₦airaland Forum

? ? ? ? ? ? ?

I don't get the value in what they have just said to be honest (it sounds too pedestrian to be uttered on such a pulpit), I mean, the army could have handled the matter better but were protesters stopped from protesting in January? There is a difference between allowing protest and maintaining some sort of public order as can be seen by many examples (includng occupy wall street).

Must be the usual politicking where you apparently feel the need to say something every five minutes

LFJ: If truth must be told, whatever the current system cannot take care, no other form of system will do it. People make the system to work not the other way round. In the first republic, the system at that time work for us because the leaders then were more sincere and willing to serve their people. The system then was about Awolowo in the West, Azikwe in the East and Balewa in the North. Remove the name of these people from that system and imagine what would have become of that system. I can help you answer this question, the moment these people left the stage, what happened next? People with less mature mind took over and the result was unnecessary civil war that claimed the lives of many innocent people.
Those who are clamoring for regional autonomy are doing this for selfish end. The Yoruba leaders who lost out of power at the federal are looking for something to hold on to, and they want to be in charge of their home. Those that have one resources or the other think that they want to enjoy their resources alone. What people don’t understand is that events have overtaken what we had in the first republic. Today, we have 3 levels of government: Federal, State and Local government to take care of grassroots. This to me is more design to reach the grassroots than the regional government.
The problem with most of us is our inability to understand the current system, if you don’t understand what is currently on ground, how do you want to compare this to the past or make an amendment to shape the future? I guess what Yoruba are looking for is regional autonomy that will retain the present structure, the local and state government with a regional government in Ibadan where the likes of Tinubu and co will start to determine the faith of people of west, I pray for people in the east that somebody like Andy Uba will not have the chance to gain control of that region and suddenly become regional head.
With current system, the 3 level of government have the areas they are expected to discharge; that is why we have exclusive, concurrent and residual list. The exclusive powers belong to the federal government to take care of areas like defense, foreign affairs, overseas trade, fiscal and monetary policy etc. The concurrent powers are those powers which are shared by both federal and state governments, both may act or intervene e.g. education, internal security etc, the federal government overrides the state where there is conflict, and the last one which is residual powers, which is exclusively for the state, examples of residual powers are those regarding civil law, urban planning, property issues, etc.
In all this, I find it very difficult to see the problem with our system. The real problems are those who are executing, legislating and interpreting our law. I will support the regional autonomy if this system will help us reduce the level of corruption within our system, if it will make everybody equal before the law.

Let us not talk around in circles here for the sake of it. Is the current system we have in place now grass roots oriented? NO. Is the mopney and resources of the people concentrated at the centre? YES. Is the system top heavy? YES. Does the system encourage corruption? YES.

Let me give you this analogy. The system we have in place is equivalent of a farmer giving all his earnings every month tp a government in another state with which to pay him a measely salary from to meet his needs. I could do soo much better than that because it is worse but I don't have the time right now.

Saying the system can be made to work is a very lazy attempt at dodging the fact that to state that is a recognition of the flaws in what we have now. We run a very EXPENSIVE and INEFFICIENT system that is LESS geared towards meeting the needs of the PEOPLE than a revised system would. Nigeria is a poor country governmental structure that cannot afford to sustain itself AND tackle development aggressively. Now what is more important, having the image of maintaining a government, or maintaining a structure that actually delivers dividends for the sake of it?

This is about a diverse country as Nigeria giving more power to its people to control their lives, bringing government closer to the people and allowing them take more control of their lives. If the people allow themselves to be rules by despots and like it that way, it is their choice. But at least they would be doing that with THEIR OWN resources. We need to bring resources and tools for development closer to the people. Abuja does not have a monopoly over good decision making.

vowiski: The president once again demonstrated his desire to transform Nigeria as part of his electoral promises to Nigerians.

"God help me, I will promise little during this election and deliver more to the people". GEJ to Electorates in 2011.


Abuja rail completed
Photo Credit, ITV Abuja
The completed section of the FCT Abuja rail track, was tested by officials in Abuja, yesterday.
This is the transformation and the president is delivering. Once the rails systems is completed in Nigeria, congestion on the high ways should be reduced and disasters resulting from such congestion can be eliminated.

Read More

Just admit you made a mistake, the metro rail system is OBVIOUSLY not completed.

torkaka: and why is he being harrassed? vulture no be meat?

You dey mind them? My only qualms be say ein no tell im customer say na vulture dey dey chop, if not no wahala. All na meat abeg. To think say people bin dey chop the tin dey tink say na chicken go tell you say for inside correct soup, all na meat.

By the way, regional autonomy does not have to come at the expense of equity or nationalism. These ideals are not mutually exclusive. Regionalism is not necessarily about ethnicity (because Nigeria is soooooo much more than the very irritating WAZOBIA politics that seems to be the sole focus - even on nairaland), but it is a means of reducing government bureaucracy and bringing it closer to the people. As long as we have a system where EVERYBODY has a voice (even if your ethnic group is made up of three people), then we don't have to be so scared. THIS system though, is not working for everybody. The new division is rich and dirt poor.

LFJ: The best system is what we currently have; regional autonomy is a means to create another problem.  If we don’t want to be together again, let say it loud and clear and let start the struggle for it, but to go to the system that will divide us more along ethnicity and religions should be rejected. The current system is not the problem; those who are in charge of the system are the enemies of our country. If we decide on regional autonomy today, the poor masses will be the greatest looser, as we will still have the same set present criminals controlling all the levels of government.
Our problem is very clear, no nation grow where corruption is a way of life and where the law and order is for the poor. There is no system that can survive the level of our corruption. What we need today is that leader with the fear of God, not the leader that will bury any report that does not favor his allied, but the leader that is more sympathetic to the feelings of poor masses.

The current system IS a problem, a system where the grassroots pay to sustain a distant federal government that is so far removed from them yet has so much power over their lives IS a problem. A system that encourages corruption to thrive IS a problem. And playing ostrich does not make the problem go away. Sometimes I wonder how blind Nigerians have come to be that they can't seem to see the snake that WILL come to bite them back in the ar.se. There is a widening gap between rich and poor, we are fast creating a class society between the haves and have nots. The have nots are overwhelmingly in the majority, yet people can't seem to see the link between that issue and the state of insecurity in the country and the corruption issue.

Sometimes I just don't know about Nigeria anymore to be frank, especially when you hear thoughts like these and wonder whether it is the same country we are talking about. The problem with youth unemployment and wealth disparity in the country (especially by people who make it through corrupt means and flaunt it to the poor) is a ticking time bomb. Daft people just don't know it yet. You think high fences can protect people forever? I laugh!

Idokojimmy: The North on Thursday began move for the 2015 general elections, saying that it would join forces with other section of the country to realise its goal.
The Arewa Consultative Forum, which made this known in Kaduna after its meeting, said part of the strategy was to bring everybody in the region together regardless of ethnic or religious affinities.
The Northern governors had in May, this year through their Chairman and Governor of Niger State, Dr. Mua’azu Babangida Aliyu said the region would form a formidable force despite their different political leanings and go into the 2015 presidency.
Re-echoing the position of the governors, the pan-Northern socio-political organisation at the end the joint meeting of its National Executive Council and the Board of Trustees said it had begun strategising for the 2015.
The forum noted that 2015 was still far and would not want to distract governance but would welcome any strategy that will put the region in a vantage position to enable it to negotiate with other sections of the country ahead of the 2015 poll.
The forum, in a communiqué signed by its National Publicity Secretary, Mr. Anthony Sani, on Thursday said to realise this, members had resolved to ensure that calm returns to the troubled region.

The ACF added that its priority at the moment was to bring unity and peaceful coexistence among northerners in particular and the nation at large.
According to the group, for the desired peace to reign in the region, “ACF must deliberately enlist the support of all stakeholders such as governors, local government chairmen, the legislators, traditional rulers and religious leaders as well as political leaders of political parties for the express purpose of implementing those aspects of the recommendations that are within the purview of their executive authority and sphere of influence.”
The communiqué added, “The emergency meeting was called to receive and consider the road map for peace, Unity and development of Northern Nigeria. The road map is an outcome of the resolutions of the Arewa Conference on peace and unity held on the 5th and 6th December,2011,which were stepped down into the executive summary for implementation by stakeholders. The submission was done by former Inspector General of police, Alhaji Ibrahim Ahmadu Coomassie, the Sardaunan Katsina.
“While the forum supports any political strategies that would put the North in a position which will enable it to negotiate with other sections of the country from a position of strength and secure some favourable terms, it was the considered view of the forum that it is too early to start full fledged political activities for 2015.This is because such early start is capable of detracting from the task of governance at our collective peril.”

http://www.punchng.com/news/north-maps-out-plans-for-2015-elections/

Funny stuff. I guess only when it suits them. Let us see if the middle belt has learnt its lesson

hardywaltz: At this point Mallam Sanusi should resign, dat would be the honorable thing to do.

I don't see why he should. The issue could have been handled better and the public could have been carried along, that is not explicitly his job though.

expertman: Aso Rock on Thursday night finally confirmed that President Jonathan has backed down on the introduction of the controversial N5,000 note by the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN), but said it was only temporary.

Daily Independent broke the story on Thursday that the President had bowed to pressure to suspend introduction of the N5000 note.

According to Presidential spokesman, Reuben Abati; “the introduction is being suspended for now to enable the CBN do more enlightenment on the issue. Yes, President Jonathan has directed that the implementation of the new N5,000 note be suspended for now.

“This is to enablenable apex bank to do more in terms of enabling Nigerians understand why it proposed it in the first place. So, for now, the full implementation is on hold.”

Simple. Should have been done in the first place.

There had better be more info than this. I am actually pro using the ministry of information as a sort of propaganda tool for informing citizens of what the government has achieved or is doing, if not I really don't get the point of that ministry. What is the point in keeping people in the dark? Let us know what is being done on all levels and blow the government's trumpet based on achievements so we can judge for ourselves if it is worthwhile and if the government is working or not, and give informed feedback as citizens.

The ministry should have a better organised and continuously updated website of what other ministries and itself as well as federal government are achieving backed with data, images, project information, progress updates, etc. If not, again, what is the point of having a ministry of information?

What I don't like though, is the idea of Jonathan doing this himself or getting involved - if he is. He is not campaigning for presidency, he won already, now we want to be hearing about results.

Site needs improvement and more publicity - http://fmi.gov.ng/

stannydon: @ Geomac, am not Ohakim`s agent, but let the truth be told, Ohakim had better ideas than Mr Rochas Okorocha, Can you tell me what Rochas has done in Imo State? He is such a noise maker and can only deceive the ignorants. All the elites in imo state are disappointed with the man and his antics because he talks for people to shout OWELLEEEE! We are still wating when he will give imo state undergraduates #100000 annually as he promised. Why did he stop sharing #100 for secondary and primary school students after the first month since he is father xmas

And how many of those did he implement? The audacity to bring that name up when the task of governance is being discussed. If you want to judge Okorocha on his own merits then do so.

afam4eva: For those of you that are wondering why Akwa Ibom with the E-LIbrary did not win this award. You have to understand that this award is for the state that is IT compliant. Which means this state uses IT in the day to day running of the state affairs. For instance, if you want to pay any fee to Ekiti, you can pay it online etc. It's not just about having an E-Library that i'm not sure is fully functional yet.

Also note that this award is for Ekiti Government and not for Ekiti state. Note the difference. If it was for states, then Lagos could easily have one this award.

Probably, and such should be commended. The way government runs its business needs to be updated, as opposed to the cliched and poignant images that comes to mind when one goes to a ministry (dark buildings, elevator is not working, rude secretary chewing gum and ignoring you, archaic practises, ten people doing one man's job, etc)

But leave Akwa Ibom E-library matter if you are not sure though, and do some research. That is an impressive undertaking for Nigerian standard, and was well executed. And I believe it is in use now. One of the more impressive civil structures that add value which I have been aware of of late.

Wow Wow Wow. The story of Arik. How far it has come. From the ruins of PHC airport closedown during Odilli's tenure (done for political reasons), to national promience. It is desperately sad to even consider the shadow of the idea of Odilli not getting his comeuppance. There is a reason I have never flown Arik. I am not giving that thief of a man any of my money.

[quote author=acidosis™]Hehehe. . .what happens to Godswill Akpabio's gigantic e-Library in Akwa-Ibom state?


Hmm.. Governors should emulate this. Concentrate on building "people" not houses that will eventually be destroyed by the people they fail to develop.

Congratulations!! My Ekiti kete peeps!! am proud of y'all.[/quote]Profound and true

Demdem: Sky Blue:

Here are somethings to consider, this is a system that is used in some way in a good number of successful countries.

yeah it worked and working for them because there was a particular time in their national life when the sat down and discussed on how they would love to be governed, the structure they desire and terms of their togetherness. The one we earlier had have been forcefully taken from us.Besides we are different people, because it worked for them doesnt mean it will work for us. For example, they cherish gays, we dont grin


Another thing to consider is this - "Input -- Process -- Output". Two most important things in that basic but powerful cycle are input and process, get those right and output would be generally fine. In most cases (and this isn't different), the input to a process is the output to a previous process. Extrapolate to the nth degree.

Am not quite sure if i fully grasp what u are trying to say here but eh what input will come from a faulty basis. An input filled with malice, distrust, selfishness, grudge, bigotry of all sorts etc even with the best of process will still bring a gabage output.


Point three. A lot of the times the people largely get what they want. When fuel subsidy was removed people rose up. What else has united the country like that in this fourth republic?

Probably the selfish few politicians and power brokers. Most times, the vast majority dont. The subsidy u talked about inclusive. the people demanded a return back to status quo, did they get it? What eventually gets to the people are dejected crumbs which some will see and rejoice. i refuse to be a part.

I want you to consider these things before we delve deeper.

Actually, i have.

The inputs into a political process include among other things - people, idealogies, parties. Let us pick people for a moment. These people come from a context and part of what form of shape their thoughts include formal education, society, etc. Let us pick formal education for a moment. Education can be seen as a process. Inputs into this process includes people, ideas, a method or template for transferring those ideas, and a criteria or standard for gauging an understanding of those ideas which judges whether people that have gone in as an input into the process are good enough to come out and be input to other processes like government, businesses, civil society, etc. Does being literate mean one is educated? We could pull the thread further but hopefully you see where i am coming from. How many of those three or so processes i picked out as examples down the line run effectively? You CANNOT ignore THIS and say you want to build something that will last, it is what will differentiate between building something that lasts for five years, and a system that continuously improves itself. You NEED to think long term and stop treating the symptoms as causes.

Back to an earlier point you made. Democracy is not a purely western concept. The fundamentals of it has existed in one or two african societies I can think of before Eurpeans even got here. The key thinjg is the ESSENCE of democracy. The how you achieve it is different. Pointing out that other countries practise the particular system we use does not mean they all practise it exactly the same. For whatever reason we have been stuck with this particular way of practising it, but the good thing about the system is that it can be modified to reflect the values of the people that practise it. We can be a confederation of different units, a collection of states, etc. If you want a completely novel system then feel free to produce it, but the thing is, how feasible would it be to start from scratch considering the nature of such a fundamental change? We don't always have to reinvent the wheel to progress, there are different types of wheels for different purposes. Car tyres are different from bicycle tyres. Even between cars, a formula one racing tyre is different from that of a domestic car. The wheel was not reinvented for that, it was just modified to suit different purposes.

The major thing I agree with you on is the need for Nigeria to sit down and actually stop playing ostrich, but talk about what we want as a nation if we are to continue as one. This is important. Beyond that, I think we need to delve deeper to the heart of the matter

P.S. The citizenry are also an input into the political process. And with regards to Nigeria, the citizenry has FAILED woefully in that regard. But if you go back to thhought of input-process-output, it is not difficult to see why!!

Theshrewdboy: [color=#006600][/color]
4 Nigeria 2 move forward dis gangsters who parrade themselves as senators must b scrapped 2 avoid gangsters receivn national honours period

Why don't we just scrap the government altogether, and the police and judiciary as well since they are all not working?

Demdem: The bulk of what the system produces today is miserable. Do u think the products of these system (who benefits massively from it) will be able and courageous to correct the ills presently within the system?
I for one dont think so. they will only try but cant succeed. Until the system is completely shut down, pull down and re-designed, we are simply extending the evil days.

Here are somethings to consider, this is a system that is used in some way in a good number of successful countries.

Another thing to consider is this - "Input -- Process -- Output". Two most important things in that basic but powerful cycle are input and process, get those right and output would be generally fine. In most cases (and this isn't different), the input to a process is the output to a previous process. Extrapolate to the nth degree.

Point three. A lot of the times the people largely get what they want. When fuel subsidy was removed people rose up. What else has united the country like that in this fourth republic?

I want you to consider these things before we delve deeper.

Demdem: Akpabio seems to me the only exception from the whole lot u mentioned earlier as regards this zone. Not hearing pleasant news about chime for some time now but i have to be honest that i have not been there for a while now to confirm if this true or not.

Oshiomole is an interesting character though. To be honest I was quite suprised when I heard him speak during one of these BRACED whatever (video on youtube), he showed a good understanding of the problems facing the task of governance and the citizenry at large. And he isn't the first politician that has broken that illusion of 'they are all greedy pigs' either - there have been a good number of them. It just got me to thinking, so what does this man need to really suceed in his state and how can we give it to him? And to be honest although it is good to fight against people who don't have the people's interest at heart, although it is good to give constructive criticism where necessary, it is also good to see how we as citizens can work together with responsible governments to help them succeed. Because at the end of the day only a blind fool won't want government to succeed because if government's fail WE lose out. We need mmore cooperation to achieve shared goals. If a system continues producing rubbish, the problem is almost certainly the system.

Demdem: Fixed
Am not encouraged about what Amaechi is currently doing this second tenure despite my support for him. He is disappointing me big time

Ditto, and the state needs alternatives. But would you have asked the state to throw him out during his first term because he was a PDP governor? This thing has to transcend parties on such affiliations it really does. It is not so neat as people like to think and I guess the reson I am acdtually posting is because I realise I might have been nodding along thinking we were essentially saying the same thing. But just realised we might not be at all. LOOL.

It is quite interesting though, because Akpaibo's magic seems to have kicked into full gear in thi his second term. The political process itself might need modifications. One thing I hope we never copy from a country like America is the ammount of influence money has in politics. Hate them or love them, but that is one area where Britain's political system is better than America's

Demdem: Abegi, forget what these ones are doing here. To me its still a talk show until something concrete is on ground to suggest such.

I agree, it is still talk for now. But I hope it goes beyond that and to be honest I simply don't have enough information to claim it hasn't gone beyond that. There are different projects some of the states are apparently planning on or started working together on but I can't vouch for that. That is not the point though, I brought it up because it is a good idea and at least they are TALKING, not seeing each other as enemies trying to fundamentally outdo each other. That is refreshing. Niw they just need to give the bark a bit more bite and they will go very far if they do.

[quote author=Akanbi_edu]It is a process kats.[/quote]You can't turn this into a partisan affair because then it simply falls apart completely (and honestly it would be a bit disappointing). This cannot be about PDP out another party in because unfortunately, it does not fit into that neat little box of yours in reality. Akpaibo of Akwa Ibom has been working impressively in his state (he just isn't as much of a media governor as say Fashola) and he is a PDP governor. Amaechi has also brought improvement into different areas of Rivers State (education being an obvious one) and he is PDP, Chime has been working in Enugu and he is PDP. So what do you say to people in those states then? Get rid of these guys that have been working for you because they don't belong to a "progressive party"? The issue has to be good governancer and cooperation and how the people can work about bringing that, not party affiliations.

Katsumoto: Do you seriously think ACN is going to win SUBSTANTIALLY in other regions?

ACN should start working on alliances with others to re-organize the foundation of Nigeria. If there are good guys in ACN, then there must be good guys in other parties too, even if they are crowded out.

Talk is cheap. When are they going to start the process? 2015, 2019, 2023? The time to strike is now, when the iron is hot. There are many issues in Nigeria today that a charismatic leader can use. Without re-organization, whatever good that ACN believes it is doing can easily be undone. 2015 is around the corner, the enemy is not sleeping.

You actually see

Desola: It is possible to co-operate without being in the same party, non?

PDP did co-operate to with ACN to gain the SW votes, non?

It is possible to cooperate and be in different parties. South south states are trying to do that now, with Oshiomole being from a different party than the rest. What I am trying to refute is this selling of competitiveness as a panacea to good governance because honestly if this is what we have been saying all along then I strongly disagree. Continuously improving the alternatives is important, having alternatives is good, but contrary to what people like to think what makes the world work well in places it really works is cooperation. America is at a gridlock in both houses because politicians can't see beyond their nose and stupid partisanship. If one is struggling for freedom from what is Nigeria then that is a different matter. But as long as units still exist in Nigeria, we need to learn to work together as local government units cooperating, regions building themselves up, and regions also working together. So many examples exist of this in the world. I don't want to ramble on, I was just challenging that 'competition is key' mantra, that is all. I can talk more at length and indepthly on this but don't want to bore you. It is the very reason a country like Japan is an absolute FORCE to be reckoned with in the world in terms of productivity, etc.

Demdem: Competition has a way in bringing out the best no doubt. Lack of it can cause sloppiness and that we all dread.

A mantra I don't wholly subsribe too. Having alternatives is very important, but competition on the sacrifice of cooperation is silly in my view and makes the people lose out. Won't want to get too much into it right now.

LOOOOOOOL. What a country! What a group of people! If this policy wasn't reversed we would have heard no end of it. People complained in mass, made points about how introduction of higher monetary denominations was not in line with the policy of heading towards a cashless society and reducing ghana must go politicking of untraceable exchanges. It seems the logic of the outcry was listened to, and the position has been reversed, but it is still a bad thing. Gosh. I can't stand double standards and hypocrisy. Can we at least keep it consistent . . .

Demdem: i respect ur wonderful opinion and the solution you proffered but i dont agree its the best way out of our predicament. I also wouldn't want to thrash it out one by one at least for now.

The foundation of the nation of ours is faulty and criminous and no amount of patching, window dressing, amendments etc that one does to this building of ours (our nation)can rescue the already battered building. Until we go back and remould the foundation, we are simply wasting our time and extending the evil days.
Peace.

We are in agreement with regards to your second paragraph. Its just that I don't see any restructuring on those critical foundations happening without the people getting involved. And the Nigerian polity are notoriously known for their laziness to rise together for anything. So do we just throw hands up in resignation and stay stagnant without any improvement to quality of living at least?

[quote author=Dudu_Negro]We practice democracy. What is democracy?
Simply, a society or congregation of people!
The baseline or the unit of government is a household of people.

We are so top heavy in theoretical knowledge that the simplest of social problems become a dramatic issue. We lack application, so we pass and juggle our theories around kicking and passing it from one regime to next and yet missing the point on how best to reduce our isssues into managable proportions that resolves and move us forward.

The single most powerful instrument of the people is the ballot box. Through their votes people communicate their resolve. Why are we outsourcing that power? If we want to know what direction to head then make the people vote on it. SNC has becime thw flavor of the month in mediatalk because the power is no longer wih the peiple. By having a selected peer of leaders convene on SNC also set the wrong expectation. I say this because whatever is agreed to in the SNC agreements must eventually go to NASS for passage and seal. Constitutionally, two thirds majority carries the floor. Geopolitically, the Northern states are two thirds of the whole country. So their opposition to any alternative proposed by the SNC will continue the status quo.

Thats not a smart way to represent the will of the people. To guage what people want, I say scrap SNC and throw the question of One Nigeria or dissolved Nigeria into a ballot poll and gt the people out into those booths to express their voice and desire....thats how to practice democracy.[/quote]We are in agreement on most points. Your point about the workings of the NASS is salient and spot on. The thing is, the ballot might need a bit more sophistication than yes/no on Nigeria. If no, then the logical question is what? More interesting even, if no then what? I just want a Nigeria that works or anything that comes out of it that works, hence workable and achievable solutions are what I look for, not just idealism which at the end of the day will still need a galvanised citizenry. If citizens participated in their duty of holding government accountable we won't be in this mess, so anything that does not rely heavily on that seems safe. It is such a shame that the only time Nigerians came together to pressure government was on fuel subsidy!

Demdem: I disagree completely. Just like any other man's undertaken, there will always be challenges in going about it so the SNC cant be an exception. First step is to appreciate the fact that the present structure is faulty and needs to be re-arranged. Soyinka's visit/speeches in Uyo doesnt in anyway suggest that he doesnt believe that this needs to be done. The jingle u talked about has always been been there for decades and hat have we to show for it? If it has not worked then then why do u think it will work now under the same fraudulent system? I think its high time we stop deceiving ourselves. There is nothing fair and credible about our present structure and that must change.

Don't really want to focus too much on what Soyinka thinks or not because he is not a deity, but I brought that issue up to point out an appreciation he now has for what convening SNC entails and what the purpose really is. Instead of that he started pushing for regionalism.

Demdem: How far can those present regional integration go if economic power isnt added. It will just be another pressure group or talk session that will not achieved anything sensible at the end of the day. A situation where the bulk of the resources needed by these regional groups is controlled from Abuja suggest to me that they will so much be handicapped. Its not impossible though with the limited resources they presently control, it will just take ages. besides one entity in Abuja can even influence decision since the person with economic power is the person truly in power.

Regional integration can transcend economic questing to reach into legislature and combined regional interests and stands that come out in laws. Each state has a house of assembly. What have the many house of assemblies we have achieved. At the end of the day co operation is better than everybody trying to fight their own battle and will achieve more if we think strategic. Not every state needs to have its own airport, but instead of a group of states pooling resources to bring just one airport to international standard and improving rail links, we have many village airport scattered all over the place including Lagos. With regards to the time frame you speak of, democracy takes time.

@Dudu Negro posted a point which I think is important. The current system and constitution we have now was bequethed to the nation by the military. Unless we have long term thinking and altruistic politicians in mid that see Nigeria as a whole and not as units, the constitution review is going to take TIME, UNLESS the people can rise up under an umbrella and demand things. Change can happen if Nigerians unite and rise up, but in the likely probability that does not happen we need to think strategically on working solutions in the current system that can get us where we want. If you can come up with workable plans towards SNC in the nearest future and not ten years time then power to you. For me, what seems workable now in regional integration, strategic projects, and passing laws in groups as a means of eroding power from the center.

At the end of the day the main reason we are even having this talk at all is because the private sector is weak due to weak infrastructure which in our system is the responsibility of the government, the citizenry seems to solely rely on the government to make tangible improvements in their lives. Believe me if there was just power, security and good transport links no one will give a flying rats a.rse what happens in Abuja. To get these things and get to that stage, we need to start thinking wisely on strategic and workable solutions.

[quote author=Dudu_Negro]People are tired of Nigeria. We are not living as citizens of a country, we are existing on a hopeless dream that a leader will come tomorrow to break the yoke of our sufferings. Each leader that come has been worse than the one before it. People say Fashola will be the change agent but they forget that his part will only be one corner of a four sided wall and the other three are held by veteran thieves that we ignorantly address as honorables. The drummers that keep singong the tune of one nigeria and the anthem of tomorrow will be better are agents of doom sucked in by their own greed to hold on to the advantages of market demographics and what it would mean if that market was partitioned into its natural sovereignties.

People are living an illusion....there is no better tomorrow for Nigeria. It is time to part......[/quote]But how long have we be having this talk? Who hasn't at some point grown weary about Nigeria? The first attempt to secede from Nigeria if I recall correctly was by Adaka Boro (before Biafra). The thing is we just want a country that works and a better life for our people. We want a country we can at least look up and feel some pride about, one that harnesses the potential of is people and provides equity. The thing is, whatever way you see this happening, you should at least be willing to create a path towards achieving it and come up with WORKABLE plans, or else do you remain a perpetual moaner and lameter till you die? The issue has NEVER been about a dearth of ideas on what can change things. We all agree the foundations of nationhood are weak. For me, the centre needs to lose power and the stronger regions get, the more achievable this becomes (or Nigerians can just rise up and demand a change - but come on . . . . it is Nigerians we are talking about).

There are different ways of achieving what we want. The people can rise up and demand it (the ideal), or we can at least entrench deeper regional integration and improve inter regional relations and trade. The south-south states now have this BRACED forum, and not all those states are even PDP led. If the middle belt could pool it resources, the south eastern states could also get their act together, the south west also integrates into a regional identity and such groups can work on projects together that improve intra and interconnectivity to build on trade and increase efficiency for doing business both locally and globally, won't that be something? Now is that achievable right NOW? Absolutely yes. I just keep looking to see wether this BRACED forum can realise the potential of pulling together of resources and pay more than lip service - which seems to be all they are doing now. The visions I have of Nigeria . . . . it is a shame really how disunited we can seem when many of us want the same things.

Demdem: Read between the lines. he is basically calling for SNC. To acheive what he said, our whole political structure will need to be re-designed and constitution re-written

Again, cheap populist sentiment. It seems to be the running fad these days. Want to sound intellectual? Call for Sovereign National Conference and that seems to erase all negative views about you in the eyes of the people. Calling for SNC WITHOUT a clear path towards achieving it, all the logistics involved, and carrying Nigerians along is nothing more that hopping on cheap populist sentiments (even Soyinka seems to have cooled off on the whole SNC and has instead started fighting for good governance as exemplified by Akpaibo after he visited Uyo). Does that mean SNC is a bad idea? No. But when Nigerians are really ready for that change some of us desperately desire then that change will come. It requires galvanising of the people and the people unknowingly have what they want. SNC seems to be the new "I will give you road, I will give you light, I will give you house" campaign jingle.

Tinubu's idea is not feasible in the current set up and just seems a very very cheap ploy to gain "integrity" by hopping on cheap populist sentiments that on closer scrutiny fall apart on implementation. Unfortunately, some people will buy into it. How about solutions that are actually workable? The house has two chambers for a reason.