The bloated size of governments at different levels of Nigeria’s political system is unsustainable, and the country urgently needs restructuring to make any appreciable development, the Emir of Kano, Lamido Sanusi, said Thursday.
Mr. Sanusi, who was speaking at the inaugural lecture and launching of a N250 million endowment fund for the Oba Sikiru Adetona Professorial Chair in Governance, Department of Political Science, Olabisi Onabanjo University, Ago-Iwoye, Ogun State, said it should be obvious to everyone that the country can no longer afford to maintain the number of political office holders in the country, especially in the face of current economic downturn.
“If you really reflect on the problems of this country, it seems to turn common sense on its head,” he said.
“You sometimes wonder if anyone needs to tell any group of people that if you are a poor country, you do not need 36 governors, 36 deputy governors, with members of house of assembly, commissioners and advisers, Special assistants, a president, a vice president, 36 ministers, special advisers, federal legislature and so on.
“Simple arithmetic will tell you that if you have that structure, you are first of all doomed to spending 80 or 90 per cent of everything you earn maintaining public officers. It is really common sense but it seems to be a problem for us to understand it,” he added.
The emir called for a reform of the country’s political system to encourage a lean government to save resources for projects that benefit the people.
“If you don’t free up the resources and put them up for capital projects, you are laying the foundation of what we are seeing today. We need to have structural reform.


“Kano State today is much smaller than Kano emirate, because there are two other emirates in Dutse and Ringim which were carved out from what was the Kano emirate just to create a new state. There are two governors in Kano and Jigawa, two deputy governors, maybe 40 members of the House of Assembly, 40 commissioners and advisers, 70 local governments, chairman and councillors but for nine years, Governor Audu Bako with nine commissioners, one governors and nine commissioner managed the entire territory and they were doing much better services than we are doing now. Is it not time to face reality?”
“Awuff” society
Also, the guest speaker of the lecture, Akin Mabogunje, a professor of urban and regional development, while delivering a lecture titled: “Issues and Challenges of Governance in Nigeria”, said the abundance of free oil money has created a culture of imprudent spending by successive governments.
He said this free money which he described with the pidgin English term “awuff”, encouraged laziness and corruption in the polity.
“[Awuff] is a word used commonly in pidgin English to signify “free” money or unearned income which is not the product of a person’s labour and therefore can be squandered or spent imprudently,” he explained.
“In applying it to governance, it is meant to describe a situation in which fiscal resources accrues to government not from tax revenue assiduously and diligently collected from citizens but from royalties and rent from the exploitation of mineral resources particularly petroleum which can therefore be squandered, spent imprudently or unaccountably or simply misappropriated into personal accounts.”
He said instead of the government to invest the oil windfall of the 1970s, it declared a bazaar for civil servants who spent the money on expensive household items.
He explained that the “awuff” mentality festered and led to a culture of corruption and lack of accountability, fest in the public sector but later spreading to every part of our national life.
http://www.premiumtimesng.com/news/top-news/199943-emir-sanusi-wants-nigeria-restructured.html

Ok

Reduce ur child brides

That makes sense.

Nl and lengthy post summary pls

His opinion appears good but biased. The example he gave was to merge nearby states with Kano.
He is Emir of Kano, seems he wants to have more states under his emirate.

restructuring Nigeria has to start from kicking the Dullard out.

Long overdue.

moderatorr:
His opinion appears good but biased. The example he gave was to merge nearby states with Kano.
He is Emir of Kano, seems he wants to have more states under his emirate.

This is a common sense really. Nigeria has no business creating 36 states they have now. Texas and california alone combined together, is almost as big as Nigeria.

Go tell bubu your brother......Who no know am,see him talking now,you will think he is a nice person. That's why I like this Fela song...Animals in human skin#

This guy started the hatred for jonathsn by saying there was money missing which was a lie. We did not know that he was paving way for a complete animal to become president for tribalistic reasons.

simplemach:
restructuring Nigeria has to start from kicking the Dullard out.

e pain you say Buhari na your president sha.

I can see even pedophıles have common sense,tell us what u know about #Eseoruru

AgbenuAnna:
Nl and lengthy post summary pls

Political post is not for lazy readers.




Let's go back to romance section.

Kondomatic:
Political post is not for lazy readers.




Let's go back to romance section.

friend can u still summarize for me

In as much as i agreed with you sir,reduce child bride from your throne first. And please don't steal the common sense campaign of Our able senator BMB.
Be creative and get your own initial thanks in advance.

Any type of restructuring that would not include State police, fiscal federalism, regional economic independence/autonomy and return to full secular constitution is nothing but regular hypocrisy of Northern Oligarchy.
We want genuine restructure. Not the ungrateful parasitism.

Dollyak:

This is a common sense really. Nigeria has no business creating 36 states they have now. Texas and california alone combined together, is almost as big as Nigeria.

california is as big as the whole of west africa

back to the topic, the emir's idea is within reason but not visible

there will be everest objections from all regions and all holders of those public offices

he should shut up jor

All this man does of recent is rant and make noise. Put him in position to effect these recommendations and he won't. Iranu!

Of course he's making sense but will anybody listen? I've been saying it for a long time, until there is a complete and total restructure of Nigeria, we will never ever move forward

Mr Lalasticlala what do you think

That masquerade should just shut up. He finally wants to privatize Nigeria. #NorthernAgenda

Some good ideas

1.We need to reduce the number of civil servants.Sorry....but they are too many.

2.I like his critique of awoof money. I am not a fan of resource control....but even moi can see that resource control might force some states to work hard at raising money.Boils down to developing an economy that is not oil dependent.

3.I think we need states. I also think we have too many states and LGA. We need to go down to at least 16 states....or the old 19 states of 1976.(No to regions....bad news for minorities).

All in all....thanks to the Emir....who would have been a good planning or finance minister if not for the royal call to duty......

This one should be very easy to do now.
Why?
Buhari promised already and his party is in majority at the senate & HoR plus in the 36 states needed to pass the amendment to our Constitution.
Since this won't cost anything for the incorruptible incorrigible man of integrity, we can count this as DONE!!!


www.nairaland.com/attachments/2343594_buharitruefederalismpromise_jpegc85970dabfc1bf2df5d730398a429913

Hmmmmmmm

Useless talks

Dollyak:

This is a common sense really. Nigeria has no business creating 36 states they have now. Texas and california alone combined together, is almost as big as Nigeria.

How true....but you know Nigerians.

Even now....there are over 20 movements for new state creation.

Sometimes,I wonder what people stand to gain from new state...when they cannot fund the old ones.

Stelvin101:
Useless talks

Well....the man essentially said that the Government at all levels is bloated, and that some states are just for free cash....so we have to restructure by reducing the bloat to reduce costs.

If you think that is useless talk....then you really do not want good governance.

As as how?

simplemach:
restructuring Nigeria has to start from kicking the Dullard out.

Don't u know ur way to Aso rock Mtcheew.