Call for a Review of Nigeria's Political System

Former vice president, Atiku Abubakar, has called for a return to the regional structure as the current system is not working.

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  • Nigeria:  Atiku Advocates Return to Regionalism

    This Day, 19 September 2012

    Former Vice-President Atiku Abubakar Tuesday called for a review of Nigeria's political system with the country returning to the regional structure that obtained in the First ... read more »

Photo: Vanguard

Conflict, governance, Nigeria.

Photo: Vanguard

Govs protest



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  • dougmel@arcor.de
    Sep 19 2012, 09:53

    It is indeed very saddening that Alhaji Atiku Abubakar never missed a word on the threat posed to the unity of our nation by the Hausa/Fulani terrorists ,the Boko Haram sect.This type of callous attitude of business as usual is very disheartening for those who are at the recieving end.That the children,whose great grand fathers killed our great grand fathers,their grand fathers killed our grand fathers and their fathers killed our father are following the foot-steps of their forbears,calls for a re-evaluation of where we are heading to as a nation. ALhaji Atiku Abubakar seems to be denying the very existence of the Boko Haram sect. Perhaps the Alhaji might explain what he meant by saying,quote," Let me again send another message to the Leaders of our great country,especially the political Leadership,that those who make peaceful change impossible,make violent change inevitable?" unquote. One might be tempted to ask if the ongoing Hausa/Fulani terrorism we are witnessing is a part of the violent change that Alhaji Atiku promised the nation? The fact remains that we as a nation need as a must an SNC.The terms of our corporate existence must be redefined.Our Children and posterity must not undergo what we Christians are currently undergoing today. The Amalgamation of North and South by Sir Fredrick Lugard in 1914 was not meant to be a fait accompli nor is it sacrosanct that we Christians must indefinitely be turning our other cheeks to the Hausa/Fulani murdering barbarians.

  • Africanman in Ireland
    Sep 19 2012, 12:57

    Correction to dougmel@arcor.de Re-Alhaji Atiku Abubakar's comment: "there is need to review the structure of the Nigerian federation.... as the states are too weak materially and politically to provide what is needed for good governance“. "Now I realize that I should have supported him because our current federal structure is clearly not working. Dr Ekwueme obviously saw what some of us, with our civil war mindset, could not see at the time. There is indeed too much concentration of power and resources at the centre“. There are elements of acknowledgement of mistakes in his comment as against: “ALhaji Atiku Abubakar seems to be denying the very existence of the Boko Haram sect“ which is quite irrelevant to the context. The level of tribal bigotry among ethic groups in Nigeria can only be compared to hatred among apes of different species

  • Garden-City Boy
    Sep 19 2012, 16:36

    Our friend Africanman in Ireland needs to be more wary of these people, what they say and do. You don't ever believe anything awusa man says to you about governance and leadership in Nigeria. For more than 99.99% of the time, they are insincere about it. dougmel@arco.de understands the mentality of the people we are forced to put up with. In concert with their born-to-rule mindset, what you see as an "acknowledgement' of an error of judgment is a move in their deceptive political chess game. It does not fly one bit with any Southerner. Atiku knows how critical the South-East zone vote is for any presidential aspirant. He is playing smart for his 2015 ambition with an unusually lavish patronage of the Dr. Alex Ekwueme. These guys want to pretend to everybody that the 2011 misbehavior that led to the massacre of over 8000 innocent, law-abiding citizens never happened. The victims, which included our treasured Youth corp Workers, were neither politicians nor political thugs. Those now preaching the new sermon instigated the deadly insanity, after vowing to 'make the place ungovernable'. That brutal, barbaric bloodletting was absolutely uncalled for. For whatever was the objective, that nerve-chilling, mindless rage was the genie popping out of the bottle. Awusa had made a clear statement; the South read their lips. The sudden expression of aversion for "over-concentration of power at the center" is big Trojan horse. Right from Gowon, all the way through to Mohamed, Obasanjo, Shagari, Buhari, Babangida, Abacha, Obasanjo/Atiku, down to Yar'Adua, 'over-concentration of power at the center" is/was quite great and critical to Nigeria's version of equity, justice, unity, peace and progress. Somewhat reluctantly, the man admits that it spelled the under-development of the state. But the hands of the heavenly anointed must be in leadership for 'Power Center' formula to work. Butm then power devolves to a Southern infidel? 'N-a-a-a-a-a-a-a-a-a, na, na, na, never! It is no longer good enough for then unity and territorial integrity, peace and progress; they may do to us what we have been doing to them. Then comes Boko Haram! The hypocritical sermon is mere political red herring. Those fellows don't mean any word of it. Boko Haram insurgency designed to bully Jonathan out of his presidency has turned a disastrous misadventure. As we speak, they want us to believe that the sponsors are still faceless. This Plan-B, coming in the wake of a realization that the South will never take another Northern cannot stand Arewa Consultative Forum fatwa. In all that mambo-jumbo, the on-going massacre of Southerners and Christians is conveniently avoided in the discourse. It must not be addressed. Why? The victims did not deserve the life they lived, in the first place. To them, it is as if the mass murder never happened, or even if it did, its of no consequence. Atiku was a vice-president, gunning for the presidency in 2015. Has he an expectation that Southerners will be so foolhardy as to entrust him with their safety, when the murderers are left to walk, and their Northern backers remain shadowy?

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