“At the heart of the current protests and agitations are the same questions which have for long plagued Nigeria and which have over the years resulted in one form of violence or the other”. Over the past couple of weeks several states in the East and in the South- South have witnessed protest marches involving thousands of Igbo youths in a renewed bid for the actualisation of the State of...Read More
“I remain of the view that the recommendations of the Conference particularly the issue of devolution of power need to be revisited. If considered and adopted most of the recommendations will address the issues of marginalization and other problems underlying most ethnic agitations in Nigeria”. Last week I identified the over emphasis on the national identity without any serious prior attention to the diverse nature of the ethnic identities that...Read More
“It is heart-warming that the 2015 Nigerian States budget transparency survey report declared Ekiti State as the most transparent state in Nigeria. When in 1996, I prepared and defended the memorandum for the creation of Ekiti State before Mbanefo Panel, I was asked, what qualified Ekiti for a state. Part of my answer was the manpower in Ekiti which is populated by the highest number of educated people who are...Read More
“The delegates must resolve that the constitution they make shall not be varied nor panel-beaten by any other body whatsoever”. CONSTITUIONAL SOVEREIGNTY OF THE PEOPLE. Last week, I suspended my 8 month old discussion of the problems afflicting education in Nigeria in order to reiterate some of the pitfalls in the 1999 Constitution and the solutions I had suggested. This week, I will address the all important issue of the...Read More
“Generally, it is necessary to ensure that any election conducted is done in a way that would substantially ensure that the main objective of a free and fair election is achieved”. In this edition, I intend to consider two issues namely: Whether Nigeria is in a state of war and Whether or not election can be held in some parts of Nigeria WHAT QUALIFIES AS STATE OF WAR? War is...Read More
