[size=14pt]Obasanjo lists yardsticks function federalism[/size]
News Dec 19, 2010 By Innocent ANABA

Former President Olusegun Obasanjo, yesterday, said that for the country’s federalism to function well, there must be political will, good governance, and leadership commitment.

Chief Obasanjo, who spoke at the just concluded  ‘5th International Conference on Federalism’ in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia, said, “It is my belief that in a diverse and developing society like Nigeria, you need a strong, though not intrusive or oppressive central government that is democratic, transparent, accountable, effective, efficient, and adequately funded to manage the rough edges of federal politics and protect weaker or less_resource endowed constituent units.  Nigerians appreciate this fact.”

“Ultimately, it is democratic practice, political will, good governance, leadership commitment, and a dedication to the cause of the people that determine the functioning of any federal arrangement.  In essence, there must be popular participation at all tiers of government and facets of life with adequate accommodation for all for federalism to function appropriately.”

Speaking further, he said “following military rule in the country, the challenge of re_federalisation has not been as easy as many continue to carry the consciousness of the unitary and hierarchical command character of the military.  The powers of the sub_national units, joint delivery of services in education, energy, health, poverty eradication and so on, remain areas for discussions and negotiations.

“The issue of fiscal federalism, processes of constitutional amendments, devolution of powers, public security, and strengthening federal character are also on_going areas of public discourse.

“In some way therefore, federalism is natural to Nigeria as the basis for unity in diversity for development and progress was established centuries ago.

The desire to, or imperative for unity, stability, growth, development and progress precipitated a preference for a political arrangement that will not just bring peoples together but also harness the creative and productive energies to build a viable nation state in the interest of all.

“There was a declared need to rise beyond the various inter and intra ethnic and communal wars to build a nation_state that all would contribute to, be part of, but not lose their respective identities, cultures, values and traditional institutions.  This, in some way, has been the underlying strength of Nigeria’s federalism,” he added.

http://www.vanguardngr.com/2010/12/obasanjo-lists-yardsticks-function-federalism/

Obasanjo should just shut up.

He had his chance to promote Federalism during his tenure, now he is yarning okpata long after the horse has bolted.

The Petroleum and Land acts implemented during his first tenure as President are the most anti-federalist laws ever passed in Nigeria.

Obj just sharaaaap.
After 8yrs of misrule, u had yor chance, abuse it to the hilt and only recently u discovered the recipe for true fed.
Baba were. God punish u. Sinile old fooool.
Oni ro run wo.oloshi.
I just hate u.

Ibime:

Obasanjo should just shut up.

He had his chance to promote Federalism during his tenure, now he is yarning okpata long after the horse has bolted.

The Petroleum and Land acts implemented during his first tenure as President are the most anti-federalist laws ever passed in Nigeria.

ode remo:

Obj just sharaaaap.
After 8yrs of misrule, u had yor chance, abuse it to the hilt and only recently u discovered the recipe for true fed.
Baba were. God punish u. Sinile old fooool.
Oni ro run wo.oloshi.
I just hate u.

Ach!! When the baba of all babas is yarning opkata, una hush and listen.

Anywaz, he has made his mistakes and he's simply trying to settle things. Let who has never made a mistake raise their hairy fingers.

Even tho I'm one of those that believe he should be writing his political poems behind an iron cage.

Who is he telling?

Good point from OBJ

Now I understand why present and past presidents reject federalism

In present day Nigeria, It is simple not practicable!

i think this old man shld use this time to sort things out with his family instead of disturbing other ppl's in the name of talking.
any conference that has nothing to do with snacthing ppl's wives must not have obasanjo as a speaker.
in his 8 useless years as the nigerian president, the most outstanding thing he did was to take his son's wife.
shame of an old man.

Oh no not again!
Senile old fool like obj will only have this kind of chance to be spewing out trash in a like country Nigeria. No wonder that fagg0t called Atiku has the balls to be vying for presidency.

*Father of bas.tarrds and do-or-die politics*


Is now time for the chicken to come home for roast. . . . . .the fire that you kindle is about to consume you.


* agbaya oni iranu. . . .ti ko ni itiju*

One sad thing about Nigerians is that they prefer emotion to logic.
You guys might hate Obasanjo, but do you also hate his message? Our emotionalism is something we must get a hold of.
Please guys, lets simmer down and look dispassionately into the matter at hand.

Two distinct fulcrums arise around both the sincererity of the messengers of true federalism and the desperate need for its unadulterated practice in Nigeria.
On the issue of the messengers, some have been wholly unexpected, from previous dictators like Babangida and Obasanjo to the likes of Tunde Bakare vouching for Buhari (of the draconian Decree 4 fame):

``Nigeria needs a leader who will block the holes in the nation’s treasury, someone with programmes and policies that will restructure Nigeria along the path of true federalism,’’ Bakare said.

The cleric said that Buhari was not an Islamic fundamentalist as claimed by some Nigerians.

http://www.sharpedgenews.com/news/2010/10-12-10/t_bakare.shtml

The question is, do these people really grasp the concept of federalism or is it just the latest fad to pay it lip service, because the heavily burdened masses are weeping? We have to be alert that the argument and definitions are not snatched from us and bastardised. True federalism must never ever be twisted to mean the balkanisation of Nigeria into personal fiefdoms; that direction must be robustly resisted with the force of sincere logic and the purifying strength of spilt blood.

The question of true federalism in Nigeria rests on needs to install merit, equality, healthy competition and most importantly; contracts of belonging between citizen and state. Things are clearly not working in Nigeria, because we have it all upside down.
In a federation, the units work from the bottom up with local, provincial and regional units operating under municipal laws that are suited their identities and paying taxes from ground up until it gets to the centre. In the Nigerian case, there is a monthly match to Abuja for survival stipends for states and LG’s.

Experience says beggars do not work.

Experience says parasitism does not provide any sort of environment for healthy competition or merit to thrive as it is in normal countries. A parasite simply cannot develop, and all 36 states and their LG’s are parasites.
Parasitism does not come naturally to the upright, therefore Nigeria’s institutionalisation of parasitism, very unsurprisingly throws up the most despicable characters for government posts, while our most talented run abroad for succour and personal fulfillment. It is a dire cycle that breeds rottenness and corruption, and weeds out honesty, merit, patriotism and talent.

Allied to the above, is the sense of belonging of the average Nigerian. What makes one a Nigerian? What are the responsibilities of the Nigerian state to her citizens? In the converse, what is the responsibility of citizens to the Nigerian state? What bonds a Nigerian to Nigeria and how strong are those bonds? Is Nigeria just a piece of land on which we were born, with sharia in the North and oil in the South?
The only way the questions above can be answered positively, is to provide true representation for the Nigerian; and the only way to provide true representation, is the installation of true federalism.

Monkey see, monkey do. Baba Sala should go and lie down.

@ beaf well said!
No one will ever eat his cake and still have back.

The lunatic called obj has the opportuinity to write his name on a platter of gold and become a great leader like Nelson mandela but he bungled it and went ahead and introduced do or die politics to the main stream.

Secondly, for eight wasted years obj was busy shuttling on a jamboree from country to country at the expense of tax payers money and development.

The old fool is undoubtly known for his double speak and unguided utterances and retractment of his word capable of causing serious problem and heating up the polity so why should we take jabber with any pinch of salt?

Obj is a joke that should not be taking with any regard IMO. . . .not for Obj alone Gej might have having a smooth sail.

All those that have ever taking obj with seriousness are dead or humiliated. IMO


no good can ever come from the devil, least i forget his diversionary antics and tactics which he can overtly and covertly display.

You are warn the old fool is not reliable with a paulsable ability of ditching anyone. . . . . . . .

Chief Obasanjo, who spoke at the just concluded ‘5th International Conference on Federalism’ in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia, said, “It is my belief that in a diverse and developing society like Nigeria, you need a strong, though not intrusive or oppressive central government that is democratic, transparent, accountable, effective, efficient, and adequately funded to manage the rough edges of federal politics and protect weaker or less_resource endowed constituent units. Nigerians appreciate this fact.”

I actually disgree strongly with him on this. I think Nigeria would benefit more from a very weak central government than a strong one. How are "weaker" or "less resource endowed" states vulnerable if the federal government is weak? If anything, a bigger danger to the states is the federal government, which prevents them from managing their own affairs in the best way possible. The regionalism that Nigeria had at independence is roughly what we should seek to return to, in my opinion. A confederation of 15 or 20 strong states is a better fit for Nigeria than the current centralist government we have (I can defend this position later, if necessary.)

“Ultimately, it is democratic practice, political will, good governance, leadership commitment, and a dedication to the cause of the people that determine the functioning of any federal arrangement. In essence, there must be popular participation at all tiers of government and facets of life with adequate accommodation for all for federalism to function appropriately.”

With all due respect to OBJ, he is widely believed to have been involved in large-scale rigging of elections in the SW. How is this consistent with "popular participation"? By rigging votes and thus denying popular participation, he himself contributed to the frailness of both democracy and federalism in this country.

“There was a declared need to rise beyond the various inter and intra ethnic and communal wars to build a nation_state that all would contribute to, be part of, but not lose their respective identities, cultures, values and traditional institutions. This, in some way, has been the underlying strength of Nigeria’s federalism,” he added.

Not sure what he means by this statement. Seems as if he is attacking federalism ("rise beyond various inter. . . ". The point of federalism is that I don't have to do any of this. I can be a Yoruba-centric tribalist and the nation will not suffer, simply because rather than needing to capture power at the federal government level to achieve my goals (and thus negatively affecting other ethnic groups) I can instead capture power locally and affect change there.

Anyway, long story short, I don't believe that Obasanjo is really a federalist. He seems to favor extremely strong central governments, but is wrapping his beliefs in federalist language.

@ Beaf,

Sharrap!!!

OBJ was the biggest fan of centrism.

Many would recall OBJ holding back Lagos budget, OBJ taking Lagos power supply and feeding into the National grid. OBJ implementing Land Act. OBJ implementing Petroleum Act. OBJ opposing Onshore/Offshore dichotomy. We had to fight this avowed centrist called OBJ to the hilt for any droplets of Federalism.

Let the Fasholas talk of Federalism cos they have implemented it, not OBJ.

So stop ducking sicks just because OBJ is in GEJ camp. It is disgusting and psychophantic.

^
E be like say you know de read well again! Who is supporting Obj's arguments? Surely not me! How could you have missed the following?

Two distinct fulcrums arise around both the sincererity of the messengers of true federalism and the desperate need for its unadulterated practice in Nigeria.
On the issue of the messengers, some have been wholly unexpected, from previous dictators like Babangida and Obasanjo to the likes of Tunde Bakare vouching for Buhari (of the draconian Decree 4 fame):

. . .

The question is, do these people really grasp the concept of federalism or is it just the latest fad to pay it lip service, because the heavily burdened masses are weeping? We have to be alert that the argument and definitions are not snatched from us and bastardised. True federalism must never ever be twisted to mean the balkanisation of Nigeria into personal fiefdoms; that direction must be robustly resisted with the force of sincere logic and the purifying strength of spilt blood.

Abeg, read again jare and stop seeing other peoples arguments through a clannish veil.

Ibime:

OBJ taking Lagos power supply and feeding into the National grid.

This pains me more than anything else. If Lagos had been able to use the power generated offshore by AES for its own grid, then no doubt the entire state would have 24/7 power supply by now And SW Nigeria could piggyback on the Lagos electricity grid, paying Lagos fair value for the electricity it generates.

This is why I am a federalist. I don't see how the Nigerian federal government is going to be able to better manage the affairs of the states than the states themselves.

Ibime:


OBJ was the biggest fan of centrism.

Indeed .The man is a shameless ,despotic and self-centred hypocrite not at all qualified to speak on federalism. We all forget that OBJ convened a Soveriegn National conference that was meant to be a forum for Nigerians to speak frankly about all our problems . Many Nigerians were hopeful that  we could use the SNC to tackle issues like federalism , genuine secularity of Nigeria, injustice against the Niger Delta region, decentralisation of power from the centre ,etc, etc.

Instead OBJ , as was always his intention, deftly hijacked the SNC to steer discussions towards legal and constitutional backing for his third term ambition !!!!! Totally callous and cynical thing to do but that is signature OBJ. One would then hope that the man would refrain from an unthinking need to upset the sensitivity of Nigerians with asinine talk given that issues he speaks abouts were those he had a chance to address but he deliberately did not. What , for example, is the point of OBJ proffering solutions to our power generation needs when he embezzled funds meant for electrification , with the NIPP scheme, when he had his chance to make a difference?

Since when did he became an appostle of  true federalism? Sir can u kindly refresh my memory on d role u played that led 2d so called off-shore/ on shore dicothomy legislation. Y r dis guys  so daft to d extent dat they 4get d roles they played when they occupied d presidential seat? Dint he OBJ frustrated d realization of resource control call by patriots, its jst like ibb calling for deepning of democracy while he while in power ensured democracy nvr saw d light of d day. Its so funny, one day david mark & bankole will give a lecture in one of thier decietful seminars whn they are no longer in power and start asking d then legislative house to pass the IFO BILL, but will be in a hurry to 4get that when they were in position 2do so, they dint. Some people will come in nairaland to defend this retards and expect u to pretend & 4get d roles they played in d past as if we are all daft like they and their  retarded mentors that speak from two sides of thier mouth. OBJ will always remind u hw he fought in d civil war to keep Nigeria as one, how d practise of true fedralism will further polarize d country. U ill hear all sort of idiotic theories and reasoning while true federalism shld nt be practiced in Nigeria, but nw he is nw talking abt something he kicked against so as to decieve d gulible ones as if he OBJ meant well. Dats a huge MISCHIEF on his part. Hon Patric from Edo state is d only1 dat can come up with beter vocab to use against dis brain dead evil infested old OBJ. He shld just shut up and open up his condolence register while he is still alife. Its no longer do or die politic/ tsunami, its nw  fedralism meaning he is nw a born again politician. I DEY LAUGH- OLOFO

Obasanjo in my opinion is the single biggest calamity to have happened too this country especially his adventure of 1999-2007, as a nation we would have been better off if he had died in Jail like Abiola and Shehu yaradua.

He must have realised his folly by now, the biggest mistake he made was to contest a second term, he should have abstained from the 2003 elections and allow people choose whoever they wanted in 2003, then he can make utterances like this and we would listen, but as far as Obj says this I m just pissed

I just take it take all Nigerian leaders are poo. Curses aplenty on all of them from IBB to Atiku to OBJ and even GEJ