₦airaland Forum

The debate is quite healthy and I hope they come up with significant improvements to the constitution. I believe that state police will become reality but I was disappointed that Fashola wants to maintain fiscal control over the local governments.

[quote author=Negro_Ntns].....his statement is not in any way a contradictiin of regionalism. Regionalism does not kill the center, it subsidizes it and thats what people want, whether in North, East or West.[/quote]Oga spinmeister, e ti ya de ibi ni yen

Ndu_Chucks is vindicated. Fashola has now publicly come out against regionalism and states that the current federal arrangement is not negotiable. I knew that all the hoopla about regional integration and regionalism by the SW leaders was not to be taken seriously. Fashola wants devolution of power, but to the states rather than regions.

Senate President, David Mark, and Lagos State Governor, Babatunde Fashola, on Thursday said the need for creation of state police and a document that will engineer all round development across the 36 states of the federation must form the fulcrum of recommendations for amendment of the 1999 Constitution.

The duo, who spoke at the flag-off of the South West zone public hearing of the proposed amendment to the Constitution, said the need for national security and all round development must be top priority in the discussions.

Fashola acknowledged the importance of the public hearing, which, he noted, was designed to involve Nigerians in the process of making decision that affects their lives.

The Governor raised concerns about the argument that has lingered over who should decide the issues to be amended in the Constitution as well as the basis for the clamour for amendment.

“Perhaps let me start from saying that we asked ourselves in this discussion, that who is very suited to know where the Constitution is faulty? Is it the people or the people that they have elected to operate it?

“But that will be a matter that will evolve in the course of the debate here because we couldn’t even resolve it, but here we are today and all I need to say is that the Lagos State Government has held a public hearing based on the parameters that were sent to us and they are devolution of powers, creation of more states, geo-political zones, traditional rulers, local governments, Land Use Act, NYSC Act, Code of Conduct Bureau, Fiscal Federalism, immunity clause, mayoral status for Abuja and of course the Nigeria Police.”

Fashola urged speakers at the forum to take cognisance of the limitations of time, hence the need to prioritise issues of national security and development.

“It seems to me that the Constitution itself is not an end, but a means to an end and that end is our collective prosperity, a prosperity that is achievable in my view only in a Federal Republic of Nigeria; a Federal arrangement for this country in my view is not negotiable because that is the only way that the diversity of this country can be harnessed.

“We are so different but yet the same, we are so diverse but yet one being and the best way therefore is to allow each independent state to develop at its own speed, its own resources, according to its own ability in a way that the prosperity of each state can become the prosperity of Nigeria.

“So issues like fiscal federalism and political federalism, I will put them at the top of the ladder and that takes me to issues about devolution of power; it makes so much sense because that is how our diversity can become fully expressive.

“Issues like police must come under the devolution of power, but can also come in my view, under the debate of what is most important for us to deal with today and I think it is our national security, because without it, when we continue to live in fear, there is very little achievement that we can make.

“It is only in an atmosphere of peace and security that we can do businesses, that we can move.

“Therefore I remain un-repentful and very clear in my mind that until each state is able to enforce its own laws, until then we may continue to be beset with those problems of national security and my advocacy of state police does not mean that they will exist without the federal component but very clearly, the Federal Government has been unable to recruit enough men to distribute across the state and there are state laws relating to local issues that even the Federal Police is not bothered about anymore because as the level of insecurity increases, the attention of the federal police moves to higher issues.

“A few years ago, the most important item on the agenda was armed robbery, but that agenda has now a menu of kidnapping, spiced with dose of terrorism, so where is capacity of the police to deal with issues such as rape, and those are matters that the states can deal with,” the Governor noted.

On the issue of creation of more states and regions, Fashola counseled that the argument be based on balancing the agitation with the realities of the wealth of the nation.

“On the one hand, the Nigerian people are strong in their views that there is too much money being spent in government and therefore let me advice that the Constitution does not create any organ without responsibilities and with responsibilities come personnel and with personnel come funding.

“So if we decide to create more states and more regions it could mean more money going to government.”

On the clamour for autonomy for local government, Fashola said the Constitution should allow for local governments to remain under the watch of the state as well as “allow the states to deal with the problem of creating, adding local governments within the territory of their state so long as the boundary of the state was not expanded or adjusted.”

On his part, Mark reiterated that the National Assembly has taken no position on the proposed amendment, saying the idea of the public hearing was to collate the views of Nigerians to form the agenda for the review of the Constitution.

Mark, like Fashola, also made a strong case for creation of state police, just as he submitted that the quest for special status for Lagos was not out of place.

“I would suggest humbly and innocently that any amendment we make must take two critical issues into consideration; any amendment that will improve security should be prioritised, any amendment that will bring development nearer and quicker to the people must be seen as a priority, this is my humble suggestion.

“Let me also say that all of you are conversant with Delhi in India, Rio in Brazil and Brasilia in Brazil as well as Abuja and Lagos but I do know that former capitals have special status in these countries.

“When the call for special status in Lagos comes up, you are not asking for anything out of the ordinary, but I am here to collect the views of the people, but I believe the view of the Governor on the status of Lagos State is the view of Lagosians.

“We are all here to collate the views, there are a lot of issues we want to discuss, there are issues we should address from a patriotic and nationalistic point of view, not only a selfish point of view else everyone will want to have his own local government, but the essence of this meeting is to allow Nigerians to participate fully in the amendment so that the normal slogan that the military bequeathed to us a constitution will no longer be there,” Mark said.

At the general presentation, several groups presented position papers, some of which included the clamour for the creation of Ijebu, Oduduwa and Lagoon states, autonomy to be granted to local governments, creation of state police, as well as scrapping of immunity clause for Governors.

The meeting was held at the Oranmiyan Hall of the Lagos Airport Hotel.

It was chaired by Ganiyu Solomon, a Senator, and attended by party leaders, traditional rulers, community leaders, and civil society organisations among others.

Mark said also in Gombe on Thursday that the National Assembly will only focus on issues that have to do with safety, security and development in the on-going constitution review exercise to make the job less cumbersome.

But he warned that the lawmakers will resist issues that divide the nation.

Mark, who arrived Gombe from Sokoto at about 3.30 p.m., explained that the interest taken in participating in the constitutional amendment is a clear indication of the fact that Nigerians want to know how they are governed and the document that is used in governing them so that they can deliver and benefit from the dividends of democracy.

The whole essence of democracy, he noted, is that government should be able to bring the dividends to the people.

“My experience has been that if we take all these items, it’s going to be very difficult.

“We are putting too much in our mouth and we will not be able to chew it.”

Source

[quote author=Negro_Ntns]Chief wazabanga,

Read the constitution again, specifically on the constitutional amendment. NASS does not have the power to change the constitution. They are responsible for facilitating a conference for review but there is no power given to them to change the people's document.

So erase your slate and start from beginning.......[/quote]Oga, why are you trying to get too technical na?

Section 9 of the constitution:

9. (1) The National Assembly may, subject to the provision of this section, alter any of the provisions of this Constitution.

As long as the stipulated provisions are met, NASS may alter (Amend) any provision of the constitution.

Katsumoto: So you are suggesting that there are 'honest' leaders in every region except the SW?

You are also suggesting that the 'honest' leaders in other regions are also leading the masses in those regions?

You are also suggesting that the demand by some Northern leaders to abolish state of origin/settler issues is or will not be at odds with the constitution and other amendments and that this is representative of all Northern wishes. This we know not to be true.

No!! I did not suggest any of the items you listed. What I am suggesting is self evident in the title of this thread.

Katsumoto: I am not justifying the actions of any SW leaders. I am asking you to be pragmatic about the eventual outcome. Nigerians have the habit of implementing policies that are at odds with the constitution in general and then wondering aloud why conflict arises. If a holistic approach is not adopted, the process will end up creating more problems than currently obtains.

NASS has the responsibility of amending the constitution and your input is requesting as we chat. Attend one of the townhall meetings I mentioned in my last post and suggest pragmatic outcome of the amendments. Your suggestions would be appreciated. You people and your leaders should be making comprehensive submissions as has already been done by Ohaneze to help NASS come up with the best approach. Inaction on your part or the part of your leaders is completely unacceptable and irresponsible.

Katsumoto: First, everyone knows that there are no honest leaders in the NASS. That bunch of overpaid, under-qualified, and incompetent bunch can not lead a boys scout troop.

Second, it is disingenuous to blame the lack of enthusiasm, action, and demonstration on Tinubu. You are better than that.

I am not talking about leaders in NASS, but those like Tinubu who are purportedly the leaders of the SW and others who should be leading the masses and lobbying with pressure for the correct action by NASS.

Katsumoto: I wasn't after your suggestion here; I simply want you to articulate how states will work in parallel with regions if states are not merged to form regions. For instance, will you have state governors, regional premiers, and a president at the same time? How will that arrangement work?

You seem to be attempting to justify the inaction and failure of your SW leaders to act decisively, by implying that the current attempt to amend the constitution is doomed to fail even before it starts. The NASS commitee on constitutional review seeks suggestions from people like you, and townhall meetings are currently taking place in every zone in the country. Let's hope people like you will find a way to make your wishes known. It is not enough to theorize about these events, the time for action is upon us. Do Something, even if your leaders continue to fail you.


F.Y.I

Senate's zonal public hearing on the review of the 1999 Constitution are as follows:

Date: Thursday 15th -16th November 2012

Venues and contacts:

South south calabar, Tinapa Hotel Freedom Osolo 08052736463

South EastEnugu, House of Assembly Ogoke Emanuel 08023674124

South West Lagos, Airport Hotel Ikeja Solomon Jokotoye08038453588

North East Gombe, University Auditorium Hassan I. Mohammed080133265934

North WestSokoto, Sultan Maccido Institute Bintube Mustapha 08023586870

North CentralMarkudi, Royal Choice Inn Habiba A. MohAammed 08035991397

We must engage the process…Please mobilise youth in these communities to participate

[quote author=Negro_Ntns]........and guess what, we dont care if he acquires the land. You should be crying foul if his land acquisitiin is in Umuahai, but its not! So whats your heartache. The man is acquiring land on his own soil.[/quote]Which man is acquiring land on his own soil? I thought Tinubu's soil is somewhere in Osun state, please correct me if I am wrong, where is Tinubu's family compound (agbo ile) in lagos?

[quote author=Akanbi_edu]Oga suku, thanks for educating me.[/quote]Why are you being nice

[quote author=Akanbi_edu]I knew you would come up with this Arewa's position.

My question is actually for those who alienate others and make themselves smaller by taking ethnic positions when issues like this come up.

Why has Arewa gone silent on onshore-offshore issue. this one is for you suks.[/quote]The onshore-offshore issue does not require any constitutional amendment and the issue is not dead. The focus is on amending the constitution here.

[quote author=Akanbi_edu]When are we going to have submissions by the hausa, fulani,kanuri, berom etc groups?[/quote]Stop trying to change the topic, the searchlight is on you people at the moment. I'd suggest you read up on Arewa's submission regarding the abolision of the so-called Indigene-Settler Policy.

Katsumoto: A few questions for you

What is the extent of the NASS committee? For instance, can it cancel states and revert to regions (say 6)? Can it determine the number of regions?

Yes NASS can do all of those things but not the committee by itself. NASS is constitutionally empowered to alter any provision of the constitution. The constitutional amendment is however subject to certain provisions. Refer to sections 8 and 9 of the Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, 1999(as amended) for more detail.

If it indeed has the powers to do so, what will compel it to utilize those powers? It is obvious to a pre-teen intelligent Nigerian that the current political class has neither the moral conviction nor the will to effect change which will reduce its powers and avenues to money.

The people, lead by honest leaders will compel NASS to act appropriately. Given the kind of leadership we are seeing from the SW and elsewhere, it is obvious that we will not have enough pressure on NASS to force the necessary changes at this time.

Now is the time when Nigerians should be attending all scheduled public hearings, interest groups barraging the airwaves with educational materials for the masses, and students organizing peaceful demonstrations in support of positive NASS action. Unfortunately, none of these things are happening because Oju Yobo and his goons prefer the status quo.

If it indeed embraces regionalism but with the states (and more states created), how will that work in practice?

If it embraces regionalism, I’d suggest that each region should be left with the decision of creating states within its region if it so chooses.

As far as more states being created, its not going to happen. David Mark was simply playing to the ignorance of Ijebu people. In my opinion, it is easier to amend the constitution in a manner which reverts to regions, than it is to create a single additional state. Trust me, there will be no new state anytime soon.

[quote author=Akanbi_edu]What do you centrists take opposition for? MumU or what?

ACN in conjuction with other well-meaning opposition parties will work together to bring about the change we desire and not the change you give. The ACN is not interested in change that furthers your interest.

For example we clamoured for democracy, the government cancelled a popular mandate and gave us OBJ. Democracy was given of course but can anyone say its what we clamoured for? OBJ's CONFAB is still fresh in our minds. That one almost got us a third term. Jonathan's first assignment in office was term elongation.

So ACN has to becareful with you guys.[/quote]The above posts shows that you people are yet to leave the caves, for the urban region of civilized democratic process. What we are talking about is the process of amending the constitution. This is not the time to be in opposition, but to work together to improve our young democracy. You'll only have yourselves to blame when the amended constitution emerges and you do not like its effects on your interests.

[quote author=Negro_Ntns]Ohhh, the article is good reference for his title but did you miss where he is referred as the "leader of ACN"?

ACN exist because of a need to "sustain a center", if the center dissapears ACN will fold with it......and so does Tinubu.

Tinubu is our "status quo troubleshooter", and that should be another honorary title if yiu care. Tinubu, the "sqt" of Yorubaland..[/quote]Son of a b*tch!! A brutally honest Yoruba son, you are. You are one of the few, who are bold enough to state the truth as it is.

[quote author=Akanbi_edu]nna suks. When are you going to ask questions about your SW man OBJ? He?[/quote]My man OBJ?

OBJ belongs in jail. Barawo banza

You are a trouble maker, why are you mentioning Gbawe. Nobody can silence uncle Gbawe, he will be here with his opinion soon.

[quote author=Negro_Ntns]hahahaha, ........

which one be Agba Akin Adinni? Anosa what do you even know what erelu symbolze?

I hereby turban ndu_chucks the "kukuwenu wazabanga" of Yorubaland. .[/quote]FYI:

Agba Akin Adinni

[quote author=Negro_Ntns]......as long the constitution does not interfere with our interpretation of the customary laws of our land, we will help you sustain the status quo. None of us has spoken with tongue in cheek on this issue of land and people.[/quote]At least, you are not shamelessly defending the goons.

[quote author=Negro_Ntns]Ndu_chucks,

You are one troublemaker!

Listen......regionalism or not, Arewa already divested itself from the center. They are no longer listening to Aso or looking to it for decision making. The Emirates are piloting and steering the Arewa boat.

Biafra also divested itself from the center on Nov 5th. BZM and MASSOB are guiding the way forward for the Igbos.

So I don't understand.......what did you say was wrong with Tinubu again?

Hey, dont let the cows chew your ID card, you gonna need it when you cross the border at Mokwa. [/quote]You people are not sober and are definitely not ready for democracy. When NASS amends the constitution in a manner which perpetuates the status quo, do not return here to complain. While it may not be fashionable for you all to publicly criticize SW leaders and especially your god(he said so), Tinubu, I am convinced that you agree with what I am saying and wish your leaders took a different course of action on this matter.

miqos02: @op you make me angry when did tinubu and can became the mouthpiece of the southwest

Are you a Nigerian? If Tinubu, the Agba-Akin Adinni of Ijeshaland, the Chief Anosare Bugije of Ondo Kingdom, the Erelu Aare Ago of Egbaland, the Asiwaju of Lagos and the Jagaban Borgu, is not considered THE leader in the SW and the mouthpiece of the SW, then no one else qualifies for the duty.

Katsumoto: Status quo only favours a minority of Nigerians who operate at the center. There is no way the status quo favours the SW.

I quite agree with the statement above, the status quo, which is no longer acceptable, does not favor any region, but a a few Nigerians who operate at the center in Abuja, and those who control the states - people like Governors, their godfathers, and in the case of the SW, Tinubu and ACN goons.

I was naive enough to think that the SW leaders who have recently been making noises about regional integration would pull for regionalism and federalism through the ongoing constitutional review process, but I was wrong.

Only last week, we were told that the planned South-West regional integration scheme, christened Development Agenda for Western Nigeria (DAWN), is awaiting legal backing by the various state legislatures in the region. Why would these SW leaders who are promoting regional integration not concurrently and aggressively pursue regionalism and federalism through the ongoing constitutional amendment process? Wouldn't the implementation of elements of regionalism favor their so-called Regional Integration scheme?

ndu_chucks smells a rat!

naijababe: Ndu, why don't you tell us what exactly your problem is ? I guess far too many posters here are too young to remember Abacha's constitutional conference. What we need is SNC, not another constitutional jamboree. If you really are banking on NASS to deliver on this, then you are on a long 'tin'.

Why not participate in the ongoing democratic constitutional amendment process with all your resources. What is the chance of GEJ conveying SnC

@OAM4J, we have the first chance of amending the current constitution, but Tinubu and his peep have been unusually silent on pushing for rregionalsm through the democratic process of amending the said constitution.

Lip service alone is unacceptable. I would have been impressed if these people spent as much financial, media, and human resources as they spent on Ondo election, towards the application of pressures on NASS to ensure that rregionalism and federalism are adequately addressed.

Unfortunately, what have is a response which will ensure that the status quo is maintained. This sir, is unforgettable.

Demdem: i agree with u on this. tinubu and his ACN peeps have been forthcoming before now in their desire to be able to control their resources and tend to favour policies that will bring about regional integration.

The above is one of the reasons why I am very disappointed and actually angry with Tinubu and his ACN peeps. They have been screaming Regional Integration in a manner which would make one to expect them to take the lead in promoting Regionalism and Federalism through constitutional amendments, but they have been very silent on the matter. This is what made me question the seriousness and motives of their wishes for regional integration.

I submit that if the opposition, lead by Tinubu's ACN, puts its resources into lobbying for regionalism as outlined by Ohaneze, and bring the masses along, we will indeed see changes sooner rather than later.

[quote author=ekt_bear]What is the universal definition of "regionalism?"

The OP is implicitly assuming that there is only one definition that everyone would agree on, no?[/quote]lol, dis hyper analyst don come again o. One would assume that I am referring to the restructuring of Nigeria into possibly 6 regions, much like what Ohaneze is proposing. Lets not make things unnecessarily complex.

kingingkinging: It is apparent you are an Igbo person. An avreage Igbo person lacks home training, no apologies to any Igbo man dead and alive. Imagine who ever you are using those words up there to drive your point. Dont you know you have lost from the beginning?

Look at your post-SW leaders led by Tinubu .....shamelessly prefer status quo).... I can see why you are the most marginalized.

Now that you are calm, kindly express your thoughts on the issues raised. Remember that racism and bigotry will do you more harm than good - it is quite disgraceful of you to lash out at a whole ethnic group in the manner you did in your post. Egbe ndi Israeli piafuka gi isi, ewu offemmanu. mumu

Date: Thursday 15th -16th November 2012

Venues and contacts:

South south calabar, Tinapa Hotel Freedom Osolo 08052736463

South EastEnugu, House of Assembly Ogoke Emanuel 08023674124

South West Lagos, Airport Hotel Ikeja Solomon Jokotoye08038453588

North East Gombe, University Auditorium Hassan I. Mohammed080133265934

North WestSokoto, Sultan Maccido Institute Bintube Mustapha 08023586870

North CentralMarkudi, Royal Choice Inn Habiba A. MohAammed 08035991397

We must engage the process…Please mobilise youth in these communities to participate

Desola: Why are you so scared?

Why are you so worried?

You should be asking the SW leaders why they are afraid to champion Regionalism but instead clamor for the status quo and so-called Regional Integration - Regional Integration designed to fatten the pockets of the said leaders.


[quote author=Akanbi_edu]Suks(Osun pronunciation) You make me laugh.

You remind me of a former boss while we were negotiating my pay. He offered a certain amount say, 100unit and I asked for a certain amount say 500unit. Then he exclaimed "that's 400% increase!"

I replied that his 100unit was never an agreed standard. I could as well claim that 100 unit is an 80% decrease.

The ACN-SW leaders will not conditioned to think in a certain way that helps to achieve predetermined outcome.[/quote]Continue to deceive yourself. The only predetermined outcome is what the ACN goons want - the maintenance of the status quo. You people prefer that so than you can chshop the money of ACN states.

If true, then Patrick Obahiagbon is being prep'ed to be the next Governor of Edo.

It appears to me that Tinubu and other ACN goons, who by all accounts, are the leaders of the SW, and who run most of the states in the SW, have no desire whatsoever for the progress of our country. One would think that the same people who have been clamoring for Regional Integration, would be at the forefront of the battle to improve upon our current system of government, which desperately needs elements of Regionalism and true Federalism, even if their components are introduced piecemeal.

When it is politically useful for them, these irresponsible leaders, who are only after concessions, buying up State land and selling those choice land to their cronies, will be screaming for Sovereign National Conference. As soon as the opportunity for real constitutional changes present themselves, these leaders go into hiding and flood the media in the SW with news which talk about every issue except the important ones of real constitutional changes.

I will leave the writing of an epistle to people like Gbawe, so I will be brief here.

Every well meaning group has made several submissions to the NASS committee on constitutional review. I am most impressed by the submission of Ohaneze’s because it provided a very practical blueprint for Regionalism and Federalism. You’d think that the SW leaders would team up with such groups and apply real pressure on NASS, inform the people, and even organize peaceful demonstrations in support of Regionalism and true Federalism.
I submit to you that these SW leaders are nothing but frauds and I ask you: Where is their call for Regionalism which would actually make their current clamor for Regional Integration a moot point

Ohaneze's Submission To NASS – Worth Reading

It is unfortunate that many posters here do not yet realize that absolutely nothing will happen to the real offenders revealed by the Ribadu report. To expect anything more than the scapegoating of some low level offenders is narrow minded and dumb.

This mess will remain with us until we elect a President like Buhari, or a well-meaning hero forcefully takes over the government and either drives the thieves into exile or disposes of them otherwise.

[quote author=Negro_Ntns]My brother,

We are forgetting the objective of measuring gdp. The root aim of gdp is not boast of wealth but to assess the level of poverty and quality of living. I shall come to that later.

We also forget that Fashola us a politician and not an economist or statistician. As all true politicians do, they speak to the party base. Fashola's message that Lagos contributes 65% of non-oil gdp is not untrue.

I looked at the activity sector of table 1 in your linked data from NBS and its a shame how they skewed productive outputs. Look at the numbers for non air, non water transportaion services for example. Would you say thats a true output? In Lagos alone over a quarter million bodies are transoorted per day by molue, danfo, bolekaja, okada, and so on and what's worse.....every one of them is a consumer at the gas pump. This is where fair assessment or forecast sc.r.ew the results and blind us from truly knowing where we are in terms of social poverty.[/quote]You'll make an excellent Spinmeister!!! I'll seek you out when I put my resources on a good candidate for one office or the other, come 2015.

[quote author=M-16]KAI BARAWO Yoruba MANA ,YORUBA BANZA KAWAI , ,AKOI Yoruba INASHIKIN GIDA ,RIBADU MEGIDA D NIJIRIA YAWUUA ,RIBADU NIJIRIA PRESIDENT YAUUWAAA, WALAHI Yoruba BA CHAAWUUU[/quote]Sallam alaykum, yaya Jindadi, yaya kake? dege ina kake wannan hira? eh Yoruba = berebe.


www.nairaland.com/attachments/229503_ROFLMAODog_gif3fa44b12f55ba64fc785c3a5794ba92e

[quote author=Negro_Ntns]Hey chucks.....You are at it again, aren't you? If you remove oil sector Lagos state will contend with FG on gdp....Kano is far behind. I have a report you should see, in fact....Im certain you have seen it and true to your bias viewpoint you deny the obvious.[/quote]You don't need to dispute my sentence about Kano. Reread my post and response to ekt_bear and you'll see why. My main point is that Fashola's 65% is bogus.