation of form over content, which the restructuring debate implies, a necessary condition for progress? Is the moral content of political leadership in Nigeria irrelevant to the campaign for restructuring?

  • El-Rufai receives North Igbo Leaders in Kaduna 

    El-Rufai receives North Igbo Leaders in Kaduna 

    …Assures Arewa youths’ll be arrested, prosecuted

     

    Kaduna State Governor, Malam Nasir El-Rufai, on Tuesday received leaders of the Igbos resident in Northern Nigeria under the auspices of Igbo Delegate Assembly and Northern Igbo Chiefs, reassuring them that, they and their property in the region will be protected.

    This was also as the Governor assured the Igbo leaders that, no matter how long it will take, Northern youths who signed the quit notice to Igbos would be arrested and prosecuted to serve as deterrent to others.

    El-Rufai, however urged Igbo leaders to prevail on their youths against making statements and agitations capable of dividing Nigeria.

    According to El-Rufai, “Kaduna State Government is grateful to the Igbos for coming. Kaduna has suffered so many crises, so we are very sensitive to comments that incite and cause disaffection among the people. Therefore, the Northern youths behind the ultimatum will not only be arrested but will be prosecuted”.

    “Kaduna used to be a home for all, but so many crises have divided the state and the metropolis across religious lines. As a government that is why we abolish indigeneship, once you live in Kaduna you are an indigene.

    “We have arrested so many people for hate speeches and we are trying them. We are going to arrest the Arewa Youths and bring them to justice no matter how long it takes. Since the press conference was done in Kaduna.

    “If they had done it in any other place we would have just condemned them, but since it is in Kaduna we are going to arrest them no matter how long it takes.”

    “I have the mandate of the Northern Governors Forum under the chairmanship of Borno State Governor, Kashim Shettima, to reassure the Igbos in the 19 Northern states and Abuja that their lives and property are safe in the North”, El-Rufai said.

    On his part, President General Igbo Delegate Assembly, Chief Chikezie Nwogu, commended the Federal government and Governor El-Rufai for their swift reaction to the quit notice issued by the Northern youths.

    Chief Nwogu, who led the Igbo traditional rulers from the 19 Northern States to Kaduna on a courtesy to Governor El-Rufai, said the Igbos are ready to remain in the north.

    He said, “we are here in Kaduna to hold a meeting based on what has been happening in the North, especially with the Arewa Youths and the ultimatum given to Igbos and the agitations by IPOB. We are not here to condemn anybody. We thank the Governor of Kaduna State, Malam Nasir El-Rufai and other Northern governors, traditional rulers and the Federal government for their interventions at the heat of the issue.”

    “We want the government to tackle the root cause of agitations and subsequent quit notice by Northern youths and find solution. Let us look at the problem of the Youths when there is complains, also is good to restructure in a way that will benefit everyone.”

    “We are not happy with the call for division. We want Nigeria as one so that all of us can benefit. Northern youths have been our brothers. The Igbos are not going anywhere, we will remain with our Arewa brothers in the north,” Nwogu said.

  • Buhari brings new hope for Nigeria – Shettima

    Buhari brings new hope for Nigeria – Shettima

    Borno State governor, Kashim Shettima, has described the sequence of events that followed the inauguration of President Muhammadu Buhari on May 29 as a silver lining in the dark clouds that have hovered on the northern region for too long.

    According to Governor Shettima, the problems of insurgency, poverty and bad governance among others have turned the region into a laughing stock in recent years despite the good legacies handed over to the present generation of leaders by past leaders, especially the late Sardauna of Sokoto, Sir Ahmadu Bello.

    The governor spoke in his capacity as the chairman of the Northern Governors’ Forum at the opening ceremony of the maiden meeting of the Governors at State House, Kawo, in Kaduna, on Friday.

    He lamented the predicament of the region, saying things have become so bad that the region has “become a thriving nest for war, terrorism, deep seated social divisions, senseless violence, mind-boggling intolerance, injustice, destitution, joblessness, and all manners of other social vices, the height of which is the madness called Boko Haram.”

    “Things have become so bad, so much so that we can say without fear of contradiction that in Nigeria today poverty glaringly wears a bold Northern face. We have turned our region into a laughing stock, derided by friends and foes alike, and, not without justification, as having dragged the rest of the country down with us.”

    Governor Shettima told his colleagues that it was time to change and embrace “the cusp of a new era, the promise of a transition from seemingly interminable years of hardship, poverty and turmoil – the proverbial Locust Years – to a period of hope, prosperity and calm” as personified by the present national leadership.”

    He added:”For the first time since the early 1980s, the political leadership of the Northern states is poised to reverse the negative trends that had so readily sown the destructive seed of mutual suspicion, distrust and animosity among the teeming people that occupy the vast lands of our states. I can see the signs of sincere effort and genuine optimism to draw strength in our diversity and change the narrative of our troubled history in the interest of our region’s history, and indeed, the rest of Nigeria.

    “As leaders of our people at this crucial epoch of our history, and democratically elected ones at that, we are left with no choice but to rise up to the occasion and live up to people’s perfectly understandable  expectations. We must seize this moment, for history is beckoning at us.”