States should ‘control their economic destinies’

Southern Nigeria Congress, a body that seeks to represent the common aspiration of southern Nigeria, says states should be allowed to control their economic destinies.

In a statement issued by the group, and signed by Babatope Falade-Onikoyi, its secretary general, the group says its common aspiration is to ensure the establishment of a system where states control their economic destinies.

“Though, ‘Restructuring’ or ‘true federalism’ have emerged as the central aspiration of Southern Nigeria, we have not developed a strong voice and advocacy machinery to achieve it,” Falade-Onikoyi said.

“This aspiration is not unfounded, it is noble.  It is not only noble but also in the very best interest of Nigeria and its continued existence as an indivisible entity.

“We should remember that this country was created to meet the economic and other colonial needs of the British in 1914 when they merged the Northern Protectorate, Southern Protectorate and Lagos colony.

“The British hardly thought of the cultural differences and consequences of bringing people of all shades and hues together. They only cared about administrative efficiency and enterprise development of the British Empire.

“The British granted us independence in 1960 after which we began oil exploration in commercial quantities, and sponsored decolonization of Africa.

“We fought apartheid using every diplomatic and economic means possible. Nigeria become a power the British and Western world could never imagine.”

Falade-Onikoyi adds that “the British created a great country. They created the Giant of Africa”.

“However, it is important to note, that the constituent parts of Nigeria at the time; the North, Western Region and Eastern Region negotiated to have regional autonomy. They had their own foreign mission asides that of Nigeria. They had their own ambassadors and most importantly-control over their economy.

“This system met its end after the military coup organized by Kaduna Nzeogwu, Ademola Ademoyega and Ifeajuna. In response to the peculiarities around the coup, the military created a unitary government with the mindset of holding the country together.

“Irrespective of the challenges of a unitary government, Nigeria proved to be the Giant of Africa till plundering and wanton stealing became the order of the day. Each government is accused of corruption after another, from one military or civilian regime to another. This situation however unfortunate remained the order of the day even with the infamous transition to democracy in 1999.

“However, power is never served a la Carte. Power is never given freely. Though, we don’t share the perspective of Chairman Mao that power is gotten from the barrel of a gun, we believe it is time to negotiate this existence.

“Fellow Nigerians from the South. We believe it’s time to present a united voice- A voice of the south. Everyone from all states in the South must join forces to get what we deserve out of this union. We deserve the opportunity, access to health, good roads, education and the necessities of life. This should also be the right of every Nigerian.

“But for the inefficient system we currently run, we should have all those and even more. However, a system where Abuja collects from Lagos, Akwa Ibom, Cross River, Enugu, Edo etc to give to Kano, Sokoto and Abia etc, is no longer efficient.

“We need a South that can sustain itself economically. We need a South where the constituent states will be competitive. A South that can stand against oppression and injustice as we can see in Benue and other parts of the country.

“We remain committed to the Nigerian project. We are Nigerian citizens. We will use negotiations, advocacy and all civil tools to ensure all citizens get what they deserve out of Nigeria.

“To join us; send an email to [email protected] with your name and phone number. or add 08022695024 on WhatsApp.”