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Nigeria Is A Federation In Name And Not In Practice – Ben Nwabueze - Politics - Nairaland

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Nigeria Is A Federation In Name And Not In Practice – Ben Nwabueze by meccuno: 6:03pm On Sep 28, 2017
The Chairman of both the Patriots and Project Nigeria Movement, PNT, Professor Ben Nwabueze has said that Nigeria is a federation in name

and not in practice and called for the restructuring of the country to reflect its true status to ensure a new beginning. He also said that the

widespread clamour among Nigerians was not aimed at breaking up the country but to ensure fairness and equity for all irrespective of tribes or

religion, just as he condemned the unilateral proscription of the Indigenous People of

Biafra, IPOB, without engaging in dialogue with IPOB. This was contained in a statement he issued in Enugu Thursday. Nwabueze, in the

statement entitled “Press Statement on Restructuring to mark our 57th Independence Anniversary,” said, “The object of re-structuring for which

there is a widespread clamour among Nigerians, is not to break up the country or to enable agitators to secede from its sovereignty and

territorial integrity. “Far from that, the object is, by reforming the governmental structures and attuning them to the needs and wishes of the

people, to ensure that the immense diversity of ethnic nationalities comprised in the state will continue to co-exist together in peace, prosperity

and progress as citizens of one country united by common interests, common aspirations and a common destiny. “The clamour for re-

structuring must therefore be seen as a clamour for the setting up of appropriate platforms or fora to renegotiate suitable governmental

structures for the pursuit and realization of our common needs for development, good governance and national transformation. “In short, the

clamour for re-structuring is more than a clamour for the reform of our governmental structures. This is only its primary focus. In its wider,

more fundamental focus, it is a call for Nigeria to “make a new beginning” under a new Constitution approved and adopted by the people at a

Referendum, a new politico-legal order that will cleanse the country of the rottenness that pervades it and enable to “chart a road map for its

destiny” or what has been referred to as “re-structuring of the mind.” “This aspect of re-structuring, which is as necessary as its primary focus,

will need to be led by a President, as the elected Leader of the people, imbued with an ardour for national transformation. “The governmental

structure that needs particularly to be reformed by re-structuring is our federal system. Federalism is commonly agreed to be a compelling

necessity for the maintenance of peace, stability and development of Nigeria as one country. “The 1960/1963 Constitutions of Nigeria

established a federal system with three (later four) regions each invested with sufficient autonomy to govern itself in matters that concerned it

alone – internal self-government – without undue control by, or interference from, the centre, thus giving each region the impetus and incentive

to develop optimally in healthy competition with the others. “The federal system under the two Constitutions (1960 and 1963) may fairly be

described as a model of true federalism. “Regrettably, the intrusion of absolutist military rule for 28 years after 1965 has brought about the

accretion of a vast amount of additional powers to the Centre, over and above what they were under the 1960/63 Constitutions, resulting in the

system being turned virtually into a unitary system; the system is still tagged federal, but it is so largely in name. “There are certain matters

involved in this, undue concentration of powers and financial resources at the Centre that need to be specifically mentioned, viz “It is a manifest

contradiction to conceive of a government, whether in a federal or unitary system, without a constitution. There is just no such thing. The very

notion of a government necessarily implies a constitution. Separate governments, as required by federalism, necessarily imply a separate

constitution for each of the governments. “The contradiction of a state or government without a separate coercive force of its own and under its

independent control to maintain its existence and authority as a government and to enforce its laws. States exist, says D’treaves, according as

they have a coercive force to exact obedience to their commands. It is certainly incompatible with the notion of a separate government for each

of the constituent units in a federal system that the only coercive force for the maintenance of their existence and authority as a government

and for the enforcement of their laws is placed under the control of the Federal Government. The federating units in Nigeria need to have their

separate and independent police force to conform with the requirements of federalism. “The incompatibility with the autonomy of a constituent

unit in a federal system that the election of its political functionaries – governor, members of its legislative assembly and local government

councils – should be conducted by an organ of the Federal Government. “The extension of federal power to the control of land. Land title is now

largely exclusive to the Federal Government, for not only is the Land Use Act 1978 entrenched in the Constitution (s.315(5)), but also its

provisions are to “continue to have effect as federal enactments and as if they related to matters included in the Exclusive Legislative List set

out in Part 1 of the Second Schedule to this Constitution.” “Aspects of local government are now also brought within the purview of the Federal

Government. The extension of federal power to aspects of local government offends against the principle that local government is an example

par excellence of a matter of local concern which places it squarely within the exclusive competence of the Regions or States.

https://www.vanguardngr.com/2017/09/nigeria-federation-name-not-practice-ben-nwabueze/
Re: Nigeria Is A Federation In Name And Not In Practice – Ben Nwabueze by ZombieTAMER: 6:05pm On Sep 28, 2017
Nigeria is nothing but the biggest fraud on earth
A country where only thieves thrives
A country where honesty ..merit and hardwork is seen as a waste of time as certain positions are reserved for certain tribes and religion
A country where tribalism and nepotism resides to the extent that a sitting president once said in US that those regions that gave him 5% shouldn't expect the same treatment as those regions that gave him 97%

Such country is a disgrace
God's blessings is far from such a country

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Re: Nigeria Is A Federation In Name And Not In Practice – Ben Nwabueze by Standing5(m): 6:06pm On Sep 28, 2017
A country built around parisitic tendencies of the majority.
Re: Nigeria Is A Federation In Name And Not In Practice – Ben Nwabueze by paiz: 6:13pm On Sep 28, 2017
True

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