Vanguard, FRIDAY, SEPTEMBER 5, 2014 — 27
JOSEPH Orji, PhD, was the first military administrator of Gombe State. He retired from the Nigerian Air Force as a Group Captain. He was a delegate at the recently concluded 2014 national conference on the platform of the Federal Government. In this interview, he explained why the confab's recommendation for the creation of additional 18 states is necessary. Excerpts:
Confab: There’s money to sustain 18 new states — Orji, first Milad of Gombe
By Levinus Nwabughiogu WOULD you say that there is now greater love and peace between the North and South after the conference? Yes, I should say so. First of all, the opportunity presented by the conference enabled the peoples of Nigeria, north or south, east or west to come together. The conference offered all of us the opportunity to talk and listen to one another because the greatest problem we have in this country is not having a forum where we really talk as people with various views or problems as it were. Concisely, this conference achieved that. Everything we discussed we had consensus on them and they were for the general good of Nigerians because we needed to get away from the old past where we were affixed and that afflicted us with a lot of pains, hatred, not working together and stagnated development. So, I should say that the conference did just that by allowing us to come together, understand ourselves and by the time we were finishing, we had understood the Nigerian problems properly. Again, we were all willing to see Nigeria in a new state. Does that mean you do not see aggression and animosity rearing up again? This conference addressed principally and succinctly that the federating units have to be states. It also tried to look into areas of serious concerns with respect to the local government administration. The system was brining a lot of tension in the country with many people nursing some grievances, saying that states and local governments were created arbitrarily. So, something radical had to be done about the local government administration and structure. This conference also addressed that in a manner everybody was happy with. For instance, by our own recommendation, the local government has ceased to be a federating unit. They have no business going
•Orji to Abuja to ask for federal allocation. At the end of the day, modalities for sharing allocations are going to be limited to the
federal government and states. These areas were areas that created a lot of frictions. Lastly, for many years now, many ethnic
nationalities have perpetually remained under the tutelage of major tribes and as a result, many of them have no hope of ever attaining any higher positions in politics. Some have even been denied social rights as we observed. Typical example is North east where we also discovered that ethnic minorities are at the receiving end. Some complained that their children were not even allowed to be admitted to study some subjects like medicine, law and engineering in the University of Maiduguri when they are part and parcel of the state. They were discriminated against even in employment. Some major tribes will be there to boss you even if you are senior. An example of that was narrated where somebody who was 12 years senior to somebody he taught in the university became his boss in the ministry. So, he had to resign and went away. Many of them suffered a lot of humiliation and it cut across many of these ethnic nationalities. So, you need to stabilise the system by making those people feel that they are part and parcel of this country. State creation was what we used
2015: My mission to the House of Reps MEMBERS of the 74 Community Development Associations, CDAs, in Ejigbo Local Council Development Area, Lagos, as well as leaders and members of the All Progressives Congress, APC, religious leaders in the council area recently declared their support for the aspiration of the incumbent council chairman, Mr. Kehinde Bamigbetan to contest for the House of Representatives in Oshodi-Isolo Constituency II, in 2015. In this interview, Bamigbetan explains his mission to the House of Representatives. Excerpts:
By Olasunkanmi Akoni ON projects he would pursue if elected This declaration is endorsed by APC and community leaders which demonstrate that it is a community interest and decision. They asked me to represent them in the House of Representatives. And after that decision and endorsement, I have to officially come out and accept the responsibility. If given the onerous responsibility to represent them, some of the programmes include, quarterly town hall meeting, introduction of free school buses for students, free uniforms for indigent pupils and students, quarterly donation of drugs to health
centres and intense lobby of state, federal and international agencies to attract projects and programmes to the constituency. I shall ensure and engage all critical stakeholders, such as community leaders, party leaders, traditional rulers market leaders, CDAs among others for consultation as often as possible for advice and wisdom on how best to serve the people better. On why he is running after serving Ejigbo people as council chairman for six years? The reasons for my aspiration are not farfetched. One is that, recognizing that the human and material conditions of living in the constituency demands urgent and sustained improvement. Recognizing the
to address it so that most of the ethnic minorities, by our own recommendations are going to be free and they are pleased with us. Do you think that the creation of 18 additional states will eventually sail through? Why not? What is it that is making it difficult? In the conference also, we dealt with the legal requirements for states creation. We modified the law so that it becomes less cumbersome to do this. And again, if this is what will bring stability to this country and make everybody have a stake in the Nigerian project, why not? Some argued also that it was senseless recommending 18 states but they didn’t understand. It was not senseless. It is full of wisdom and we have the money. The conference also dealt structurally with how to conserve resources and the money will be there to run it. There is no state in this country that does not posses a lot of solid minerals and we have that potential. Give anybody a state, they will own it. They are happy and will work to ensure that the state is sustained.
— Bamigbetan
need to mobilise the people to develop the critical mass required for the effective engagement of the authorities at state, federal and international levels to realise the aforesaid objective. Moreso, the current level of representation has not really lived up to the critical emergency that the condition of these communities demands. Also, Ejigbo area has never produced a candidate to represent the constituency from time immemorial at the House of Representatives. Since, 1999, we, the Ejogbo people have always voted for candidates brought up from other areas and now we think that we should be given the opportunity and privilege this time. Isolo has been the only community producing candidates for the position. How ready are you for the challenges ahead considering the infrastructural deficiencies of the area? Thank God, I am not coming out from the blues, I know where the shoe is pinching our people. I have been around in the council for 70 months. And
•Bamigbetan moreso, I am a journalist, I am a part of this process and I know with the right person in the office, we will be able to advance the reasons development must come to this constituency. I have a profile; I have operated at the national level as a student union activist and also as journalist and I know all these will work for me and this is the right time.