South East not marginalised

South East not marginalised – El-Rufa'i

The South-East geo-political zone is not marginalised by the APC government of President Muhammadu Buhari, Kaduna state governor, Nasir Ahmad el-Rufa’i said yesterday in London.

The governor stated this in a speech at Chatham House on restructuring titled ‘Next Generation Nigeria: What Is Restructuring And Does Nigeria Need It?’

He explained that four of the five states in the zone had senior ministers in federal cabinet despite the fact that they gave the APC government just about five per cent of votes in the 2015 presidential election.

Some states including Kaduna, which gave the party more than 90 per cent of votes, only have junior ministers (ministers of state), he said.

He described the cries of marginalisation as “the narratives of losers,” who decided not to vote for the APC but now they don’t want to live with the consequences of their decisions.

The governor listed fear of domination, resource control, fractious politics, weird leadership and national dissatisfaction among others, as reasons for the clamour for restructuring.

He, however, noted that the clamour for restructuring were usually loudest by geo-political zones in the southern part of the country when they lose control at the centre.

Agitations for restructuring and resource control were silent or muted during the tenures of Presidents Olusegun Obasanjo and Goodluck Jonathan by the south zones, he said, adding that only the north maintained a rather indifferent stance through the tenures.

The governor, who prefers “true federalism” as the terminology for restructuring, said Nigeria was a “dysfunctional federation” that is unbalanced and in dire need of balancing up.

He said the Federal Government needed to “shed weight” and devolve some of its functions to states and limit itself to issues of national importance.

According to him, the country should run a two-tier government comprising federal and state governments.

He stated that it was due to the importance the APC attached to true federalism that it set up a 24-member committee “to give structure to its debate and hear the views of the cross-section of the people, including the youth.”

He said the voices of majority of Nigerians should set the agenda for a true federalism and equal opportunities, rather than the voices of a vocal few, stressing that Nigerians cherished and appreciated unity in diversity.

He urged the youth and young people, who constitute about 80 per cent of Nigeria’s population, to get actively involved in politics and the affairs of the country, warning that if they don’t get involved, the older generation would not transfer power to them willingly.

Daily Trust.

Comments

Understanding Prof. Yemi Osinbajo - Abraham Ogbodo

Abraham Ogbodo I am trying to understand Prof. Yemi Osinbajo, the Vice President of the Federal Republic of Nigeria. Often, he speaks out of character. That is, he talks as if he is Vice President before he is a professor of law, even when I know that the latter comes first. The man wasn’t like this when he was the attorney general of Lagos State and a teacher at the Law Faculty of the University of Lagos. Then, his statements were measured and as a seasoned lawyer, based on facts. But today, Osinbajo is sounding like Adams Oshiomhole, a union leader, who by the grace of God, became governor of Edo State for eight years. The revelations about big thefts in the economy had come more from Adams than even Ibrahim Magu, chairman of the EFCC. It was Adams who said former petroleum minister; Mrs. Diezani Allison-Madueke alone stole 13 billion British pounds from the national treasury. That is like saying she stole in raw cash almost twice as much as the entire fortune of Alhaj...

Nigerian govt warns rival labour union, ULC, against strike

Following the threat by the United Labour CONGRESS, ULC, to go on a nationwide strike from September 15 , the federal government on Thursday declared the proposed strike illegal. The strike notice was dated September 8 and is expected to lapse on September 15. Some of the issues highlighted by the ULC, a coalition of various workers’ unions, include: the Federal Ministry of Labour and Employment should set up a task force immediately to carry out factory inspection; Government should review the privatisation of Power Holding Company of Nigeria, PHCN; and the Army and Police should withdraw their officers from different work places where they are currently stationed as they intimidate and harass workers in such establishment. The union, a breakaway from the NLC, also demanded the immediate release of its “Registration Certificate.” The ULC is headed by Joe Ajaero, General Secretary of National union of Electricity Employees, NUEE, and Igwe Achese, President of Natio...

Boko Haram’s campaign against education and enlightenment - By Landry Signe

Nelson Mandela once said, “Education is the most powerful weapon which you can use to change the world.” Boko Haram, the Islamist terrorist group originating from Nigeria is frightened by this enlightening power of education. Unsurprisingly, on Monday, February 19, the group, whose name often translates to “Western education is a sin,” stormed a girls’ school in the village of Dapchi in northern Nigeria to abduct students. Of the 907 schoolgirls who were in the school the day of the attack, more than 100 are still missing as of Sunday. Since it became violent about a decade ago, Boko Haram’s actions, through these and other types of bloody attacks, have resulted in horrifying consequences. Human Rights Watch estimates that Boko Haram has left at least 7 million in need of humanitarian assistance, 2.1 million displaced, and 20,000 civilians dead. Local leaders claim the number is significantly higher. Despite such causalities, it took Boko Haram’s massive kidnapping of 276 sch...

ATTENCAO

Search This Blog