₦airaland Forum

Idokojimmy: BY CLIFFORD NDUJIHE, SONI DANIEL & HENRY UMORU

…We agree with S-West on six regions — Ohanaeze scribe

LAGOS—NORTHERN leaders, Sunday, spurned Yoruba leaders’ agitation for regional autonomy and a return to the parliamentary system of government, describing the clamour as a recipe for Nigeria’s disintegration.

Yoruba elders under  the banner of Yoruba National Assembly, YNA, had after a meeting in Ibadan last Thursday, canvassed a return to the parliamentary system of government and granting of regional autonomy to the South-West.

They also called for removal of the immunity clause for criminal offences; a new Nigeria consisting of a federal government and six regional governments (based on the current six geo-political zones) operating federal and regional constitutions, respectively; and adoption of Regional and State Police force structure among others.

But responding to the development, some prominent northern leaders, who spoke exclusively to Vanguard, kicked against YNA’s call, saying that the agitation would plunge the nation into incalculable crises and hasten her break-up.

However, Secretary-General of Ohanaeze Ndigbo, Chief Nduka Eya, said the demands of the Yoruba leaders were in tandem with the position of Ndigbo, which had been sent to the National Assembly for inclusion in the on-going constitution amendment exercise.

Former Kaduna State Governor, Alhaji Lawal Kaita, said the call for regional autonomy and a return to parliamentary system of government was self-serving and had the semblance of secession.

Kaita said: “I do not really understand what they mean by regional autonomy. They should be bold enough to say that they do not want to be part of Nigeria any longer and stop talking about what does not make sense anymore in the country.
“Regional autonomy and parliamentary system of government can no longer serve a complex society like Nigeria and our founding fathers were wise enough to jettison the system and adopt the present Presidential system, which to all intent and purposes, remains the best for a country like ours,” he noted.

According to the founding member of the Peoples Democratic Party, PDP, neither the granting of autonomy to any region in the country nor a return to parliamentary system of government would solve the socio-political problems of the nation.

Kaita said that all that was needed to make the presidential system more useful was to strengthen the institutions of government to serve the citizens better and reposition the country as a strong, united nation.
Adding his voice to the debate, National Secretary of the Congress for Progressive Change, CPC, Buba Galadima, described any call for regional autonomy as an invitation to the dissolution of the country.

“If they make the mistake to allow the kind of regional autonomy requested by the Yoruba, it is a recipe for the country’s disintegration because of the kind of politics being played in Nigeria. Our political immaturity would lead to dismembering the country as soon as any region is granted autonomy,” the politician noted.

Galadima warned that the country could disintegrate if urgent steps were not taken to address the growing sense of injustice and marginalisation of sections of the country by the government.

He maintained that demands for autonomy and other issues were borne out of perceived injustice and inability of the administration to provide the basic needs of the people.

It’s retrogressive — Haliru Mohammed
In his submission, immediate past Minister of Defence, Dr. Bello Haliru Mohammed described calls for a return to regional structure as retrogressive.

According to him, states replaced the regions because of demands by ethnic nationalities for self-determination, adding that a u-turn to the old structure would be a repeat of the scenario where major ethnic groups like Hausa, Yoruba and Igbo were in total control of the regions and marginalised other groups.

The former Acting National Chairman of the PDP said rather than advocate regionalism what was required of the country now was to sit down and work out the modus operandi of our federation to accommodate all the ethnic diversities without any section feeling dominated.

His words: “Going back to regional structure is going to be retrogressive because states were created because of the demand by ethnic nationalities for self determination. To go back to regional structure where the major ethnic groups like Hausa, Yoruba, Igbo were in complete control of the regions is dangerous.

“General Yakubu Gowon responded to the demands of the minority groups and created states to allow for some level of self-determination for ethnic nationalities. Going back will make major ethnic groups to continue to dominate the minorities. Now, there is some level of equality between the nationalities regardless of the number and size.

“What Nigeria needs now is to sit down and work out our modus operandi of a federation that would accommodate all our ethnic diversities without one section feeling a sense of domination by others. Federating units should be different ethnic nationalities as we have in states. If there is need for creation of more states like in the case of South-East and also to break some of the larger and more populated states in the North and South, that can be accommodated rather than going back to regions.”

However, a former Senator from Kano State, Usman Kabiru Umar, stated that he would support any political restructuring that would bring about a strong, united and progressive Nigeria, where every citizen would have a sense of belonging. “Now, if they say that autonomy and return to parliamentarism would guarantee the promotion of peace, development and a united Nigeria, so be it,”

Indeed, Eya, who spoke in his personal capacity as a public commentator, said the South-West clamour for six regions was sound.

“Before the Presidential system was introduced, we had four regions. The North accepted the regions and we had Parliamentary system. The presidential system is very expensive; if we continue with it, we will soon go bankrupt. The parliamentary system worked for us. Then, if you did not win an election you cannot become a minister. Now the president appoints ministers from everywhere and they are not accountable to the people.

Noting that Ohanaeze had prepared a document on the constitution amendment, he said: “We agree with the South-West on six regions, which should become the federating units. The Federal Government should have nothing to do with state or local government creation.

“There is constant demands for new states and local governments because the military made them avenues for getting more allocation from the centre. Local governments should be states’ creation; they are not federating units. We stand for equity, fair-play and justice. The military gave North undue advantage and they do not want to relinquish it,” he said.

 http://www.vanguardngr.com/2012/09/north-tackles-yoruba-leaders-on-autonomy/

aryzgreat: but y are they sex hungry like this? the oda thread na 52yr old man rape 5 kids

BY PHILIP NWOSU

[size=15pt]The military authorities yesterday vowed to defeat insurgents operating in the South eastern part of the country, warning that persons plotting aggression against Nigeria will not be spared by the armed forces.[/size]

Speaking while commissioning the Nigerian Army Dog Centre in the Ipaja area of Lagos, Air Chief Marshal Oluseyi Petinrin, Chief of Defence Staff, warned that the military will never allow insurgents to take over Nigeria, urging them to go through the normal route to assume power.

“Anybody or group has the right to have that aspiration to rule Nigeria by a certain set of rules. But the way to do it is to form a political party, contest an election and then the rest of us, even if we did not vote for you, we will subject ourselves to your rule. But for anybody or group which has not form a political party, has not won an election, to want to impose a type of rule on the country, it will never happen in Nigeria,” he said.

The defence chief said that the Nigerian military must defeat terrorism and aggression against the people of the country, especially as Federal Government has shown commitment towards providing essential resources to the Armed Forces.

He explained that the establishment of the Dog Centre demonstrates determination of the Armed Forces to fully embrace transformation agenda of the Federal Government. Petinrin, who commended the Nigerian Army for establishing the centre, urged terrorists to form political parties, sell their manifestoes and woo Nigerians to vote for them after which they could begin to make Nigerians see the world in their own ways.

The Nigerian Army Military Police unit, Saturday Sun, learnt has trained about 50 dogs to assist the force in the fight against terrorism. The dogs were trained to sniff out and identify any Improvised Explosive Device (IED), narcotics, terrorists and other security risk items. Several blocks of flats for the officers and men as well as the 50 dogs were also commissioned by the defence chief.

Speaking to journalists at the event, Chief of Army Staff, Lt. Gen. Azubuike Onyeabo Ihejirika, said the establishment of the dog centre was to enhance the capability of the service to deal with contemporary challenges facing the country. He maintained that introducing dogs to fight terrorism is informed by the sensory capability of the animal species.

His words: “The primary motive for this project is to be able to detect explosives, in a more civilized manner. It would be most helpful if serious cordon and searches begin rather than do arbitrary arrests and later apologise.” He said that the force is in the first phase of the programme, adding that at the third phase, the Nigerian Army would support the civil society in the use of dogs to check crimes.

He said the dogs would be useful at the entrance of airports, seaports, banks and other public places that is needed to be protected against terrorists and criminals.

basking4me: Cow dungs collected on Ranches/ intensive farming for cows can even be used to Generate power. According to this bbc report on youtube, the manure from a farm with 32,000 cows should conveniently power up to 8000 homes electricity.

Why aint we taking up this reforms instead...We should stop losing direction and stay focused.

check this...
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tJpxaWR2J-c

lacasa: He dosn't do 'Consultancy'


Find Ūя̲̅ own naija made 'jerry rawlings'

acidtalk: No doubt the above names can never be wiped out as those Actors who help shapen Nigeria movie industry as well as created room to past and present actors in the movie industry as those 4 names were almost everyone's role model in the movie industry.

Who do you consider to be you all time Actor and Actress amongst;

Olu Jacobs Vs Pete Odochie
Joke Silva Vs Liz Benson

GHANA SUFFERS POWER OUTAGE [size=15pt]AS NIGERIA'S IMPROVE[/size]

Paul John: These kidnappers have invaded Lagos.
God help us

mukina2: The Lagos State Commissioner for Education, Mrs. Olayinka Oladunjoye, said on Monday that the state government would introduce Mandarin, or Chinese language, in public schools’ curriculum as from next session.

Oladunjoye said this in a statement signed by the Ministry’s Public Relations Officer, Mr. Lanre Bajulaiye.

The commissioner said this after a meeting with the delegation from the Chinese Confucius Institute, University of Lagos.

She said that learning the language in the state's public schools would be an opportunity for the pupils and students to speak the language and be able to adapt to the Chinese culture.

The Director of the Institute, Prof. Caleb Orimoogunje, said the institution was ready to assist the state with necessary logistics to make the teaching and learning of the language easier.

Orimoogunje added that Prof. Lirong Jiang, a co-director of the institute, would help in the take-off of the programme.

Jiang said the institute, as a representative of the Chinese culture in Nigeria, was set up to satisfy people's need about the country’s culture.

She noted that the language became necessary because China had become the new destination for economic growth and technological development.

``The Institute is prepared to provide Chinese instructors to teach the language and culture in the state's public schools as soon as the Memorandum of Understanding is signed between the state and the institute.

``The knowledge of Chinese language will [size=15pt]help students to further their studies in China[/size] and carry out research in various fields of human endeavour as China has become a success story in the world economy,`` the News Agency of Nigeria quoted Jiang as saying in the statement.


http://www.thenationonlineng.net/2011/news-update/60980-lagos-to-introduce-chinese-language-in-public-schools.html