Nakata's Blog: APC Restructuring Committee Recommends Resource Co...

Nakata's Blog: APC Restructuring Committee Recommends Resource Co...: Restructuring: El-Rufai Committee Recommends Merger of States, Scrapping of LGs and the Establishment of State Police. The All Progres...

APC Restructuring Committee Recommends Resource Control by States.

Restructuring: El-Rufai Committee Recommends Merger of States, Scrapping of LGs and the Establishment of State Police.

The All Progressives Congress, (APC) Committee on True Federalism inaugurated last August by the Chief Odigie Oyegun led national working committee on Thursday submitted its report with far-reaching recommendations.

Kaduna state governor and chairman of the Committee, Nasir el-Rufai told the gathering of the party chieftains and leadership that his Committee has recommended that local councils be scrapped while the nation should run two-tier system of government.

The Kaduna state governor premised his Committee recommendations on views of Nigerians who sent memoranda and spoke with his team across the country. His team also recommended State Police.

Giving further insight into the report, Mallam el-Rufai said the predominant position of Nigerians on resource control was that states should be vested with rights to issue a prospecting license for mining of mineral resources, oil and gas.

He said: “Local government autonomy is a very interesting subject in which we were surprised at the outcome. There were divergent opinions on this issue.

“We recommend that the current system of local government administration provided for by the constitution should be amended and that states should be allowed to develop and enact laws to have local government administration system that is peculiar to each of them.

“What we heard from Nigerians is that as far as local government is concerned, there is no one size fits all. We all come from different histories, different cultures, different administrative systems and we believe that the constitution should ensure that there is a democratic local government system in every state but the details of, and the nature of that local government system, the number of local governments should be left to the states and states houses of assembly.

“We proposed amendments to Sections 7, 8, 162, the first schedule, part one and the first schedule of the constitution to give effect to our recommendations. The section that lists the local governments and their headquarters should be removed, so local governments are no longer named in the constitution. States can create their local governments and determine the structure of their local governments.

“We are by this, recognising that in a federal system, you cannot have more than two tiers of government. Having three tiers of government is an aberration. There is nowhere in the world where our research has shown us that you have more than two federating units.

“We have proposed that mining, minerals, oil should go to the states. Then there will be certain constitutional amendments. The Petroleum Act will be amended to show that states can now issue oil mining licences; the Land Use Act, Nigeria Minerals and Mining Act, the Petroleum Profit Tax Act 2007 would all need to be amended. So, we
have proposed an amendment that will ensure that minerals, mining and oil are vested in the states except for offshore minerals.’’

“Derivation principle, it is recommended that the revenue mobilisation and fiscal commission act be amended to vest it with the power to periodically review the derivation formular and make a recommendation to the president who shall table the same before the National Assembly for necessary action.

Physical federalism and revenue allocation. We propose an amendment to subsection two of the constitution to give more revenue to the states and reduce the federal government share.

There was an overwhelming popular demand that there should be devolution of power to the states and the committee recommended same. We have recommended that the first schedule, part one and two be amended to transfer some powers to the states.”

Besides the scrapping of local councils, another controversial recommendation of the Committee is the merger of existing states, as Governor el-Rufai, even as he admitted that majority of Nigerians were against it.

“The first item that we felt needed legislative action is the merger of states. It is pertinent to note that only 36% of Nigerians wants more states created while the majority of Nigerians don’t want more states. For us, since the creation of states is already in the constitution, there is no action needed than to implement that.

“So, the first recommendation for which we have proposed a draft bill for a constitutional amendment is the merger of states. Though there was no consensus’ from stakeholder on the merger of states, we felt that we should propose a bill that allows states to merge and it is left for the National Assembly, the party and the people of Nigeria to decide on that.

The Kaduna governor equally revealed that his team ‘’proposed an amendment to create the State Judicial Council that will appoint and discipline judges within a state while the National Judicial Council will exercise control over the appointment, the discipline of judges of the federal government only.

We have proposed the creation of the state court of appeal so that from the High Court, you can first appeal to the state court of appeal before it goes to the Supreme Court of the federation. Again, this is consistent with federal practice all over the world.

“We also propose a constitutional amendment to allow for a referendum to be conducted on burning national or state issues before decisions are taken. Right now, the constitution has no room for a referendum, but
only in the creation of states.’’

Receiving the report, APC national chairman, Chief Oyegun, expressed delight over the report and assured the Committee that its recommendations would be given the needed attention by all the statutory organs of the party.
He said: ‘’From the presentation of the chairman of this committee, everybody now has an idea of what the APC stands for with regards to true federalism and restructuring. This is the totality of our views,
but it is still going to go through the mill.

“What I will promise you, Mr. Chairman and members of the committee who have put in so much hard work -you have not only provided the details, but you have gone ahead to provide the mechanism for implementation both in terms of law and necessary presidential action, is that this report is going to get the expeditious consideration of
this party, the APC.

“I am going to promise that before the middle of February, it would have been considered and decided upon by the major structures of this party, the National Executive Committee, the Caucus of the party. And whatever is thereafter agreed, will be presented to the authorities as the considered views and decisions of the APC for appropriate implementation.

“What you have done is very challenging. What you have done will be controversial but what you have done still has given the basic foundation for the building of a new nation and a new way of doing business in this country; that we will not only devolve power and spread the wings of development nationwide but that will enable the people of this country to not only hold the president accountable but to also hold the states accountable because once this report is approved and implemented, states will become important routes of economic activities and development nationwide.’’

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Nakata's Blog: Dr Gani Adams Inaugural Speech as the Aare Ona Kak...

Nakata's Blog: Dr Gani Adams Inaugural Speech as the Aare Ona Kak...: SPEECH BY OTUNBA (DR.) GANI ADAMS AT HIS INSTALLATION AS THE 15TH AARE ONA KAKANFO OF YORUBALAND BY THE ALAAFIN OF OYO, IKU BABA YEYE, H...

Dr Gani Adams Inaugural Speech as the Aare Ona Kakanfo of the Yoruba Race

SPEECH BY OTUNBA (DR.) GANI ADAMS AT HIS INSTALLATION AS THE 15TH AARE ONA KAKANFO OF YORUBALAND BY THE ALAAFIN OF OYO, IKU BABA YEYE, HIS IMPERIAL MAJESTY, OBA LAMIDI OLAYIWOLA ADEYEMI III.

Date: Saturday January 13, 2018

Venue: Durbar Stadium, Oyo

Time: 11am

PROTOCOLS

Mo juba awon Aare Ona Kakanfo to siwaju mi:

Kokoro Gangan of Iwoye

Oyapote of Iwoye

Oyabi of Ajase

Adeta of Jabata

Oku of Jabata

Afonja of Ilorin

Toyeje of Ogbomoso

Edun of Gbogun

Amepo of Abemo

Kurumi of Ijaiye

Ojo Aburumaku of Ogbomoso (son of Toyeje of Ogbomosho)

Latoosa of Ibadan

Ladoke Akintola of Ogbomoso

M.K.O. Abiola of Abeokuta

There cannot be a more humbling occasion for me as the one we are in today.

Against the backdrop of the size of the office the Iku Baba Yeye, His Imperial Majesty, the Alaafin of Oyo, Oba Lamidi Olayiwola Atanda Adeyemi III, has bestowed on me and the larger than life image of my predecessors, my installation as the 15th Aare Ona Kakanfo is a challenge that has made all past challenges seem like a child’s play.

Though I am just stepping into the office, past occupants of the seat, especially the 13th and 14th occupants – Aare Samuel Ladoke Akintola and Aare Moshood Kashimawo Olawale Abiola – brought so much power and glamour to the office that it is obvious I have a lot of work to do. As astute businessmen and politicians of note, they raised the profile of the office.

There is no doubt from the reactions that followed my pronouncement by the Alaafin of Oyo as the 15th Aare Ona Kakanfo that the power and prestige of the office has not waned since it was created centuries ago by Alaafin Ajagbo.

In fact, the epoch-making event of today is symbolic as 2018 marks the 558th anniversary of the installation of the first Aare Ona Kakanfo – Kokoro Gangan of Iwoye.

It is of interest to note that the military, political, traditional and cultural symbolism of the title to the Yoruba Empire, about 600 years ago, is still of strategic importance in the 21st Century.

This attribute reveals the uniqueness of the Yoruba race and shows that so much is still expected of the occupant of the post, despite the fact that physical and armed wars are no longer the order of the day.

In fact, despite the fact that I am an holder of 52 traditional titles, none has drawn as much comments and commendation by way of letters and visits.

The import of the Office still stands: protection of the interests of Yoruba race, both within the country and everywhere else people of the race exist.

While it is estimated that there are 60 million Yoruba within Nigeria and about 200 million others scattered all over the world, as a starting point, the preservation of the culture of the race will occupy my attention.

Pitiably, as a race, we are gradually losing our culture. In fact, from my travels around the world, it has become obvious that people of other races are taking more interest in our culture than we the owners of the culture, with Americans, Europeans and Asians now earning Degrees in the study of our culture, beliefs and what they have come to term Doctrine. We need to preserve our culture to fully realize the potential of the Yoruba.

Though with an activist background, it is now clear that I have to do more as a bridge builder with this new responsibility.

In as much as the focus of my struggle has changed over the years from the heady days of the Oodua People’s Congress (OPC) to the spread of our culture through the formation of the Oodua Progressive Union (OPU), which is now in 79 countries, the Olokun Festival Foundation, Gani Adams Foundation and many others, this new responsibility, despite my age, has unwittingly forced the stature of a statesman on me.

I promise to live up to that calling.

In this regard, I will work with our traditional rulers, grassroots leaders and have good rapport with all stakeholders, no matter the differences of the past, for the unity, progress and advancement of Yorubaland and Nigeria.

The office of the Aare Ona Kakanfo will project the Yoruba culture and tradition by promoting and sustaining our identity globally.

The office will equally ensure unity of all Yoruba sons and daughters all over the world.

Also of strategic importance to me is research and documentary to sustain the ideals of our founding fathers.

To ensure the continuation of the leadership role the Yoruba is known for educationally, I will give scholarships to our sons and daughters because education is light and power.

Also, I will collaborate with security agencies and stakeholders to ensure that Yorubaland is effectively secured through our various organizations.

I want to assure this August gathering that given the fact that the Oodua Progressives Union (OPU), which I am also the Convener, is now established in 79 countries, I will use this Union and other pan-Yoruba groups abroad to invite our sons and daughters with exceptional abilities, who have distinguished themselves in various fields, to come home and help in our quest to ensuring that our country takes its rightful place in the comity of nations.

GRATITUDE

At this juncture, let me express my profound gratitude to all our revered traditional rulers who have been working tirelessly to unite our race. It is a long list that it will not be possible to mention all.

But let me use the following to pay tribute to our traditional rulers: the Alaafin of Oyo, Iku Baba Yeye, Oba Lamidi Olayiwola Adeyemi III who has deemed it fit to honour me with this prestigious title, the Ooni of Ife, Oonirisa Enitan Adeyeye Ogunwusi, Ojaja II; Chairmen of Council of Obas and Chiefs and all traditional rulers in Yorubaland, and not forgetting my root, the Zaki of Arigidi-Akoko, Oba Yisa Olanipekun, and all traditional rulers in Akokoland; all the Obas who bestowed me with 52 titles, which invariably laid the foundation for my emergence as the Aare Ona Kakanfo.

CALL FOR UNITY

The journey has started from here. And my first appeal goes to Yoruba sons and daughters who are outside the shores of the country not to forget that there is no place like home. This was what informed the formation of the Oodua Progressives Union (OPU), Gani Adams Foundation and Olokun Festival Foundation. Please, see Yorubaland as the place to be. Don’t give the race a bad name. Come home to invest.

As the 15th Aare Ona Kakanafo, I consider myself lucky that there is no war at hand confronting the Yoruba race now. In other words, we are living in peace time. However, I am not pleased with the level of Yoruba unity today and I am very concerned. Therefore, my greatest priority is the unity of the Yoruba race at home and in the Diaspora.

I will, therefore, spare no effort in ensuring the unity of Yoruba race within the contemporary Nigeria body polity.

To take the journey further, I will, after this installation, launch the Aare Ona Kakanfo Foundation. This will further promote the culture of the people and document the history of the Aare Ona Kakanfo title.

Since we are now in the era of Information Technology, we will be unveiling historical documents obtained from the Iku Baba Yeye on the Aare Ona Kakanfo title to a website.

2018 makes it the 30th year that the last holder of the title, Aare M.K.O. Abiola, stood before you for his installation. He died on July 7, 1998 and the post was vacant for almost 20 years.

Same happened when the 13th holder of the title, Aare S.L. Akintola, died on January 15, 1966. It took more than 22 years before his successor took over. Why? There is the myth that holders of the title will always die a violent death. But, this is not so because many holders of the title lived to be more than 100 years.

So, apart from setting aside the myth and projecting the image of the office, documenting the Aare Ona Kakanfo title will also let people know that a child born of humble beginning like me can make it.

From the extreme North of Yorubaland, Arigidi-Akoko in Akoko North West Local Government the rural area of Ondo State, here I am emerging as the Aare Ona Kakanfo.

WAY FORWARD

My second appeal as the Aare Ona Kakanfo goes to the Federal Government to attend to some of the major roads in Yorubaland that are critical to its citizens. These include Lagos-Ibadan, Oyo-Ilorin, Lagos-Badagry, Sagamu-Benin, Badagry-Lusada-Sokoto, Ibadan-Iwo-Osogbo, Osogbo-Ilesa, Ilesa-Akure-Owo-Lokoja and Lagos-Abeokuta.

It will also be a major plus if the government, as promised by President Muhammadu Buhari in his January 1, 2018 speech, attends to rail transportation as fast as possible.

The issue of power is also critical. This will empower artisans more.

Security is equally important. All these would aid the development of the tourism potential of the country.

Several countries, such as the United Arab Emirates (UAE), Britain, Turkey, Singapore, Kenya, Ethiopia, South Africa, Ghana, Rwanda, Saudi Arabia and Israel have diversified their economy to tourism.

I want to assure you that I will work with various stakeholders to turn our land into a viable tourist destination.

To our esteemed Governors in the South-West, I call for cooperation, no matter the party line. The Development Agenda for Western Nigeria (DAWN) Commission should be empowered. And I want you all to see me as a partner in progress.

I offer myself for service once it is for the advancement of the Yoruba race. The various groups in the South-West should also resolve their crises.

I will also persuade seven of our elders, who are not partisan, to work with me in uniting all Yoruba and resolve differences wherever they may arise.

PROFOUND APPRECIATION

In closing, let me express my profound appreciation to the Commander-in-Chief of the Armed Forces, President Muhammadu Buhari, Vice President Yemi Osinbajo, Senate President, Dr. Bukola Saraki and the Speaker of the House of Representatives, Rt. Hon. Yakubu Dogara, for their support.

I want to thank our host Governor, Senator Abiola Ajimobi, for his immense contribution towards the success of today’s event.

I also thank other governors for their support and contributions, financially and morally.

Let me thank all those who contributed to the success of this installation ceremony, especially members of the Planning Committee, the media and many others too numerous to mention.

I also want to thank my wife, Erelu Mojisola. She is a Pillar of Support and a Role Model for Women.

I want to assure all that as the 15th Aare Ona Kakanfo, I will use my position, God willing, to protect the interest of our land and our dear country Nigeria.

Mo ki gbogbo yin o

A dele bare o

Igba mi a tu ile Yoruba lara lágbara Olodumare, Amin.

Aare Ona Kakanfo Gani Adams

January 13, 2018.

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Nakata's Blog: Solarin's New Year Wish: MAY YOUR ROAD BE ROUGH

Nakata's Blog: Solarin's New Year Wish: MAY YOUR ROAD BE ROUGH: MAY YOUR ROAD BE ROUGH By Tai Solarin, Jan. 1, 1964 I am not cursing you; I am wishing you what I wish myself every year. I therefo...

Solarin's New Year Wish: MAY YOUR ROAD BE ROUGH

MAY YOUR ROAD BE ROUGH
By Tai Solarin, Jan. 1, 1964

I am not cursing you; I am wishing you what I wish myself every year. I therefore repeat, may you have a hard time this year, may there be plenty of troubles for you this year! If you are not so sure what you should say back, why not just say, ‘Same to you’? I ask for no more.

Our successes are conditioned by the amount of risk we are ready to take. Earlier on today I visited a local farmer about three miles from where I live. He could not have been more than fifty-five, but he said he was already too old to farm vigorously. He still suffered, he said, from the physical energy he displayed as a farmer in his younger days. Around his hut were two pepper bushes. There were kokoyams growing round him. There were snail shells which had given him meat. There must have been more around the banana trees I saw. He hardly ever went to town to buy things. He was self-sufficient. The car or the bus, the television or the telephone, the newspaper, Vietnam or Red China were nothing to him.

He had no ambitions whatsoever, he told me. I am not sure if you are already envious of him, but were we all to revert to such a life, we would be practically driven back to cave dwelling.

On the other hand, try to put yourself into the position of the Russian or the America astronaut. Any moment now the count, 3, 2, 1, is going to go, and you are going to be shot into the atmosphere and soon you will be whirling round our earth at the speed of six miles per second. If you get so fired into the atmosphere and you forget what to do to ensure return to earth, one of the things that might happen to you is that you could become forever satellite, going round the earth until you die of starvation and even then your body would continue the gyration!

When, therefore, you are being dressed up and padded to be shot into the sky, you know only too well that you are going on the roughest road man had ever trodden. The Americans and Russians who have gone were armed with the great belief that they would come back. But I cannot believe that they did not have some slight foreboding on the contingency of their non-return. It is their courage for going in spite of these apprehensions that makes the world hail them so loudly today.

The big fish is never caught in shallow waters. You have to go into the open sea for it. The biggest businessmen make decisions with lighting speed and carry them out with equal celerity. They do not dare delay or dally. Time would pass them by if they did. The biggest successes are preceded by the greatest of heart-burnings. You should read the stories of the bomber pilots of World War II. The Russian pilot, the German pilot, the American or the British pilot suffered exactly the same physical and mental tension the night before a raid on enemy territory. There were no alternative routes for those who most genuinely believed in victory for their side.

You cannot make omelettes without breaking eggs, throughout the world, there is no paean without pain. Jawaharlal Nehru has put it so well. I am paraphrasing him. He wants to meet his troubles in a frontal attack. He wants to see himself tossed into the aperture between the two horns of the bull. Being there, he determines he is going to win and, therefore, such a fight requires all his faculties.

When my sisters and I were young and we slept on our small mats round our mother, she always woke up at 6a.m. for morning prayers. She always said prayers on our behalf but always ended with something like this: ‘May we not enter into any dangers or get into any difficulties this day.’ It took me almost thirty years to dislodge the canker-worm in our mother’s sentiments. I found, by hard experience, that all that is noble and laudable was to be achieved only through difficulties and trials and tears and dangers. There are no other roads.

If I was born into a royal family and should one day become a constitutional king, I am inclined to think I should go crazy. How could I, from day to day, go on smiling and nodding approval at somebody else’s successes for an entire lifetime? When Edward the Eighth (now Duke of Windsor) was a young, sprightly Prince of Wales, he went to Canada and shook so many hands that his right arm nearly got pulled out of its socket. It went into a sling and he shook hands thenceforth with his left hand. It would appear he was trying his utmost to make a serious job out of downright sinecurism.
Life, if it is going to be abundant, must have plenty of hills and valleys. It must have plenty of sunshine and rough weather. It must be rich in obfuscation and perspicacity. It must be packed with days of danger and of apprehension.

When I walk into the dry but certainly cool morning air of every January 1st, I wish myself plenty of tears and of laughter, plenty of happiness and unhappiness, plenty of failures and successes. Plenty of abuse and praise. It is impossible to win ultimately without a rich measure of intermixture in such a menu. Life would be worthless without the lot. We do not achieve much in this country because we are all so scared of taking risks. We all want the smooth and well-paved roads. While the reason the Americans and others succeeded so well is that they took such great risks.
If, therefore, you are out in this New Year 1964, to win any target you have set for yourself, please accept my prayers and your elixir. May your road be rough!

HAPPY NEW YEAR 2018.

Credit: Rerodan Blog