ON the eve of 100 years of amalgamation of Southern and Northern Protectorates to form Nigeria and ahead of the 2015 general elections, eminent Nigerians, who converged on Enugu for the 14th National Convention of the Igbo Youth Movement, IYM, recently, had one demand. They want the Federal Government to organize a national conference for Nigerians to discuss the multifarious challenges facing the ...
As nice as this sounds, does the IYM believe that President Jonathan will
go for decentralisation of the Federal Government? Jonathan says he is not
opposed to it, but his policies as of late (militarisation of society,
dictatorial tendencies, etc) has me doubtful that he will allow such a
conference to ever take place. Elliot Ukoh should not see this issue as an
ethnic issue alone. This is more of a problem of a corrupt elite that
cannot bear to give up political power. The average Nigerian, regardless of
their ethnicity and region, has been shortchanged all these years and the
elite (godfathers) want this to continue so they can play groups off of
each other in order to keep political power and money to themselves. Hence,
you have the largely artificial ethnic rivalries of today. I doubt that
Ukoh and the Igbo Youth Movement will get the SNC they are looking for, at
least by 2015. The Federal Government has to be weakened and local
governments strengthened, but this issue of the godfathers on top needs to
be the primary focus of the Patriots, the Igbo Youth Movement, and any
other group calling for an SNC.
Nigeria: Trouble Looms Ahead of 2015 If...
Vanguard (Lagos), 2 March 2013
ON the eve of 100 years of amalgamation of Southern and Northern Protectorates to form Nigeria and ahead of the 2015 general elections, eminent Nigerians, who converged on Enugu for the 14th National Convention of the Igbo Youth Movement, IYM, recently, had one demand. They want the Federal Government to organize a national conference for Nigerians to discuss the multifarious challenges facing the ...
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As nice as this sounds, does the IYM believe that President Jonathan will go for decentralisation of the Federal Government? Jonathan says he is not opposed to it, but his policies as of late (militarisation of society, dictatorial tendencies, etc) has me doubtful that he will allow such a conference to ever take place. Elliot Ukoh should not see this issue as an ethnic issue alone. This is more of a problem of a corrupt elite that cannot bear to give up political power. The average Nigerian, regardless of their ethnicity and region, has been shortchanged all these years and the elite (godfathers) want this to continue so they can play groups off of each other in order to keep political power and money to themselves. Hence, you have the largely artificial ethnic rivalries of today. I doubt that Ukoh and the Igbo Youth Movement will get the SNC they are looking for, at least by 2015. The Federal Government has to be weakened and local governments strengthened, but this issue of the godfathers on top needs to be the primary focus of the Patriots, the Igbo Youth Movement, and any other group calling for an SNC.