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Tag: regional integration

  • Regional integration and enhanced productivity as a recipe for paradigm shift in the Southwest (II)

    Regional integration and enhanced productivity as a recipe for paradigm shift in the Southwest (II)

    (Continued from last Friday)

    Among these include the first television station in Africa (now NTA), the first stadium in West Africa (Liberty Stadium), the first tallest building tropical Africa (Cocoa House) and the famous free education programme.

    What is most significant for me, within the context of today’s gathering and our concern, is the opportunity that these states now have to constitute a veritable model for national productivity, regional integration and other regional centres of excellence that others of the country and the continent can proudly emulate. The Schumpeterian spirits and unbridled entrepreneurship that were the building blocks of the foundation of the Old Western Region have been compromised.

    The need to reform the national productivity paradigm of Nigeria became obvious to me a long time ago in my continuous attempt to resolve the dysfunctionality of the Nigerian Civil Service. The necessity of a radical rethinking of a productivity-oriented Nigerian state has never been more compelling than now. Nigeria’s long decades of oil exploration and high growth figures have been accompanied by low productive capacity (de-industrialization), high unemployment and rising poverty and inequality. Nigeria presents a good case of a development paradox – “poverty in the midst of plenty” or “a resource curse development syndrome”. Such a paradox calls for deep rethinking and reflection on the country’s development model and paradigm. Any development paradigm that is not anchored on productive capacity and human development will remain non-inclusive and unsustainable. Such countries will not be able to effectively translate economic growth into economic development that substantially transforms the wellbeing and living conditions of citizens.

    The philosophical underpinning of the Western Region was entrepreneurship – based on building the ‘cake of development’. In the process of sharing from the ‘national cake’, the Schumpeterian spirit and professionalism have been replaced with patronage, nepotism and clientelism. Sooner than later, the region experienced a cliff, by falling from its productivity apogee to a trough.  Our ingenuity, innovativeness, and the cliché of a pace setter disappeared.  The Yoruba euphemism of ‘ajise bi Oyo laari, Oyo kiise bi omo enikankan’ turned to become a business as usual spirit – a cancer that destroyed our innovativeness and originality.

    At some point in time, the Western Region and Nigeria failed to emulate the paradigm shift that raised development frontier in the old western region. There are some of the structural factors that steadily took us to the development trough include:

    • The dynamics and operational mechanics of the relationship between productivity, performance and service delivery is not systematically managed, researched or tapped for effective policy implementation. Instead, we allowed nepotism and inefficiency to overtake productivity and performance.
    • Government remains the single largest employer of labour and provider of services in the economy with size and wage bill that is unsustainable and cry for restructuring within the logic that it will get worse before it will get better or in the language of reform, you can’t eat omelette without cracking egg. By the time we realized it, the proportion of capital expenditure at the Federal Government level fell from 41.67 percent during 1981-1990 to mere 17.77 percent during 2003-2014. The situation in some states is even worse. The resources meant for the entire population is being used to service less than 1.0 percent of the population.
    • The Nigerian economy remains mono-sectoral. The managers of the economy failed to decouple the economy and its sustenance away from oil. While countries like United Arab Emirate and Norway succeeded in decoupling their economy from oil, Nigeria became more enmeshed in the fortune and vagaries of oil. We were trapped into boom and burst of oil revenues with rising expectations from the public on government, including wage increase, subsidies going beyond capacity, and free meal at schools.

    Fiscal policy, if well managed, could be a veritable tool of development management. The Nigerian situation has proved worrisome and challenging in charting the course of development. Reversing the fiscal dependency syndrome remains a tall challenge.  The 1960s, when the Western Region was contributing to the Federal purse through the Cocoa Marketing Board, witnessed substantial regional and physical development such as the construction of the tallest house in tropical Africa and the most state of the art university (then University of Ife, known to be the second most beautiful university in Africa, after University of Alexandra in Egypt). However, when we moved from baking the cake to sharing the cake, development fortune plummeted.  The region that was setting the pace of national development in the 1960s and 1970s became a region with ‘cap-in-hand’ thereafter – relying on the Federal Government to finance its development.  State Governments barely generate about 17 percent of their total available revenues. Figure 1, shows the capacity of state government to generate internal revenues.

    How do Western States performed relative to national average in revenue generation? Using 2013, as a reference year, only three states Lagos, Ogun and Oyo performed above the national average of 15.3 percent of total revenues. Over the years, Lagos has been collecting more than 50.0 percent of its total revenues: down from 63.5 percent in 2008 to 54.9 percent in 2011 and 53.02 percent in 2013. Next is Ogun from 27.5 percent in 2008 to 31.08 percent in 2013. Oyo is also above the national average – 19.2 percent in 2013. The contiguity of these states, tends to promote fiscal policy harmonization, could be an advantage. The contiguity of the Western region therefore remains an opportunity that should rub-on on all the states of the region. This calls for regional integration and fiscal policy harmonization.  Although the fiscal power is still very low, Ondo State is one of the states with rising fiscal efforts. For instance, Ondo State ranked highest among states with an increased IGR/TR ratio from 2.1 per cent in 2010 to 8.6 per cent in 2011. This is followed by Kogi and Bauchi States.

    The level of fiscal dependence has created some fiscal inequality among states (Figure 3) – with Lagos State accounting for about 50 percent of the total internally generated revenues in the country. This is further driving inequality in wages between the centre and the periphery and, consequently deepening underdevelopment of the sub regions. This calls for mentorship and benchmarking between performing and struggling states on IGR

    The current growth and development model, built around a resource-base factor (oil) is counterproductive to the country and particularly the South West. The inability to decouple the national and state economies from oil is creating some dependency that could derail inclusive and sustain development in the Western Region. It takes little reflection to see why such a bottom-up growth trajectory automatically supports the craving for regional integration economies of scale among the states in the Southwest. Regional integration has equally been signalled as a potent factor in the economic successes of some of the advanced economic nations of the world. The story of Chinese development remains incomplete without regionalization, especially the delta cultivation.  There is no reason why the southwest would not toe this path even if it is just to advance it’s development agenda.

    The recalibration of Western Region development agenda call for some paradigm shift that allows for inclusive and sustainable development. This can be honed on two building blocks – productivity paradigm and regionalization prism. Building and enhancing productive capacity is the only long-term means of improving and sustaining national wealth. Shifting the productivity frontier calls for a new service compact between the people and government, not only in terms of service delivery but also in terms of fiscal citizenship. There is quid-pro-quo in fiscal-development conundrum. Quality services propel people to willingly pay taxes and reduce tax evasion. Inefficiency service delivery creates a wedge between the government and the governed on taxes and levies. It also calls for a compact between the Governors and the various MDAs, and between the Ministries and their various departments and agencies as well as social contract between the public and the private sector as well as the civil organizations. Moving on to the next level of development paradigm calls for a professional, agile, well-remunerated and committed public service.

    Productivity enhancement provides the link between innovation and entrepreneurship. We need to unleash drivers of productivity growth to stimulate entrepreneurship – the imperatives of new business creation. For the Western region to stimulate innovation, substantial investment is needed in research and development (R&D), patenting and creative activities, and digital information. To successfully shift development frontier in the Western Region, states and local government must invest heavily on productivity enhancement, entrepreneurship development and technological building, diffusion and transfer.

    A possible revival of regional economic cooperation through intensification of trade, implementation of regional investment projects, could foster economic growth in the Western Region.  In fact, the compelling justifications to do so also offer some strategic policy actions. Key factors that foster regionalization and development could accelerate sustainable development are:

    (i)       Networking: The States in the region should prioritize networking on policies and strategies both at the technical and strategic levels. This facilitates sound development exchange through drawing on lessons and experience sharing among states issues of strategic focus. A good example is networking in revenue generation capacity for effective revenue diversification. This reduces the region susceptibility to vagaries and vicissitude of global oil process. Lagos and Ogun States stand out (Figure 2) for benchmarking. Lagos State is a leader in terms of capacity to generate domestic revenues (Figure 3). A regional approach provides opportunity for enhanced capacity among the collaborating states in the region is vital.

    (ii)     Geographic cohesion: The compactness and contiguity of the region geographic opportunities in terms of the regional comparative advantage that could be used to unleash growth and development. This is where regional infrastructure such as rail, road, electricity generation, and irrigation and telecommunication backbones is critical.

    (iii)    Institutional and policy change: Regionalization calls for policies, practices and process to be effectively harmonized. Contradictory policies and practices are centrifugal rather than propelling centripetal forces for concrete development actions. In vesting in sectoral and strategic policy harmonization is ineluctable.

    (iv)    Adoption of fiscal harmonization calls for a regional partnership: The contiguous nature of the region makes tax and revenue harmonization an imperative. Heterogeneous taxes promote tax evasion and tax avoidance. Without a fiscal harmonization, people and companies move from states with higher tax rates to lower ones thereby reducing the tax bases of the affected states. A harmonised tax policy will increase overall revenues of the collaborating entities.

    (v)      Economic diversification is an imperative. Relying on hands out from the federal allocation would merely deepen current deleterious dependency syndromes, with catastrophic effects. To decouple each state’s revenue from oil, economic diversification is critical. The starting point is for each state to identify its comparative advantage and use such as the anchor of economic diversification. The next stage, where Lagos is now, is to diversify from primary commodities to high-end value added and high-end services—activities whose consumption grows as income grows. Harnessing resources from economic diversification could outpace revenue from oil.

    (vi)    Establishment of growth poles and economic corridors. The south-western states must reflect on activities that propel economic corridors across the partnering entities. This could be in the form of free trade zones, dry ports, transport corridors, and agricultural settlements, among other factors.

    (vii)   Setting up regional business hubs across the geopolitical zones would also serve as a big booster for trade across the region. Such trade centres could be used to encourage entrepreneurship in each state and large scale firms in various state hosted there to attract greater market access. The hubs would also serve as a one stop business start-up centre hence, making it easier for investors to do business easily. Government and private sector should be committed to supporting business and industry development, helping new businesses to establish themselves, and assisting existing industries to grow and diversify. Building the institution for capital venture and integration between formal and informal sectors are equally vital.

    (viii)  Development of Critical Infrastructure: Available data from the State Houses of Assembly shows that Lagos and Ekiti states have maintained a steady increasing commitment to developing critical infrastructure since 2010. The trend in capital expenditure for Oyo and Ondo state follows a similar pattern that suggests learning from one each other and greater linkage. Average capital budget allocation from 2009 to 2013 for the South Western states shows that Lagos accounts for 41.1% of the total capital budget allocation in the region while Ekiti state has the least. Thus, greater integration across the six (6) states would provide greater cooperation in public financial management that would strengthen resilience in the SW region. This would help to grow their economy and deepen development in infrastructure.

    (ix)     Deep-seated institutional reengineering: There is a compelling need to restructure the machinery of government to realign the capital-overhead-personnel budget structure in a remodelling that is rooted in a deep role of government redefinition with strong sensitivity to mystery index. This would have implication for staff strength, wage bill, number of MDAs, number of Special Advisers/Assistants, scope of support to government functionaries, service delivery approaches that is much more aligned to PPP alternatives, waste reduction strategy that is linked to a new maintenance management policy and a new asset efficiency scheme around redefined guiding principles, gradual move from lifetime career-based to flexible employment policies that is rooted in performance management, productivity bargaining industrial relation practices and contractual obligations in service delivery, etc.

    (x)      Establishment of regional development fund: Absence of sustainable funding of regionalization often lead to collapse of such partnerships. This could be sourced from states and local government contributions, bond issuance, Diaspora Bond as was the case in Ethiopia and private sector funding via build-operate and transfer and any other form of equity financing.  The states should decide the strategic areas this fund should be allocated to.

    Conclusion

     What we are pushing here is not going to be a day’s job, and it is not going to be easy. It will take persistent political will and persistent commitment by succeeding governments to achieve. The experience of ensuring that the European Union and the Eurozone work as a buffer area that enables the member states to achieve regional strength in economic and political matters, is a very good example. It demonstrates the dogged attempt at making sure that the European member states stay together under one banner. It also demonstrates the immense benefits that accrue to each member state.

    The consolation is that the South-western states will not be starting from a historical scratch. They have the historical legacy of the Western Region as the framework around which to build a collective dream of prudent fiscal management, critical infrastructural development, rapid industrialization, strengthened service sector, an enviable regional business hub, and so on. All these constitute a veritable bulwark against future economic recession and global oil downturn and severe fluctuation in revenue allocation.

  • Ecobank advocates regional integration

    THE Managing Director, Ecobank Nigeria Limited, Jibril Aku has said achieving rapid development in Africa requires improved trade relations, share data and harmonise financial services.
    He said “development, harmonisation and integrating of national and regional financial markets, including elimination of barriers and reducing risks affecting the free movement of labour and capital across-borders would fast track development.
    Aku, who was Guest Lecturer at the Hallmark Newspaper’s Public Policy Dialogue in Lagos, expressed optimism that economic realities would force African countries to integrate despite several failed attempts to unite the continent politically. “I am very optimistic it will happen. Economic realities will happen. Economic realities will drive it. If political realities don’t bring it together, Economic realities will drive it,” he said.
    Aku, whose paper was titled: “Regional Integration and Sustainable Development”, said the current degree of African regional integration remains highly superficial. He listed constraints as membership of bilateral organisations; slow ratification of protocols and reluctant implementation of agreed plans; socio-economic policy divergence; limited national and regional capacities; lack of full private sector involvement at both planning and implementation; weak infrastructure; corruption and poor policy support, amongst others as hindrance to Africa’s competitiveness.
    The top banker is optimistic that current global economic trends would force African countries to integrate, stressing that the modest success of pan African bank, that is Ecobank Transnational Incorporated (ETI) should serve as a beacon in African’s path to socio-economic integration.

  • Town planners present plan for regional integration among Southwest states

    In an effort to provide concise strategies for the integration of South-Western Nigeria, town planners in the region have come up with policy document geared towards development agenda among the six states that make up the region.

    The document, entitled: “South-West Strategic Regional Plan – A case for Integrated Development Agenda”, was presented to all stakeholders including community leaders, commissioners of physical planning in the region, captains of industry, permanent secretaries,  Obas and professionals in Lagos recently.

    Agenda contained in the document encompassed various issues affecting urban and regional planning in the zone, including strategies for cooperation for repositio-ning development within the region.

    Town planners’ representatives from Lagos, Ogun, Oyo, Osun, Ondo and Ekiti states were visible at the meeting.

    The document was endorsed by Chairman of South West Forum and Chairman,  Nigerian Institute of Town Planners (NITP) , Lagos State, Mr Ayo Adediran; Chairmen  of NITP from  Ogun, Oyo, Osun, Ondo, Ekiti states, Mr Ranti Osoko, Olatunji,  Niyi Olanipekun, Ademola Adesida and Gregory Ojo, respectively.

    Director General, Development Agenda for Western Nigerian Commission (DAWNC), Mr Dipo Famakinwa, said there was need for regional integration of the zone, being a region with a common language, boundary, culture, values and religion.

    He listed various areas such as education, industry, innovation, regional competiveness, agriculture, culture, trade and commerce, and religion  by which  south-western states could integrate for development, saying it makes more sense for states in the region to integrate.

    Speaking, Commissioner for Physical Planning and Urban Development in Lagos, Mr Toyin Ayinde, stated that if the South West states could achieve regional integration plan to drive development, they would be doing Nigeria a lot of good.

    He recalled that regional integration programme was not new to the region, pointing out that the Late Chief Obafemi Awo-lowo, once came out with integrated rural development in 1978, with a plan to have integrated rail system, but regretting that up till now, the region is still grappling with the problem.

    He tasked stakeholders to pursue regional integration for the development of the region, adding that there is need to retrace the value and community spirit system of the region which have totally vanished.

    Former President of NITP, Mr Bunmi Ajayi, said the private sector must partner with government in running the commission to avoid influence by political parties.

    Chairman, WEMABOD Estate Limited, Dr. Adebanjo Adewusi, listed challenges to the regional integration among south west states which must be addressed.

    According to him, commitment of leadership to embrace the implementation of the document must be secured, adding that the policy must look at how the teeming youths would be employed, saying this would require the coming together of stakeholders and leaders.

    He also talked about the issue of sourcing fund for the development of rail system for economic integration of the zone, advising that PPP models must be applied to drive this.

    “There is need for value orientation; our people should stop worshiping money. We must look at our educational system. Ekiti State should do what China did by setting up a location for Free Trade Zone for education,” he said.

    He said the region should see agriculture as the main emancipator, urging the need to embrace agriculture and create a revival scheme for the sector by establishing farm settlements.

    He also tasked government and the private sectors on the need for infrastructure development, saying this is vital to economic integration of the south west states.

    President of Association of Town Planners’ Consultants of Nigeria, Mr Moses Ogunleye, said there was need to look at the area of legislation, saying there were laws guiding railway and power generation.

    He stated that lack of data has always been the bane of development plans for the region while urging for effective communication about plans for regional integration amo-ng the citizens.

    During the presentation of the document, Chairman, NITP’s committee on Strategic Regional Plan, Mr Olubunmi Adeyeye, stated that plans and policies that would be required for the purpose of integration of the region and to be facilitated under the new institutional framework  would include land accessibility and development policy, transport and mobility integration policy; agriculture integration policy; housing, resettlement and migration plan, employment and poverty reduction policy, tourism integration plan, industrial integration plan, trade and commerce integration policy.

    Others include education integration policy, security plan, health policy, energy, power and environmental integration plan, extractive resources plan and governance integration policy.

    For sustainable and effective integration procedures, he suggested that each state must first develops accessible and comprehensive policy on each sector outlined above so that the convergence states’ policies on each sector could be amended, harmo-nised and conceptualised into regional integration policy on specific sector.

    In order to promote effective governance, he pointed out that physical and land use planning in the south west should be such that every state prepares a state regional plan, while every local government should establish a local planning authority and prepare a master plan for major towns and cities to cover its area of jurisdiction within the context of the state regional plan.

    “Also, every state must prepare infrastructural master plan, development planning and development control departments as the main components on physical planning,” he said.

  • ‘Regional integration in Southwest’s interest’

    ‘Regional integration in Southwest’s interest’

    A group, ‘Egbe Omo Yoruba, North America’, has said that the regional integration mooted by the Southwest progressive governors is in the interest of the geo-political zone.

    The group urged Yoruba in the Diaspora to support the project by donating their talents and knowledge to fuel development in the zone.

    Rising from its annual meeting in Washington, United States, the group led by Chief Bolu Omodele charged the six governors to forge ahead with the programme in unity.

    The theme of the convention was: “Stability of the Yoruba in the 21st Century and beyond”. Guests at the convention included the Lagos State Special Adviser on Regional Integration, Rev. Tunji Adebiyi, who represented Governor Babatunde Fashola (SAN), Ekiti State Commissioner for Integration Affairs Mr. Niyi Afuye, who stood for Governor Kayode Fayemi, Afenifere Renewal Group (ARG) Secretary Mr Ayo Afolabi, former Presidents of the Egbe; Aare Kolawole Ayodele, Dr. McGuinis. Otunbusin and Aremo Adeola Odusanya, and leaders of other Yoruba sub-groups.

    Lauding the Southwest governors, the former President of the group, Mrs. Monilola Tenabe, enjoined them to develop policies that would lift their people from the poverty.

    Omodele also echoed him, saying that the governors must always strive to be different by implementing people-oriented policies.

    In its communiqué, the group noted that the stability of the Yoruba nation is linked with the preservation and promotion of the Yoruba Language, culture and values, urging the people never to subject it to the ravaging western culture.

    The group added: “The restructuring of Nigeria to ensure federalism would guarantee accelerated development of the potentials of the Southwest.

    “Political leaders of the Yoruba nation should focus on massive infrastructure development of schools, hospitals, roads and bridges, premiums placed on the state of our environment and also agriculture and food security.

    “The developmental integration project of the Yoruba should take cognizance of the comparative advantage of the component states should be vigorously implemented to ensure sustainable development of the Yoruba nation.

    “Yoruba in Diaspora should be recognised as a partner in the political, social and economic development of the Yoruba nation through repatriation of capital, investments, and ideas. Partnering agencies and corporate establishments should be introduced to the Southwest to support and initiate projects that would stimulate development of the Yoruba nation.

    “The government of the South West should treat as priority the security of life and property against vices as such kidnapping, robbery and the blood thirsty Boko Haram. Investments in security technology devices, mechanisms and community policing should be embarked upon by government of the South West states. Political actors should shun violence as election seasons draw near. The Southwest states should not be turned into a gallery of “do or die politics.”

    Omodele urged Yoruba in the Diaspora to make the group a vehicle for political, social and economic re-engineering of the Southwest. He said the Egbe would form a Consortium of Yoruba Professionals (CYP) to partner with the Southwest governments.

    He added: “We owe it a duty to take interest in what our governors are doing, especially the implementation of the Developmental Agenda for Western Nigeria (DAWN)”.

  • Alaafin backs Southwest governors on regional integration

    THE Alaafin of Oyo, Oba Lamidi Adeyemi 111, has supported the efforts of Southwest governors on regional integration.

    He said it would boost economic development in the Southwest.

    The Alaafin said he has been urging the Yoruba in the Diaspora to invest in Yorubaland.

    In a letter to the governors of Lagos, Ogun, Oyo, Osun, Ondo and Ekiti states on Monday, the monarch said he was spurred into action by the efforts of the governors.

    Oba Adeyemi said: “Being the political offsprings of the great legend and icon of development politics in Nigeria, the late Chief Obafemi Awolowo, one cannot but praise the determination of the governors to bring the glorious days of the old Western Region under Awolowo into life again.

    “My joy knew no bounds when, recently, I read of the overtures of Governors Abiola Ajimobi (Oyo) and Rauf Aregbesola (Osun) to extend the olive branch to their counterpart in Ondo State, Dr. Olusegun Mimiko, to join hands with them on the regional integration.”

    Alaafin urged Mimiko to rise above partisan politics and work with his colleagues in the zone to map out a “well-coordinated strategy” for the socio-economic transformation of the Southwest.

    He said not only does he endorse the regional integration agenda, he has a concrete proposal and contribution to make to assist in the realisation of the “noble vision”.

    Oba Adeyemi said: “I have been in contact with patriotic Yoruba indigenes resident in more than 20 countries in the Diaspora, who share your vision.”

    He invited Southwest governors to a three-day international convention on investment in Yorubaland slated for Dubai from March 14 to 16.

    The monarch said: “The main objective of the convention is to launch an international investment drive in Yorubaland with the involvement of Yorubas in the Diaspora, governments in Yorubaland and Yoruba captains of industry to network with the international business community and inform them of the abundant investment opportunities in Yorubaland.”

    Oba Adeyemi regretted that his past efforts in a similar direction were filtered away on the alter of politics when he secured free medical equipment for all Federal Medical Centres from patriotic Nigerians in the United States in 1999.

    He urged the governors to cast aside the “perceived marginalisation of the Yoruba in a federation heading inexorably into political unitary compartment”.

    Alaafin said their target should be a renaissance of the “past glorious days when the defunct Western Region was the model and reference point for the rest of the country in infrastructural, educational, health and agricultural development”.

    He promised his “total commitment” to the project.

  • Regional integration is the answer

    SIR: In 1914, the British colonialists amalgamated different nations around the River Niger area to form what is today known as Nigeria. The ‘British masters’ caused the fusion the Hausas, the Fulanis, the Kanuris, the Nupes, the Yorubas, the Ijaws, the Ibos, the Ibibos, the Kalabaris and so on. Nigeria is a combination of nations because a nation is a large aggregate of people united by common descent, history, culture including language, inhabiting a particular natural country or territory. It is different from a federation. A federation is a group of states with central government and with each state having independence in internal affairs like governance, education, policing, transportation etc.

    Over 98 years after the forced union, not all Nigerians can speak “our common language” and some of us are very pleased with our local language irrespective of the constituents of the gathering. In the beginning of the union, things looked promising. The education system introduced by the colonialists was embraced by the few that could afford schools. A primary school leaver in the sixties will read newspaper correctly and can write acceptable application for jobs. University graduates are now riding Okada and only take time off during off-peak hours to read free newspapers.

    We have the resources both at state and national levels to actualise better standard of living for our people but the structure to make sure this is possible is not in place. We seem to perform better when we are organised along the regional divide. When we operated as a region, we did more collectively than when we were ‘butchered’ into states. The states were not correctly demarcated because the stakeholders were not involved and could not say which state they prefer to belong. Prominent examples are the Okuns, the Aworis and the Ekitis. In some cases, because of natural features like the rivers, a community was divided into to. An example is Asejire in Oyo and Osun states.

    Late Chief Obafemi Awolowo, of blessed memory, gave the Western region of Nigeria the infrastructure that made it the envy of other regions and nations. Nnamdi Azikiwe followed suit in the Eastern region and Tafawa Balewa in the Northern region. Our people were motivated because they had sense of belonging to their respective regions and saw regional projects as national projects that belonged to all. Corruption level was low because everybody’s aim was to deliver qualitative public goods and not personal aggrandisement. The other regions in Nigeria were greatly impacted by the Yoruba’s doctrine of being virtuous and the laudable achievements of the sage. A lot of job-seekers came from the other regions to seek solace in the South-West. Ibadan greatly developed into the biggest city in West Africa. So also was Lagos.

    Regional integration will ginger rapid development of the federation. Nigeria is like a construction project with language barrier as a major problem. We fail to understand and listen to each other. The people that can steer the ship of Nigeria to safe harbour can hardly get to the steering. Mainstreaming is a callous means of benefiting at others’ expense. Regional integration is for those that have ideas to let ‘charity begin at home’. By demonstrating that our regions can be great, Nigeria will be greater than we can expect and this will save Nigeria a lot of resources and make it a developed nation.

    • Olufemi Oyedele.

    Osogbo, Osun State

  • The North: No to secession try regional integration

    The North: No to secession try regional integration

    ‘As much as every ethnic race and their affiliates deserve an independent country, there is only one solution – we must return to the previous system of governance before the tragic civil war. This time, ethnic groups must be allowed to choose whatever region they sincerely want to tag along with. No ethnic group MUST be forced or lumped together in the name of some fuzzy history. In this way, any region can develop at its own pace with little or no external interference. The mutual feeling of distrust and ill-feeling will disappear to some extent. – A commentator.

    Alhaji Bello Kirfi is a distinguished man of honour whose services to the country spanned over 28 years and still counting, that is, if he does not succeed in truncating Nigeria. For ease of reference, and to let my readers know that Alhaji Bello Kirfi’s call was not a flash in the pan or made by some inconsequential personality, here’s a snapshot of the technocrat. He was Permanent Secretary for four ministries, Health, Land and Survey, Education and Finance and retired as Permanent Secretary, Ministry of Finance, Bauchi state. A former Minister of State, he also served as director, Bank of the North, Equity Bank and Steyr (Nig).Ltd. He is currently the Chairman of Giwo Holdings Limited. A truly lucky and privileged man, and he is certainly not alone as Northern civil servants go, Alhaji Kirfi attended the Ahmadu Bello University, Zaria and graduated with a diploma in Accountancy in 1971.

    With a background as illustrious as this, it should not surprise that Alhaji Kirfi was able to assemble the eminence grise .of Nigeria’s North-Eastern geo-political zone amongst who were highly regarded Malam Adamu Ciroma, Ex-Defence Minister, Gen T.Y Danjuma,

    former Secretary to the Government of the Federation, Alhaji Yayale Ahmed, Ex-Petroleum Minister and Senator, Professor Jubril Aminu, Mallam Nuhu Ribadu, Alhaji Adamu Maina Waiziri, Gen Timothy Shelpidi (rtd), Alhaji Bunu Sheriff, and Alhaji Aliyu B. Modibbo.

    Also in attendance were: General Yakubu Usman; Deputy Senate Leader, Sen. Abdul Ningi; Senator Aisha Alhassan; former Minister of Women Affairs, Hajia Inna Ciroma; and former Education Minister, Alhaji Dauda Brima. And nobody could have been surprised to see the distinguished Professor Ango Abdullahi, former University Vice-Chancellor and foremost Northern irredentist.

    The fact that Alhaji Kirfi invited General Danjuma to the summit must be proof positive of his belief that there is a groundswell of reasons why the North must now ‘secede and take its destiny in its own hands’. I say this because he cannot claim to be unaware of what would be the disposition of a man who has serially asserted that another civil war will practically kill off Nigeria. He must have felt that there are some commonality between him and those invited as to the disadvantages the North currently suffers from the status quo. But it did not surprise, either, that the General was one of those who, at least, temporarily squelched the call to secession.

    What then are the conjecturable reasons for the call?

    Without a doubt, since the Southern friend the North inflicted on us all turned against them by neutralising, if not completely eliminating, the sources of easy money and arrogance of power, it has been jeremiad upon jeremiad amongst the hitherto extremely powerful Northern politicians/soldiers. Obasanjo has completed his denouement of this class of Northerners when he went ahead, without as much as asking their permission, to make the late Yar Adua the choice of the North to succeed him. For purposes of clarity, Obasanjo did not do that for altruistic reasons but just to be the voice behind the throne, a throne he knew had been weakened, ab initio, by the incoming President’s state of health. This neatly eliminated the Northern influence to the point that by the time Hajia Turai came unto her own, not a single Northern politician , or any of the erstwhile swashbuckling generals, could any longer rein in her excesses. Not a whimper was heard from Minna where two former presidents of Northern extraction reside nor from Kaduna where power had formerly oozed from. Indeed, Obasanjo had gone further to defoliate some sources of unconscionable personal wealth further driving in the bitter sword.

    And he was not done.

    Even though rotational presidency as party policy had been formally ratified by the Peoples Democratic Party which, ipso facto, meant that a Northerner should succeed to the presidency at the end of Yar Adua’s first term, given that he was no longer available to continue in office, Obasanjo did much more than Chief Edwin Clark in edging on former Vice-President, Goodluck Jonathan, to throw in his hat into the presidential ring. Things have never been the same ever since.

    It is not unknown that some Northerners have since promised to make the country ungovernable for Jonathan and the consequences have been absolutely ferocious. Boko Haram, even though did not come at the instance of these disgruntled politicians –since they were originally the roughnecks of the ANPP government in a particular state in the North-East – have since found justification for their extreme excesses in the angst the PDP politicians have against the President.

    I, however, believe that the immediate precursor for the secession call is Jonathan’s decision to no longer treat Boko Haram with kid gloves. Rather than the hoped-for intervention funds, ala those government has put in place in the Niger-Delta area, humongous funds some Northern leaders would think they would again latch on to further pauperise their people as has habitually become the norm, the President has chosen to treat Boko Haram as urban terrorists who deserve nothing but strong hands. No longer do we hear of negotiations with some faceless bloodhounds which North-East elders continue to make their demand.

    I agree completely that the Federal government must intervene appropriately in taking the North out of its economic miasma which, without a doubt, has been self-inflicted because its elite has, over these many years, been very selfish and completely unsympathetic to the agony of its hoi polloi. Northern leaders should, however, start a process of replacing their sundry sterile summits with serious discussions on how to economically empower their people. In this regard I strongly recommend that they interrogate, very seriously, Regional Economic Integration as panacea to the lingering economic incubus in that part of the country.

    The DAWN Document which copiously documents South-West’s DEVELOPMENT AGENDA FOR WESTERN NIGERIA, but which many have demonised as the document to underpin Yoruba secession fromNigeria, is a serious document put together by the Yoruba intelligentsia and Professionals and to which the legislative houses in the region have since bought into and is being assiduously driven by its governors who have since set up Ministries of Regional Integration..

    The North, it must be said, cannot always rely on the federal government. It may bear relevance to mention here that during the Obasanjo years, with an Alhaji Muktar Shagari as the Water Resources Minister, and to the near total exclusion of the South-West, billions of naira were being voted for irrigation projects in the North that AGBAJO, a Pan-Yoruba Socio-Cultural Association, had to set up a 3-Man Rapid Response team, to react to the almost weekly announcement of these humongous awards at the end of every Executive Council meeting. That then was a function of how much hold the North had on Obasanjo until he was able to break loose.

    That preferential treatment for the North is no longer possible is one of the reasons predisposing any group of Northern leaders to suggest ‘Araba’. Without a doubt Alhaji Kirfi must have confided in very many of the confreres before the summit and the fact that the Ciroma’s and the Danjuma’s were able to shut it down now does not mean it is dead as a cause.