On Christmas Eve 2016, people of Southern Kaduna were attacked and unlawfully killed, their property destroyed, and dreams of Christmas festivities turned to nightmares by suspected Fulani herdsmen. These attacks on the people of Southern Kaduna have been ongoing but the Christmas Eve attack came despite of a 24-hour curfew imposed by the state government. And while there was outrage on social media, there was silence from the Presidency.
To rub salt into injury, the President’s spokesperson, Mr Femi Adesina, justified the silence saying, “You don’t have to hear from the president on that matter. When it pays us, we talk about federalism and true federalism; yet you want the president and presidency to talk about everything.”
Have we become so desensitised to the loss of human lives that the sustained massacre of people can be put into that trifling “everything” category that does not warrant the attention or sympathy of the President? Every single Nigerian is guaranteed a right to life by the Constitution and the unlawful killing of any citizen in the most remote corner of the nation should concern the President. For at least 12 years the President nurtured an ambition to be Nigeria’s leader in a democracy. In those years, he should have developed a plan to deal with our disintegrating federal republic and the many social and economic challenges facing Nigeria.
He also should have learnt that the solo performance of an all-knowing military dictator is neither well-received nor applauded in a democracy. People in a democracy feel more assured when every player in the government orchestra is given an opportunity to participate in making harmonious tunes to the liking and benefit of the people.
Uneasy lies the head that wears the crown. So yes, Mr President should worry and talk about “everything” especially when it comes to the lives of Nigerian citizens. If the President wants us to be patient, then he must be sensitive to the conditions of all citizens and we must feel some empathy from him. Fight corruption but do not punish ordinary citizens while you are at it. The truth is that those who are bearing the brunt of the hardship under this administration had nothing to do with the corruption and misappropriation of public funds that Mr. President is lamenting about. So if we want to hear from Mr President on a matter we should hear from him.
He should assure us that while we are being battered and bruised by economic hardship and insecurity on the outside, his head is too heavy with worry for the people to enjoy the cushy comforts of Aso Rock. Would it have reduced the office of the President or caused a constitutional crisis if the Presidency sympathised with the people of Southern Kaduna and assured them that the President was giving the state government all the support needed to deal with the situation?
Constitutionally, on paper, the state governors are the chief security officers of their states, but that title has little force when we have a federal police system that takes orders from the Inspector General in Abuja.
Recall the contemptuous relationship between then Commissioner of Police, Joseph Mbu, and the former governor of Rivers State, Chibuike Rotimi Amaechi. It is interesting that Mr Adesina brings up the issue of federalism in this matter. His accusation goes both ways. It pays the Presidency this time to hide its insensitivity under the cloak of federalism. In actuality, the government is so centralised and political parties are primarily concerned with furthering the interests of government at the centre, that Nigeria seems to be a federation only on paper. The underlying characteristic of federalism from most of the literature on the subject is that it is a negotiated state of political affairs.
American political scientist William H. Riker said, “The essence of federalism… is the political feature: (1) the political bargain that creates it and (2) the distribution of power in political parties which shapes the federal structure in its maturity. Everything else about federalism is accident: the demarcation of areas of competence between central and constituent governments, the operation of intergovernmental relations, the division of financial resources, etc.” (Riker, “Federalism,” Handbook of Political Science, p143).
The current federation is not the product of a political bargain that reflects the interests and desires of the federating units. Expressions of dissatisfaction with the Federal Government from different geopolitical zones of the nation indicate that a negotiation of the terms that define our union of federating units is long overdue.
Apparently, the President only plans to spend one term in office so he may not be worried about the effect of his posture with the people on the 2019 elections, but his party should be worried.
Nigeria is facing its worst economic recession in over two decades and one of the reasons for that is the crash in oil prices. Our economy has been far too dependent on oil and at a time when we clearly need incentives to grow other sectors of the economy, the government does what it does best – make policies that strangle the life out of small businesses and non-oil sectors with potential to contribute substantially to the GDP. People are hungry and insecure, yet these are trifling matters for the Presidency. We need change, but it has not come yet.




http://punchng.com/time-negotiate-federation-called-nigeria/

Sorry bro but the federation of Nigeria was already negotiated in Aburi, Ghana for 2 days on the 4th and 5th of January 1967. It was signed and sealed. Unfortunately, the Northerners and their Yoruba ally's don't know anything about self determination which is why an unnecessary war had to be fought and why Nigeria cannot work as a nation.

THe other day, abo.kis killed yorubas in Lagos, their youths were seen on video saying they don't want Nigeria anymore, now Southern kaduna is attacked and suddenly its time to negotiate Nigeria, yet, both kaduna and Lagos will converge to profess their love for Nigeria when they hear igbos bring their own complaints why are Nigerians full of hypocrites??