The Nation Newspaper

Tag: restructuring

  • Restructuring, obvious choice of Nigerians to solve ‘intractable problems ‘- Southsouth leaders

    Restructuring, obvious choice of Nigerians to solve ‘intractable problems ‘- Southsouth leaders

    Leaders of the Southsouth geo-political zone made a fresh case  yesterday for Nigeria’s restructuring,describing it as  the obvious choice of Nigerians, having carried with it the most plausible platform that could solve the seemingly intractable problems.

    The Southsouth leaders, at a summit on the future of Nigeria in Port Harcourt,River State, were one  in their demand for restructuring and true federalism, establishment of state police, resource ownership and control, and an entirely new constitution deriving its legitimacy from the people.

    They said that the proposed amendments of the 1999 Constitution by  the National Assembly did not go far enough to address the inadequacies inherent in the document.

    Governor Nyesom Wike of Rivers State ,in a keynote address at the summit,faulted the report of the Governor Nasir El-Rufai APC Committee of restructuring.

    He branded it misleading.

    Wike who was represented by the Head of the state  civil service,Mr.Rufus Godwin ,said: “We need a better political structure in Nigeria. This country belongs to all of us.

    “ Nobody can be better Nigerian than the people of the Southsouth zone. From independence, the task of our forefathers had been to build a united nation, but disunity and violence are now the order of the day.

    “The present flawed structure of Nigeria was imposed on Nigerians by the military. Decentralisation of powers is the solution to the problems plaguing Nigeria. We will continue to stand for the unity and corporate existence of Nigeria.

    “The people of Southsouth have made sacrifices to keep Nigeria together. We believe in our right to self determination in a united Nigeria. We believe in the obligation to share our resources with other Nigerians.”

     

     

     

     

     

     

     

     

     

     

     

     

     

     

     

  • APC panel proposes power devolution

    APC panel proposes power devolution

    The All Progressives Congress (APC) panel on restructuring has recommended devolution of power to states and the scrapping of local governments as a tier of government.

    It recommended resource control, state police, independent candidacy and merger of states.

    Panel chairman and Kaduna State Governor Nasir El-Rufai submitted its report  to National Chairman John Odigie-Oyegun in Abuja yesterday.

    Oyegun said with the report the APC’s stance on true federalism and restructuring are clear, adding: “this is the totality of our views, but it is still going to go through the mill.”

    El-Rufai said the panel collated the views of Nigerians, especially party members, which were mostly reflected in the report.

    He said: “The first item that we felt needed legislative action is the merger of states. It is pertinent to note that only 36 per cent of Nigerians wants more states created while majority of Nigerians don’t want more states. For us, since the creation of states is already in the constitution,  there is no action needed than to implement that.

    “So, the first recommendation for which we have proposed a draft bill for constitutional amendment is the merger of states. Though there was no consensus from stakeholders on the merger of states, we felt that we should propose a bill that allows states to merge and it is left for the National Assembly, the party and the people of Nigeria to decide on that.

    “On derivation principle, it is recommended that the Revenue Mobilisation and Fiscal Commission Act be amended to vest it with the power to periodically review the derivation formula and make recommendations to the President who shall table the same before the National Assembly for necessary action.

    “On fiscal federalism and revenue allocation, we propose an amendment to sub-section two of the constitution to give more revenue to the states and reduce the Federal Government’s share.

    “There was overwhelming popular demand that there should be devolution of power to the states and the committee recommended same. We have recommended that the first schedule, part one and two be amended to transfer some powers to the states.”

    The committee also recommended that states be allowed to have their own police.

    Oil and other mineral resources, said the committee, should be left to the control of the states where they are located. Offshore resources should be owned by the Federal Government.

    The committee proposed the amendment of the first schedule to the constitution to ensure that names of local government councils are removed from the constitution. States should be allowed to create and fund their own local governments.

    El-Rufai said the committee recognised the fact that the country was operating a federal system. He described as an aberration, having more than two tiers of government as federating units in a federal system.

    El-Rufai said: “Local government autonomy is a very interesting subject in which we were surprised at the outcome. There were divergent opinions on this issue. We recommend that the current system of local government administration provided for by the constitution should be amended and that states should be allowed to develop and enact laws to have local government administration system that is peculiar to each of them.

    “What we heard from Nigerians is that as far as local government is concerned, there is no one size fits for all. We all come from different histories, different cultures, different administrative systems and we believe that the constitution should ensure that there is a democratic local government system in every state. But the details of, and the nature of that local government system, the number of local governments should be left to the states and states houses of assembly.

    “We propose amendment to Sections 7, 8, 162, the first schedule, part one and the first schedule of the constitution to give effect to our recommendations. The section that lists the local governments and their headquarters should be removed so that local governments are no longer named in the constitution.

    “States can create their local governments and determine the structure of their local governments. We are, by this, recognising that in a federal system, you cannot have more than two tiers of government. Having three tiers of government is an aberration. There is nowhere in the world where our research has shown us that you have more than two federating units.

    On resources control, the governor said: “We have proposed that mining, minerals, oil should go to the states. Then there will be certain constitutional amendments.

    “The Petroleum Act will be amended to show that states can now issue oil mining licences; the Land Use Act, Nigeria Minerals and Mining Act, the Petroleum Profit Tax Act 2007 would all need to be amended. So, we have proposed amendment that will ensure that minerals, mining and oil are vested in the states except offshore minerals.”

    The committee recommended a constitutional amendment to allow for a referendum to be conducted on burning national or state issues before decisions are taken. Now, the constitution has no room for referendum, but only in the creation of states.

    On independence candidacy, the committee recommended that anybody who wants to contest an election as an independent candidate should not have to be a member of any registered political party six months prior to the election the person wants to contest as a candidate.

    El-Rufai said: “On independent candidacy, the committee notes that majority of respondents were opposed, surprisingly, to independent candidacy. However, the committee still recommends that the party should support the demand for widening the political space by allowing for independent candidacy.

    “We believe that having independent candidates with necessary safeguards will make the political parties to be more honest and more democratic. So, because majority of the respondents were against independent candidacy, we took note of the fact that most of those that took interest in our deliberations were party members. We therefore believe that widening the political space is consistent with APC’s and the President’s commitment and we have made recommendations but with very strict conditions.

    “We have included in the bill to allow for independent candidacy that no one who wants to run as an independent candidate should be a member of a political party six months to the election. What it meant is that you cannot be a member of a political party, lose primaries and then go ahead to run as an independent candidate. You have to make up your mind six months to the elections that none of the parties is good enough and you want to run as an independent candidate.

    “We have put this safeguard to ensure that independent candidacy is not a platform for opportunism, but a deliberate, passionate decision, not an emotional one. We have put four safeguards.

    “One, any person who desires to stand as an independent candidate must not be a registered member of any political party at least six months before the election in which he intends to contest. Two, his nominators must also not be members of any registered political party. Three, the said candidate must pay a deposit to INEC in the same range as the non-refundable deposit payable by candidates sponsored by political parties through their parties.

    “So instead of paying to the parties, you now pay to INEC. If a governorship candidate pays one million to his party, you must pay one million to INEC to stand as an independent candidate.

    He went on: “On citizenship, the issue of local government or state of origin is discriminatory and should be replaced with state of residence. It is around this that we have proposed an amendment to the Federal Character Commission Act to allow people domiciled in a place to be considered as indigenes.

    “We have proposed an amendment to create the State Judicial Council that will appoint and discipline judges within a state while the National Judicial Council will exercise control over the appointment, discipline of judges of the federal government only.

    “We have proposed the creation of the state court of appeal so that from the High Court, you can first appeal to the state court of appeal before it goes to the Supreme Court of the federation. Again, this is consistent with federal practice all over the world.”

    Oyegun said: “I‘m going to promise that before the middle of February, it would have been considered and decided upon by the major structures of this party, the NEC, the Caucus of the party. And whatever is thereafter agreed will be presented to the authorities as the considered views and decisions of the APC for appropriate implementation.”

  • ‘Restructuring is non-negotiable’

    ‘Restructuring is non-negotiable’

    In this piece, rights activist and politician Afolabi Ige dissects the socio-economic and political challenges confronting the country and contends that the solution is restructuring to guarantee true federalism and peaceful co-existence.

    On January 1, President Muhammadu Buhari spoke on the national question. He rejected the call for restructuring, which has been the main issue  since 1966 when the military foisted the unification decree on the federal country.

    The British colonialist tried to bring the Northern Protectorate, the Southern Protectorate  and the Colony of Lagos together under one expedient administration since Nigeria was not their only colonial business. But, due attention was given to the cultural, religious and ethnic diversities and even as our colonial masters, normal democratic nuances was still observed through the several constitutional and political conferences leading to our independence in 1960. Our leaders negotiated and temporarily agreed to  start on a tripod as a federation of three regions at independence in 1960.  We became four regions in 1964 and might have become at least six by 1970s but definitely following the orderly democratic nuances that birthed the mid-western region in 1964.

    Following the discovery of oil in commercial quantities in Nigeria however, greed and avarice seized our elites and they used the military to disrupt the course of our natural growth and migrated to doing everything by artificiality.  The force of decrees rather than negotiations become the order under the jack booth of the military dictatorships and we continue to decree unity, uniformity and equality of the most unequals. The military killed the spirit of our healthy rivalry and competition among the regions, which produced the first television station in Africa, produced one of the strongest cocoa economy in the world, produced one of the tallest groundnut pyramids in the world, produced the Enugu coal mine and the palm tree plantations of the southern states that became the envy of many nations from where we now import  Palm oil as at today.  Our hides and skin potentials which should have made Turkey and Italy grow green with envy of us were all laid to rest by the military adventurists who seemed to know nothing than sharing oil money, awarding oil blocks to cronies, thereby plundering our productive capacities in convalescence with  their civilian collaborators.

    Having plundered our productive capabilities and rendered us an import dependent economy with one of the fastest growing appetite in the world, it is just a matter of time for the seed of poverty and want to germinate and blossom in our national life which has now come of full age with its fruits staring us in the face. These fruits are the myriads of problems we are now contending with today: certificates without intelligence, qualifications without capabilities, religion without faith, baseless equality and uniformity of unequals, economic growth without increased productivity, increasing budget and correspondingly increasing unemployment, wealth without enterprise, continued widening of the gap between the rich and the poor and the resultant evils of kidnapping for ransome, youth restiveness and agitation in place of productive engagements and the hopelessness that resulted into the Bokoharam terror against the state. The most current of the evils is the Fulani herdsmen terrorism.

    “Our problem is more about process than structure”. I knew immediately the president needed to be engaged but while still ruminating, the Fulani herdsmen struck for the umpteenth time on the same 1st January  in the Benue state decimating villages and farm settlements to leave in their trail as usual bloods of hundred of farmers and their families in their own settlement in a country they call their own and which constitution guarantees their freedom to life. The Fulani herdsmen terrorism will therefore form the pillar of my structural failure argument against the president ‘s process hypothesis.

    I agree that  “process” is everything to war and military domination, a profession where Mr. President has built a successful career like his co-compatriots former heads-of-state who are still alive – Gowon, Obasanjo and Babangida. The human society is far larger than the military camps and hence has given prime attention to diagnosing and developing sustainable institutional structural theses for survival of nations. It’s therefore morbidly unfortunate that Nigeria has had the ill luck of been governed mostly by men who were taught and groomed to believe that only  mere “process” suffice and is everything.

    “Structure,” which is defined as the “ arrangement of and relations between parts or elements of something thing complex” (like Nigeria), in my opinion, is primary to systems and specifies the “processes” to follow. Structure  is like the carcasses in building construction which carries and holds the brick works. Any edifice without a good structural engineering is therefore bound to collapse like pack of cards in matters of time. By the natural accident of our nation’s cultural, religious and ethnographic heterogeneity, Nigeria is never, has never and will never function as a unitary state nonetheless in a democracy but rather at best as a united states in one federation just as our colonial masters forged and bequeathed to us at independence. We were not without our complaints even then but our agitations were purposeful and limited: create a mid-west region from the western region, create a middle belt region out of the northern region and the agitation for the creation of the  COR state out of the then eastern region. The “processes” for their actualization was already part of the structural design and it had delivered one out of the three expectancies without any loss of blood. That to my mind is the actual “restructuring” towards perfection. We were steadily on that road before the accident of oil and the attendant misfortune of military rule. Until then, all  the four regions have their different constitutions aside from the federal constitution, all the regions have their own development plans and agenda and in fact were free to negotiate bilateral cooperation with foreign nations. What we had was healthy competition for development and a resultant productive economy with jobs for all and food for all.

    The question today is: “what are we as a nation”?. A federal state or a unitary state or a quasi-federal or quasi-unitary? Definitely we are not in the corridor of the Professor George Weah’s federalism when a Fulani association, the Miyetti Allah Cattle breeders can openly challenge the collective resolve of the entire people of “Benue State” to outlaw open grazing in their state. A law must be obeyed once it is duly passed until nullified by a competent court of law.  This sort of open affront against the “State of Benue” can only be borne out of our structural heist that makes an elected executive governor to be mere security adviser to the commissioner of police in his own state.

    It is structural problem and not mere “process” problem that has made the entire Northeast and West which is bigger than other countries of Africa not to have devised a modern way of doing cattle business which is the cultural occupation of their people beyond the  miserable, animalistic wandering the bushes for grazing in this 21st century.

    The President has only one chance left to remain immortal in the annals of Nigeria  history and that will put you on the Ivy League of leaders  and this is to correct the mistake of the military by returning Nigeria to a true civil democratic structure where the military met us before we became a conquered territory run by processes since she 1966. In fact, the only “process “ that leads to honour for now is the process to return Nigeria back to its true federal structure in which the constituent states or regions will be free from the feeding bottle and noose of the feudal federal government.

    Mr. President should lead this  process with all his remaining will and wits. Nigeria has not worked in over fifty years, despite several “processes” simply because we were trying to put “so much” impressionistically on “nothing” and it will not work until we put something on ground to build on.

  • ‘Restructuring is the answer’

    ‘Restructuring is the answer’

    Retired Bishop of the Methodist Church of Nigeria, Ibadan Diocese,  the Right Rev. Ayo Ladigbolu spoke with BISI OLADELE in Ibadan, Oyo State capital, on the agitation for   restructuring and other issues. 

    You knew when Nigeria gained independence and you have been around since then.  How would you describe Nigeria’s journey of 57 years, having witnessed it all?

    I am very glad and proud to have been with this country, before and since independence. I will say it has been an exciting journey because of all the things that our country has gone through, some of which have happened to other countries would have balkanized the country, would have turned brothers and sisters to enemies, like we are experiencing in certain parts of Africa. But, we rejoice that God has been our guide, and he has led this country in spite of everything to come this far. It’s been sweet and bitter, ups and downs, but to God be the glory that we are where we are  today. But, if we are going to remain and move forward, certain things will have to be done.

    Do you think Nigeria is doing well at all?

    Well, as a country at the moment, economically, we are going through what the entire universe is going through. Economic recession leads to economic difficulties for the people and that’s global. But then we have our own internal problems of terrorism both organized and unorganised because I wonder if the Fulani herdsmen are really organised as terrorists, even though they are behaving like terrorists. But then, we know Boko Haram is an organised terrorist group. It is a protest that was open but was driven down underground by government and allowed to fester into a problem that we are yet to solve. All said and done, we are moving on because there is no country without its own difficulties. There is no country without issues to deal with, and we cannot expect to live in a Utopian kind of environment. But, in spite of our problems and difficulties we are surviving as a nation and we are determined to survive. I’m sure our leaders are listening.

    There is agitation for secession in the Southeast, and currently, the Yoruba in Southwest are calling for restructuring. In the midst of all these, what do you think is the way out?

    Well, permit me to correct a statement that you just made that the Yorubas in the Southwest are calling for restructuring. All Nigerians that are calling for restructuring, for re-engineering of the mechanism with which we are running our nation. So far, I have not heard and if there is any such voice saying divide Nigeria, they are feeble voices. But the general loud and clear voice that I am hearing, and that I am part of, is a call for re-ordering the way we are running this country, re-ordering the way our constitution is crafted, re-ordering the way states are run, look at how government is organized in a manner that will be beneficial to all Nigerians. Like Kabiyesi the Alaafin of Oyo was asking at the APC summit recently: what has the Federal Government got to do with culture? And they have a ministry of information and culture. Whose culture? Because this belong to local government and the states. And that is a clear example of the kind of overbearing, kind of unitary government that we are running which we are calling for restructuring about. Let’s look at the way our governance is being done. Let us re-order, lets us re-engineer it in a manner that will give the state and local government more powers, more authority, more autonomy to run their lives and to organise things for themselves, to take care of the culture of their people, without the big brothers up there imposing stuffs on them. That is what we are calling for. So, it is not only the Southwest; it is not only the Yoruba nation that is calling for a re-ordering, a re-engineering of the way we are running Nigeria so that it will be a Nigeria for all Nigerians. And it will not just be Nigeria for a certain cabal of Nigerians who happen to have power or authority in their hands. That is the point. Run our country in a manner that the states as they used to be in the 1960s up to 1963 can organise and be competitive. But, the states are no longer competitive in any sense because everybody now depends on Abuja for survival. And see the situation now that some states are unable to pay salaries. Of course, you will blame that on recession where states are owing workers. It used to be in the West and I grew up in this part of Nigeria that everything was running smoothly. And workers were happy, the citizens were happy, and the leaders of course were proud to be leading and serving their people. But the story is different now.

    The National Assembly and the Executive are bickering over who has the power to restructure. How do you think it should happen?

    Let me give the ruling party, the APC, credit for initiating it. Even though it’s been done too late, but it is being done and I give them credit for  waking up and deciding to take action, even though it is their manifesto that they will restructure this country, that they will re-engineer the country, but thank God because we who are bearing the brunch are crying aloud. At least the ruling party now has joined in the agitation. They will not call their own agitation, but they have joined in the crusade for restructuring and they have done that by organizing summits in all the geo-political zones to listen to the opinions of the people and they are galvanizing the populace to come out and talk to them. And we know talking to power helps the people to get the results they want or desire or deserve. I am happy now. Whether it is the National Assembly that will bring about the details in the constitution that will lead to the restructuring we want or it is the Executive that will introduce executive bills to take care of this problem, at least all Nigerians are now reading from the same page. I am not part of anybody calling for a break-up of this Nigeria. We need each other, the South, the West, the North; none of us can exist alone by herself the way we are, we have come too far for that but we need to re-order our system of governance that will make Nigerians feel that they are Nigerians and they are proud to be Nigerians. That is all we are concerned about.

  • YCE to Fed Govt: drop cattle colony, start restructuring

    YCE to Fed Govt: drop cattle colony, start restructuring

    The Yoruba Council of Elders (YCE) yesterday rejected the proposed cattle colony or grazing reserves suggested by the Federal Government as panacea to hostilities between Fulani herdsmen and farmers.

    Instead, the council (aka Igbimo Agba Yoruba) insisted that “it is only by restructuring the country that the country can enjoy lasting and sustainable peace”.

    It “urged President Muhammadu Buhari to hearken to the voice of the people by setting the machinery in motion to effect the people’s demand”.

    YCE President Idowu Sofola (SAN) conveyed the council’s message to reporters yesterday after its National Executive Council (NEC) meeting in Ibadan, Oyo State capital.

    Sofola said cattle-rearing was a business, as any other business, which required that individuals venturing into it must be prepared to face the challenges.

    The YCE chief wondered why an individual business should become a government business.

    He said the Federal Government had no control over land, adding that it cannot appropriate what does not belong to it.

    According to him, those going into cattle-rearing must approach owners of land in areas they want to graze their cattle and negotiate on the mode of relationship between them and their landlord.

    Lending his voice to the call for restructuring, the legal icon blamed President Muhammadu Buhari for his hard-line position on the 2014 National Conference Report, which made him remark that people were demanding a change of the presidential system when Nigeria is yet to practise it for 100 years.

    He said: “How many people will live for 100 years before demanding the change of a system that has been found unworkable? Fortunately, some of us have lived to witness parliamentary system and can compare with the presidential system to know which one is better out of the two.

    “What is more? Nobody is even insisting on a particular system. What people are saying is that let us all sit down and discuss what we want and what is considered suitable for all of us. But for the President to discard a whole report of a confab organised by his predecessor leaves much to be desired. Nigeria belongs to all of us and government is a continuum.”

    YCE’s Secretary-General Dr. Kunle Olajid noted that restructuring is the only panacea for anomalies confronting the country.

    The YCE chief noted that creating cattle colony or grazing reserves “is just an ad hoc arrangement that cannot bring about lasting solution to the problem”.

    Olajide described as paradoxical the President’s call on Nigerians to diversify the economy by embracing agriculture on one hand and allegedly encouraging herdsmen to destroy farmlands, on the other.

    He said: “It doesn’t work that way. There must be a holistic approach to whatever problems identified in the country.”

    Reading the communiqué, YCE secretary said the group “condemns the ineptitude of the security agencies on the mindless midnight murders of innocent Benue citizens over their inability to make any arrest three weeks after the unfortunate incident”.

    The communique added: “YCE is alarmed that the leadership of an association, Myetti Allah (the umbrella body of Fulani herdsmen), who have openly been issuing threats, have not been questioned. The kid glove treatment of Myetti Allah speaks volume about the neutrality of the Presidency on this matter.

    “YCE is also disturbed by the apparent insensitivity of some political leaders to the current worrisome situation in the country. Barely 24 hours after the gruesome killings in Benue State, a group of governors appeared on national television, endorsing President Buhari for 2019 election, in violation of INEC regulations and completely ignoring the fact that the nation was still mourning. We urge our leaders to exercise restraint and act more responsibly in these difficult times.”

  • CAN president to Buhari: Nigeria overdue for restructuring

    CAN president to Buhari: Nigeria overdue for restructuring

    The President, Christian Association of Nigeria (CAN), Rev. Samson Ayokunle, has thrown his weight behind those calling for the restructuring of the country.

    It would be recalled that President Muhammadu Buhari, in his New Year message, has rejected the quest for restructuring which has polarised the polity over how to go about it.

    Ayokunle who also doubled as the President of the Nigerian Baptist Convention, yesterday in Abuja at the International Workers’ Retreat of the Convention said, at 57, the country is due for restructuring but said it must be done without fear of favour to all the divides.

    Said he: “There is the need to update how we govern ourselves, thus, re-structuring the nation after 57 years is a welcome development. It must be done without bias or prejudice to religion, ethnicity, class or group affiliation.

    “We must develop our home-grown democracy. The present system is a hybrid of the American and British system. It is not working well for us.”

    He quoted Revelations 21:24-26, “The nations will walk by its light, and the kings of the earth will bring their splendor (glory) into it. On no day will its gates ever be shut, for there will be no night there. The glory and honor of the nations will be brought into it.”

    The cleric said it is clear that every nation in the world has her glory adding, “Nigeria is not left out. Our glory is our pride as a nation”.

    According to him, “When we gained independence from Britain in 1960, it was a turning point in our history and a breakthrough for the nation’s glory to burst forth. Our glory shone brighter and brighter after independence as we became the foremost nation in Africa and indeed among the black race.

    “However, at a point, the glory began to fade and we are yet to recover that glory. If we must bring back the glory of Nigeria and rise to more glory as a nation, then effective participation is compulsory for all Christians”.

    CAN President, in a statement issued by his Special Assistant (Media and Communications), Pastor Adebayo Oladeji, and obtained by The Nation disabused the minds of Christians who are avoiding politics as a plague because it is dirty to have a rethink and embrace it if they wanted to make impact on the political scene.

    The CAN boss said: “The practice of separation of State and Church must be redefined. While the State must not be allowed to control the Church, the Church must influence the State through Christians who are in position of power.

    “To get to a position of power, there is need for election especially in a democratic setting like ours. We must be involved in all facets of politics. Politics is not a dirty game as many have come to believe, but those who play politics are the ones who are dirty.

    “For politically conscious people, join a political party, and be a card-carrying member. Register to vote when called to do so by INEC. Participate actively at the ward level of your party, attend meetings, and contribute meaningfully during discussions. Vote and encourage others to vote during election period. Do not stay back at home and watch TV, play football or sleep. Monitor and protect your vote.”

    Speaking further he said, “Sidon look approach will not help us as Christians. Mike Murdock said, ‘Never complain about what you permit’. If we do not participate actively in politics, then we do not have the right to complain about the type of leaders that are presented by political parties to be voted for and voted into various offices”.

    According to him, “This year, God is interested in our nation and us. Throughout the Bible, we see God intervening, leading and instructing men on how to lead their nations. He is urging us as Christians to be involved in the governing process of our nation. Nigeria is at the center of God’s plan for the human race”.

    On the nation building, Ayokunle said, “If nation building in the 21st century is to be successful, the importance of democratic values, civic culture and civil society that develop and sustain them, the importance of increasing social, political, and economic equality, and of human development, rather than just economic development, are key in any successful strategy for long-term democratic nation-building.

    On the ongoing genocide in Benue and Taraba States, the CAN Leader prayed for peace in the areas, he asked God to comfort the bereaved, heal those recuperating in the hospitals and challenged the government and the security agencies to live up to the expectation.

    He said: “Those bloodletting could have been avoided if our political leaders and the heads of the security agencies are alive to their responsibilities. This is why the Christian Association of Nigeria (CAN) has been consistently calling on them to live up to the billings.

     

     

    “What is happening in the North-Central of the country is a shame, ungodly, wicked and ungodly. It is high time we stopped it before we are thrown into another needless civil war”.

     

  • Nigeria overdue for restructuring – CAN

    Nigeria overdue for restructuring – CAN

    The President of Christian Association of Nigeria (CAN), Rev. Samson Ayokunle, has thrown his weight behind those calling for the restructuring of the country.

    President Muhammadu Buhari had in his New Year message rejected the quest for restructuring of the country.

    Ayokunle, who is also the President of the Nigerian Baptist Convention, said at the International Workers’ Retreat of the Convention held on Saturday in Abuja that the country is due for restructuring.

    He, however, said the restructuring must be done without fear or favour to all the divides.

    He said: “There is the need to update how we govern ourselves, thus, re-structuring the nation after 57 years is a welcome development. It must be done without bias or prejudice to religion, ethnicity, class or group affiliation.

    “We must develop our home-grown democracy. The present system is a hybrid of the American and British system. It is not working well for us.”

    He also quoted Revelations 21:24-26 which says “the nations will walk by its light, and the kings of the earth will bring their splendor (glory) into it. On no day will its gates ever be shut, for there will be no night there. The glory and honor of the nations will be brought into it.”

    The cleric said it is clear that every nation in the world has her glory, adding “Nigeria is not left out. Our glory is our pride as a nation.”

    “When we gained independence from Britain in 1960, it was a turning point in our history and a breakthrough for the nation’s glory to burst forth. Our glory shone brighter and brighter after independence as we became the foremost nation in Africa and indeed among the black race.

    “However, at a point, the glory began to fade and we are yet to recover that glory. If we must bring back the glory of Nigeria and rise to more glory as a nation, then effective participation is compulsory for all Christians.”

     

     

  • More lawyers tackle Buhari on restructuring

    More lawyers tackle Buhari on restructuring

    More lawyers, including a Senior Advocate of Nigeria (SAN), Layi Babatunde, have asked President Muhammadu Buhari to explain to Nigerians his understanding of the term ‘ restructuring ‘.

    Aside from Babatunde, the other lawyers who are reacting to last week’s nationwide broadcast by President Buhari on same issue include Chairman, Nigerian Bar Association (NBA) Sagamu branch, Prince Debo Oduguwa and his Ikorodu counterpart, Mr Levi Adikwaone.

    They said  this has become necessary so that Nigerians can better appreciate what the president meant by describing restructuring as a matter of ‘process ‘and ‘cost of governance ‘ .

    President Buhari, in his nationwide broadcast had said the problem with the country was not the structure, but the process of doing things. He said the country had tried many political models in the past and had to dump them because they did not work, emphasising that if things were done properly by all citizens, the country would perform better.

    But Babatunde said: “Since the issue of restructuring has become akin to the story of the elephant and the blind, it would have been helpful for the president to let us into his understanding of the term ‘ restructuring ‘ so we can better appreciate how the president arrived at his solution of merely a matter of ‘process ‘and ‘cost of governance ‘ .

    “For instance, is there a nexus between our kind of federalism, the process said to be the problem and cost of governance?  Could the former possibly be causative agent of the latter ? Are we talking of political or economic restructuring or simply restructuring of government structures and apparatus or assigned functions  of various tiers of government or forms of government? Did the president put all into one basket? There appears to be more work needed in this area,” he emphasised.

    Babatunde, however, observed that the President focused his new year speech mainly on informing Nigerians on efforts being made to address our obvious infrastructural deficit.

    He also noted that the speech again gives hope of expectation of improvement in that regard.

    He remarked that Nigerians have never been short of being hopeful over the years  “only for such hope to be dashed for lack of faithful implementation. Faithful implementation is what will help ameliorate our claimed impatience as Nigerians”.

    The learned silk remarked that the president‘s call for a change of attitude deserves support ”if we are to build the kind of country we all desire, while the president‘s candor in acknowledging and recommending the southwest model of accommodation  to the country is commendable . On the whole, the speech  gives both hope and concern”.

    Prince Oduguwa, in his reaction to the broadcast noted that the president appreciated the country‘s known problems and the hardship Nigerians faced and promised to address them, particularly in the areas of transportation, social infrastructure, electricity, railway, economy and fuel supply.

    Oduguwa, however, expressed regret that the president failed to unravel the concrete plans and realistic strategy to humble these challenges, thus leaving discerning minds with one conclusion that these are the usual government promises that can never see the light of the day.

    “Our problems are beyond the capacity of this administration and this is to be expected from a government that is rejuvenating old, weak, corrupt and insensitive politicians as its main functionaries,”he lamented.

    Adikwaone on his part, blamed the Federal Government for the fuel scarcity experienced by Nigerians during the yuletide.

    He said the government should have taken steps to avert fuel scarcity, which has become a recurring issue during Christmas period.

    He said in part: “I am unable to agree with our President on the matter of the fuel scarcity during the Yuletide. When you are peeling groundnuts for the blind man, you are to blow whistle with your mouth to avoid the suspicion of stealing the same groundnuts.

    “The Presidency, nay, the government cannot demonstratively absolve itself of blame. For example, when people called the help lines supplied by its agency, there was no response.

    “My position is that the government should be more proactive and serious.”

     

  • Ex-deputy governor: restructuring’ll solve Nigeria’s problems

    Ex-deputy governor: restructuring’ll solve Nigeria’s problems

    A former deputy governor in Ogun State, Adegbenga Kaka, yesterday called for the restructuring of Nigeria as the only panacea to the challenges confronting the country.

    Kaka, who represented Ogun East in the Upper Chamber from 2011 to 2015, made the call while speaking with reporters in Sagamu.

    Kaka was the Deputy Governor of Ogun from 1991 to 1993 when Chief Olusegun Osoba was the governor.

    Kaka spoke on the sidelines of the donation of food items to the pupils of School for Children with Special Needs by a philanthropic group, “ASK 65’’.

    It was in commemoration of the 70th birthday of Alhaji Yusuf Ashiru, a member of the group.

    He said there was need for decentralisation of the Police for effective and efficient security of the citizenry.

    Kaka, however, decried the wanton killings of innocent Nigerians in some parts of the country.

    He described the development as “sheer negligence’’, urging the Federal Government to urgently address the insecurity challenge facing the country with all seriousness.

    “It is rather unfortunate that the killing is being sustained.

    “In a sane country, even during civil war or even in the international war, they will account for every lost soul at the battlefield.

  • Process is restructuring

    Process is restructuring

    Then a year opens with sobriety, it sometimes portends a glum ending. But what a better way to start than with humour, and we had that with two important events. The first was the appointment of board chair persons and members. Those who flayed Buhari for being mister Go-slow had to shut their lips. The man delivered with over a thousand names.  They shut their lips with a sort of laughter leaking out like fart of the corner of their mouths.

    The critics had nothing to say except to thank him for also humouring them with significant features. One was good news. Some persons became chair persons of more than one board or even members of more than one board. This differentiates this government from that of Jonathan a few years ago. When Jonathan opened the year with double fuel price increase, some hailed it as double portion. It was snide humour. They rang up the Christian lingo. Everyting na double double. No one was laughing, except the marketers and insiders of the government on the take in the new largesse.

    It was back-handed humour, devastating, anti-democratic, cynical. Now, it is a different kind of double double. This time the people were spared that back-handed odium. The double portion belongs to a few, those on the board. The rest of us are not on board yet. Even though in democracy, all should benefit, at least some people are getting their double, double. The rest of us are awaiting the double, double, although we are seeing such in the cost of living.

    The other beneficiaries are the dead. Democracy is not only about the living. It is for everyone, whether alive or not, so we can embrace the dead as bosses. When Jesus was buried, some women went to the grave to look for him on the third day, and the angel appeared and asked: “why seek you the living among the dead?”

    Usually no one goes to the cemetery to wake up the dead, but to bury them. Except of course, we want to do some miracles. So, it has happened, we have not sought the dead among the living. We have actually woken them up. Senegalese Poet Leopold Senghor would be ashamed of his line, “O dead who have always refused to die.” In this case, they died and were spirited them out of their graves.

    The dead are always with us. The past is not past. This is a new version of zombie. Not the one Fela bequeathed. The Abami eda gave us a foolish, sheepish toady, following after every instruction. These ones heard the voice and they were going to be ogas.

    We should not pretend we have not had zombies in office. They are sometimes called ghosts, or ghost workers. They occupy positions, and only appear at the end of the month or other special occasions where largesse flows. They get salaries, allowances, even travel to the United States, even though no immigration documents embrace them. How can you document a ghost on an air plane. The government pays for the airfares and hotels, but that is it.

    It was so in Lagos until Asiwaju Bola Tinubu became governor and audited the system. When the government called for all the ghosts who did not come physically to get their salaries, the ghosts or the dead shrank back to their cemeteries.  So the living were found among the dead until the audit. Hence Buhari was angry and he wants the dead to be sent back to their graves. They have been in limbo.

    The last feature was an act of generosity. While party faithful were waiting to be appointed, the list contained some PDP chieftains and sympathisers. Loyalty is sometimes not as important as perfidy, especially if you like one or two of the outsiders. If you do good to those that are good to you, you don’t show love, said Jesus. May be that is why those who suffered for the party should take a back seat and let the enemies enjoy a little. That is the quality of mercy, which as Shakespeare said, “droppeth like a gentle rain upon the place beneath.”

    The other new year gift was the president’s speech. It said many things, but we must say from the tone that it appears he just was elected six months ago. I make that deduction from the way he started listing plans about railways and power and agriculture, etc. But the most important part was that we should focus on process rather than structure. I blame the speech writers only a little. No one should be too worried about those lines.

    The speech writers who wrote against restructuring did not understand the history of structure in politics and governance. So, I say, Nigerians should forgive the writers for they know not what they write.

    The idea of structure in political iconology became serious in middle 20th century with a term called structuralism, when French philosophers defined it as “structure is more important than function.” With Claude Levi- Straus leading the way, it became championed by what historians call the gang of four, Jacques Derida, Louis Althuser, Michel Foucault  and Roland Barthes. They showed so much fidelity to structure that they exposed the imperfection.  A new movement called Post-structuralism followed and it showed that even within a function – like a process – is a structure. That is, there are many structures as there are functions. A structure is not dead. A process is a function, so there can be many processes. Those familiar with Hegelian dialectics understand why even sociologists and political scientists believe that structuralism is now an intellectual dinosaur and anachronism. So, if the speech writers called for process then it means they are asking us to interrogate the structure.

    To call for process in that speech is to commit a contradiction of questioning the present structure. A process is dynamic. That means the structure is also dynamic.  Structuralism has been sentenced to death by intellectuals as rigid and ahistorical. Hence another French philosopher Jean Piaget said: “there exists no structure without construction.” Any structure that is experiencing construction is going through function or processes and is therefore being restructured. Without knowing it, the speech writers made the president to call for restructuring. Chikena.

     

     

    In Touch Awards concluded

                   Family of the Year

    That award goes to the presidency where the DSS and NIA did not see eye to eye in the homestead. The EFCC became the area of battle, and DSS called for Magu’s job not to be approved while the NIA wanted him. The president seemed unable to bring this disarray under control. The also-ran was the PDP, who fought a big fight between the Makarfi-led faction and that of Sheriff. Even when Sheriff lost the battle, the party turned on its own flesh during the convention and alienated the vital sector of the electorate: the southwest. A piggish fellow in a gubernatorial garb dismissed the southwest as a factor in the electoral sweepstakes.

                Fashionista of the year

    That goes to Senator Dino Melaye. In a bid to show he did not go to school without a certificate, he donned a graduation gown in a burlesque show as though a ceremony was on to now graduate him. This is apart from his various appearances as an internet impresario in lurid and other extravagant colours and combinations.

                 Town crier of the year

    The winner is Ayo Fayose, Governor of Ekiti State. He cried and many are surprised he did not get hoarse. His biggest threnody was when President Buhari was sick and he said so many unprintables. He even tried to invite himself to London not to see the queen but the President of Nigeria. He even claimed he had the medical report. He strangely was quiet when Buhari returned in a blaze of new health.