PEOPLES DAILY, FRIDAY, MAY 9, 2014
PAGE 9
Leadership failure, not resource control …C’ttee Nigeria’s problem- Northern delegates advocates increased
By Hassan Haruna Ginsau
N
orthern delegates at the on-going National Conference have said the failure of leadership at all levels in the country is to blame for Nigeria’s problems, not the lack of resource control. The spokesman of the Northern Delegates Forum, Anthony N.Z. Sani said that what was required of Nigerians is to make judicious use of their democratic rights and ensure that their votes count ,so that the ensuing leaders at all levels will be accountable and strive to deliver on the promise of democracy, because according to him, feckless leaders are often elected by those voters who do not turn out and vote. “That the economy of Nigeria is not diversified today is not due
to lack of resource control but due to cheap oil money which drives away productive money, and that is why the groundnut pyramid and textiles industries have collapsed in the North and the South which gave Malaysia the palm oil seedlings is nowhere near Malaysia in production and export of palm oil.” He debunked the argument that resource control had made non-oil producing states not to be viable, noting that apart from Lagos state, no other state of the federation pays salaries without federal allocations. “I do not believe only northern delegates are against resource control. Most delegates do not subscribe to resource control. And there are reasons for this: First, resource control goes against the concept of
nationhood, which presupposes that the people come together and helped to unlock their synergistic potential for the good of all,” said Sani. He argued that allowing constituent parts of the country to develop at their own pace goes against the universal notion that wide gaps in incomes or wide inequality among groups in a country is manifestation of imperfections in leadership. Said Sani: “Resource Control would make Nigerians live as if they are in different continents. What is more, for constituent parts to control their resources and pay taxes to the central government will tilt the country to confederation with a weak centre, with dire consequences for the unity and oneness of the country.” It is because of this, he
explained that solid minerals, oil field and natural gas had been in the exclusive list in 1960, 1963, 1979, and 1999 constitutions. Sani noted that while oil producing states were pushing for resource control, even oil producing communities in these states were hankering that their own share of money for derivation be given to them directly because their state governments short change them when they use derivation for construction of fly overs, five star hotels and airports in the state capitals to their detriment, thus asking the question: “How far down can resource control go?” After days of back and forth by members of the National conference’s committee on devolution of power, they rejected resource control by states last Wednesday.
L-R: National Conference delegates, Dr. Edet Ekerendu, Ambassador Adamu Aliyu, and Dr. Bello Haliru Mohammed, at the National Conference on Tuesday, in Abuja. Photo: Mahmud Isa
inclusion of women in politics
By Hassan Haruna Ginsau
T
he Committee on social sector at the on-going National conference has proposed greater inclusion and participation of Nigerian women in the country’s political activities. Speaking on the main issues discussed during the committee’s deliberations on Wednesday, a member of the committee, Ibrahim Bunu Sheriff said the committee finished their deliberations on the committee assignments and had given great emphasis to women’s rights. Said Sheriff; “We want to give women a number of rights, in particular for them (women) to have equal opportunity with men in the workplace, and for them to be given more opportunity to enter politics. Due to the current nature of the country’s political landscape, a lot of women are unable to enter politics, therefore they need some assistance in the way of making some changes in order for them to participate in politics like their male counterparts, and ensure that their concerns are made public.” Speaking on the security situation in the nation, Sheriff, an indigene of Borno state noted that everybody knows what is happening in Nigeria, and in particular, Borno State. He said that the nation’s security forces have shown no signs of urgency, because when the Boko Haram insurgency started, they (Boko Haram) weren’t as strong as they are now. The government should know that there are rights over them concerning the safeguarding of its citizens, property, and lives. That is the essential role of the Government, and they should make sure they fulfil it, Sheriff stated.
National conference c’ttee proposes unicameral system of government By Hassan Haruna Ginsau
T
he National conference’s committee on political restructuring and forms of government has proposed that Nigeria should adopt a unicameral system of government to reduce the huge cost of governance. Speaking on the main issues the committee discussed during its deliberations this week, Senator Ladan Shuni, a delegate representing the North-West geo-political zone, and also a
member of the committee said they had discussed what kind of government Nigeria should adopt in the future, whether Nigeria should continue with the current system of government or the parliamentary system similar to the days of Tafawa Balewa, or the kind of system adopted by France. Said Shuni; “Actually we agreed to continue with the current system in place, however with a few changes to it, for example, the vice president should be picked from the national assembly, and
to make the national assembly only one chamber made up of a reduced number of full time representatives in order to reduce the cost of governance. He said the committee also agreed to the zoning of posts at the federal and state levels, which would mean one region cannot produce both the president and vice president. “We want this to be included in the constitution, and for political parties to have this enshrined in their constitutions. Every party should make sure
that if they for example pick a president from the North-West, the Vice president should be from the South-east for example. Basically anything that will bring peace in Nigeria.” He added. He noted that Nigeria had not yet reached a stage where the president should be a Muslim and the Vice-President also a Muslim, noting that the time would come that people will accept whatever the religion or tribe of both the Presidential and vice presidential aspirants.
The committeealso agreed that the Vice-President should be selected from the elected lawmakers, with the president been given the power to pick 70% of ministers from the lawmakers, and 30% from outside. “We don’t want there to be both a Senate and a house of representatives, we want one assembly that will include all. Why we proposed this is to reduce the cost of governance, and reduce the bickering between the 2 houses” Shuni concluded.