I once heard that “Love is a symbol of Eternity”, then I believed
and loved,
but now I doubt and care not.
Can we really love
anyone?;
not to imagine our love lasting till eternity.
Some say we can, and to such I ask
Why would we love someone
today
our lives seem like it would end without them tomorrow,
yet
the day after we just cannot bear the thought of waking up to see
them?
Why would wives wish they married another,
not the one whose
ring they longed for anymore?
Why would husbands leave their wives
(some still adored by other men)
to profess love to another woman?
Why would boys love one girl today and crave for another
tomorrow?
Girls fighting over one guy today and wishing he does not come
around tomorrow.
Many have called it different names - Lust,
Infatuation even carnality.
Wherever it is our belief lies;
It
takes only a noble mind to love one for a lifetime without
blinking.
Such noble minds, the earth has got very little room for.
For we all may have in us that poison that prevents our lovers from
loving us till eternity.
Thursday, 18 September 2014
Regional Autonomy and Resource Control, the Way Forward For Nigeria.
“For to be free is not merely to cast off one’s chains but to live in
a way that respects and enhances the freedom of others.” ~ Nelson
Mandela
When President Goodluck Jonathan announced to the nation, that he would convene a national conference, I belonged to the group of persons who believed such a conference was very important considering that the amalgamation treaty of 1913 had expired on 31st December 2013. I viewed the conference as an opportunity for various groups and ethnic nationalities who were forced to come together by the British, to renegotiate their future, and avoid the mistakes of the past.
As a nation already dangerously polarized, President Jonathan had given the people a chance to liberate themselves and possibly create a ‘people’s constitution’, but we all watched as some of ‘yesterdays men’ tried to scuttle the whole arrangement; whether they succeeded or not depends on the perspective an individual decides to consider. Personally, I do not think the conference failed totally, at least the government made it possible for the people to voice their grievances without agitation. The conference made huge progress in certain areas, although the most important issue that ought to have been addressed was left ‘uncompleted’ and thrown back to the President. Whether we accept it or not, the most important committee in the national conference was the DESOLUTION OF POWER committee – which had a duty(amongst other things) to set a new revenue derivation formula for ALL natural resources found in ANY state of Nigeria. That the committee/conference could not arrive at any conclusion on this, are a pointer to how important the issue is and an indicator to how dangerous trying to sweep it under the rug could be.
The map of Nigeria shows that the whole nation sits on the Niger-Delta region and by coincidence, the Niger-Delta has bear the burden of the entire nation pre and post independence. This has led to agitation in various forms by the Niger-Delta people for a better deal from the Nigerian state, a demand that has been vehemently and selfishly resisted by the other regions that contribute NOTHING to the national cake. An injustice the national conference was expected to address but failed to. Nigeria has 36 states, only 6 states(Akwa-Ibom, Rivers, Cross-River, Delta, Edo, Bayelsa) contribute almost the entire wealth of the nation, with another 4(Lagos, Imo,Abia,Ondo) contributing a ‘negligible’ percentage and yet the others feel, they should dictate to the contributors to the national cake what to get and when to get it. How this has continued till now is unfathomable.
This group has failed to realize, that those who make equity impossible, make the dissolution of Nigeria seemingly inevitable. The current state of unitary Nigeria is a fraud, aimed at perpetually putting in bondage the very same set of persons who feed the nation and who have suffered and will continue to suffer in event of any natural disaster coming through the atlantic; a situation totally unacceptable. Every state of this country is blessed with natural resources; therefore there is no reason why a state should not contribute to the national cake yet takes (in some instances ‘lion share’) from what it did not contribute. Revenue sharing and derivation are alien to federalism. You don’t take from a group of people to pay another group of persons.
Regional autonomy/100 percent resource control seems like the only way forward for Nigeria. Regions should be allowed to develop at their own speed, contributing a certain percentage to the centre. Dubai would not be as developed as it is today but for the autonomy it enjoys to harness it resources, just like other states of the UAE. The ‘death’ of the current type of Nigeria is what should matter most to every discerning mind. We have failed so far and will continue to fail until we begin to do something different.
It is rather ironic that states are deriving benefits from things they are opposed to; Zamfara state for instance operates a law that bans the sale of alcohol, yet shares part of the money coming from a state like Lagos(that accepts the sale of alcohol and cigarettes and taxes the retailers/producers/importers of such products) in the form of federal allocation. Bayelsa state contributes a large percentage of the money shared to local government areas in Nigeria, yet it receives the least share because it has only 8 local government areas, while Kano state which contributes nothing takes more because it has 44 local government areas. This to me is the height of injustice to the contributors.
What Nigeria needs now is outright reconstruction. An already collapsing structure cannot be restructured. In my opinion regional autonomy/total resource control is the way forward. That way every state/region will know they have to work hard so as to generate money to take care of themselves rather than lazying around simply because they are sure of getting something and feeding fat at the end of the month.
Since the amalgamation treaty has expired, to move forward, the Nigerian state must do the needful, to avoid the people doing the necessary. We have to start rebuilding – and a key part of the process, is allowing people use what they have to develop themselves. The present arrangement is meant to favour a few and will always lead to chaos.
“It always seems impossible until its done.” ~ Nelson Mandela
Enenim Ubon is on twitter @enenimubon
When President Goodluck Jonathan announced to the nation, that he would convene a national conference, I belonged to the group of persons who believed such a conference was very important considering that the amalgamation treaty of 1913 had expired on 31st December 2013. I viewed the conference as an opportunity for various groups and ethnic nationalities who were forced to come together by the British, to renegotiate their future, and avoid the mistakes of the past.
As a nation already dangerously polarized, President Jonathan had given the people a chance to liberate themselves and possibly create a ‘people’s constitution’, but we all watched as some of ‘yesterdays men’ tried to scuttle the whole arrangement; whether they succeeded or not depends on the perspective an individual decides to consider. Personally, I do not think the conference failed totally, at least the government made it possible for the people to voice their grievances without agitation. The conference made huge progress in certain areas, although the most important issue that ought to have been addressed was left ‘uncompleted’ and thrown back to the President. Whether we accept it or not, the most important committee in the national conference was the DESOLUTION OF POWER committee – which had a duty(amongst other things) to set a new revenue derivation formula for ALL natural resources found in ANY state of Nigeria. That the committee/conference could not arrive at any conclusion on this, are a pointer to how important the issue is and an indicator to how dangerous trying to sweep it under the rug could be.
The map of Nigeria shows that the whole nation sits on the Niger-Delta region and by coincidence, the Niger-Delta has bear the burden of the entire nation pre and post independence. This has led to agitation in various forms by the Niger-Delta people for a better deal from the Nigerian state, a demand that has been vehemently and selfishly resisted by the other regions that contribute NOTHING to the national cake. An injustice the national conference was expected to address but failed to. Nigeria has 36 states, only 6 states(Akwa-Ibom, Rivers, Cross-River, Delta, Edo, Bayelsa) contribute almost the entire wealth of the nation, with another 4(Lagos, Imo,Abia,Ondo) contributing a ‘negligible’ percentage and yet the others feel, they should dictate to the contributors to the national cake what to get and when to get it. How this has continued till now is unfathomable.
This group has failed to realize, that those who make equity impossible, make the dissolution of Nigeria seemingly inevitable. The current state of unitary Nigeria is a fraud, aimed at perpetually putting in bondage the very same set of persons who feed the nation and who have suffered and will continue to suffer in event of any natural disaster coming through the atlantic; a situation totally unacceptable. Every state of this country is blessed with natural resources; therefore there is no reason why a state should not contribute to the national cake yet takes (in some instances ‘lion share’) from what it did not contribute. Revenue sharing and derivation are alien to federalism. You don’t take from a group of people to pay another group of persons.
Regional autonomy/100 percent resource control seems like the only way forward for Nigeria. Regions should be allowed to develop at their own speed, contributing a certain percentage to the centre. Dubai would not be as developed as it is today but for the autonomy it enjoys to harness it resources, just like other states of the UAE. The ‘death’ of the current type of Nigeria is what should matter most to every discerning mind. We have failed so far and will continue to fail until we begin to do something different.
It is rather ironic that states are deriving benefits from things they are opposed to; Zamfara state for instance operates a law that bans the sale of alcohol, yet shares part of the money coming from a state like Lagos(that accepts the sale of alcohol and cigarettes and taxes the retailers/producers/importers of such products) in the form of federal allocation. Bayelsa state contributes a large percentage of the money shared to local government areas in Nigeria, yet it receives the least share because it has only 8 local government areas, while Kano state which contributes nothing takes more because it has 44 local government areas. This to me is the height of injustice to the contributors.
What Nigeria needs now is outright reconstruction. An already collapsing structure cannot be restructured. In my opinion regional autonomy/total resource control is the way forward. That way every state/region will know they have to work hard so as to generate money to take care of themselves rather than lazying around simply because they are sure of getting something and feeding fat at the end of the month.
Since the amalgamation treaty has expired, to move forward, the Nigerian state must do the needful, to avoid the people doing the necessary. We have to start rebuilding – and a key part of the process, is allowing people use what they have to develop themselves. The present arrangement is meant to favour a few and will always lead to chaos.
“It always seems impossible until its done.” ~ Nelson Mandela
Enenim Ubon is on twitter @enenimubon
Youths Deserve Inclusion In Politics
Since coming to self-realization, the popular cliche I have
always heard elders and political leaders use to pacify the youths in
Nigeria is that they are the “leaders of tomorrow”. The tomorrow that is
seemingly elusive. Going by this postulation of our elders, I fall into
the category of 'leaders of the day after tomorrow',since tomorrow in
this context is more likely to favour my brothers and sisters in their
30s and above.
Over the last couple of years, youths through various platforms and mediums have constantly agitated for inclusion in the scheme of things in their various political parties. A quest which has not been completely successful;considering that some political parties still have youth leaders whose ages are far above what's stated in the National Youth Policy.
For youths to be carried along in the political scheme of things, we must first identify who a youth is. Presently the National Youth Policy recognizes a person who is not older than 35 years as a youth. I have seen 50 year olds and above being referred to as youths - this to me is one of the major reasons why those within the recognized age range cannot be active players in Nigeria's political sphere. If a 50 year old is a youth,then an individual below 35 years can then be referred to as a 'baby', not fit to sit with elders when decisions are made but good enough to do the 'dirty jobs' or run errands for handouts when the need arises.
This mentality has constantly robbed our nation of ideas from the most productive,adventurous and promising class of citizens, who after the frustrating experiences of trying to get to the top abandon their original values and beliefs for new ones,passed down by their elders as the norms and criteria for being allowed into the 'inner chamber', a situation that perhaps would have been different if these young persons were carried along from the onset.
To a certain extent also, the non inclusion of youths in the core activities of political parties, can also be blamed on the youths, some of whom see certain minor privileges accorded them by some politicians as the best they can ever get, to the extent that some of these youths falsely consider themselves as kings who are free to trample on their contemporaries. Elders and party leaders capitalize on this flaw, making the youths belief that inclusion is a rare privilege exclusively reserved for the chosen ones - a situation that should not be so.
I do not know what structures exist in our various political parties for youths to grow through the ranks to the top,without being overwhelmed by circumstances(like change in leadership,their party's loss of a state through elections etc), as obtained in both the Democratic and Republican parties in the USA. The only way youths can be prepared for higher responsibilities is by entrusting them with lesser tasks. This way we are sure of producing individuals READY to lead, not those to whom leadership is accidentally thrust and are overwhelmed by the demands of such office.
In conclusion,it is important that youths be involved in the core of politics,as only a youth can interact and have a full grasp of the challenges being faced by other youths in his/her generation. Nigeria can boast of youths who are eminently qualified to be the 'leaders of today', the energies of these young persons should be exploited to the service of their fatherland, lest they channel such into activities that may pose great danger to the nation state.
Enenim Ubon is on twitter @enenimubon
Over the last couple of years, youths through various platforms and mediums have constantly agitated for inclusion in the scheme of things in their various political parties. A quest which has not been completely successful;considering that some political parties still have youth leaders whose ages are far above what's stated in the National Youth Policy.
For youths to be carried along in the political scheme of things, we must first identify who a youth is. Presently the National Youth Policy recognizes a person who is not older than 35 years as a youth. I have seen 50 year olds and above being referred to as youths - this to me is one of the major reasons why those within the recognized age range cannot be active players in Nigeria's political sphere. If a 50 year old is a youth,then an individual below 35 years can then be referred to as a 'baby', not fit to sit with elders when decisions are made but good enough to do the 'dirty jobs' or run errands for handouts when the need arises.
This mentality has constantly robbed our nation of ideas from the most productive,adventurous and promising class of citizens, who after the frustrating experiences of trying to get to the top abandon their original values and beliefs for new ones,passed down by their elders as the norms and criteria for being allowed into the 'inner chamber', a situation that perhaps would have been different if these young persons were carried along from the onset.
To a certain extent also, the non inclusion of youths in the core activities of political parties, can also be blamed on the youths, some of whom see certain minor privileges accorded them by some politicians as the best they can ever get, to the extent that some of these youths falsely consider themselves as kings who are free to trample on their contemporaries. Elders and party leaders capitalize on this flaw, making the youths belief that inclusion is a rare privilege exclusively reserved for the chosen ones - a situation that should not be so.
I do not know what structures exist in our various political parties for youths to grow through the ranks to the top,without being overwhelmed by circumstances(like change in leadership,their party's loss of a state through elections etc), as obtained in both the Democratic and Republican parties in the USA. The only way youths can be prepared for higher responsibilities is by entrusting them with lesser tasks. This way we are sure of producing individuals READY to lead, not those to whom leadership is accidentally thrust and are overwhelmed by the demands of such office.
In conclusion,it is important that youths be involved in the core of politics,as only a youth can interact and have a full grasp of the challenges being faced by other youths in his/her generation. Nigeria can boast of youths who are eminently qualified to be the 'leaders of today', the energies of these young persons should be exploited to the service of their fatherland, lest they channel such into activities that may pose great danger to the nation state.
Enenim Ubon is on twitter @enenimubon
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