President Buhari has an unusual legacy: his policies or lack thereof have accomplished the unthinkable – unification of Southern Nigeria on some generation-shaping issues. As I read through the lines of the communique issued by the governors of Southern Nigeria, I could not believe the words:
“Expressed satisfaction with the rate at which the States in the Southern Nigeria are enacting or amending the Anti- Open Grazing Laws which align with the uniform template and aspiration of Southern Governors and encouraged the States that are yet to enact this law to do so expeditiously.”
“ … the meeting resolved to support the position that the collection of VAT falls within the powers of the States.”
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Buhari is intriguing: it took only his efforts to get these things done! Sure, I am not sure he would appreciate the outcomes. Yes, he made open-grazing to become an issue, due to his siddon-look on conflicts in farming communities, pushing the matter all the way to enter into state laws. What happens next in Nigeria?
COMMUNIQUE ISSUED AT THE CONCLUSION OF THE MEETING OF THE GOVERNORS OF SOUTHERN NIGERIA IN THE GOVERNMENT HOUSE, ENUGU, ENUGU STATE, ON THURSDAY, 16TH SEPTEMBER 2021.
The Nigerian Southern Governors’ Forum at its meeting of today, Thursday, 16th September 2021 held in the Government House, Enugu, Enugu State reviewed the state of the nation and the progress of implementation of the decisions reached in her previous meetings and further resolved as follows:
- Expressed satisfaction with the rate at which the States in the Southern Nigeria are enacting or amending the Anti- Open Grazing Laws which align with the uniform template and aspiration of Southern Governors and encouraged the States that are yet to enact this law to do so expeditiously.
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Encouraged the full operationalization of already agreed regional security outfits; which would meet, share intelligence and collaborate, to ensure the security and safety of the region.
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Reaffirmed its earlier commitment to fiscal federalism as resolved at the inaugural meeting of the Forum held on Tuesday, 11th May 2021 at Asaba, Delta State and emphasized the need for the Southern States to leverage the legislative competence of their respective State Houses of Assembly as well as representation in the National assembly to pursue its inclusion in the Nigerian Constitution through the ongoing constitutional amendment.
- Expressed satisfaction with the handling of issues around the Petroleum Industry Act (PIA) and ownership of Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC) by the larger Nigerian Governors’ Forum.
6. Reiterated their earlier position that the next President of Nigeria must come from the Southern part of Nigeria in line with politics of equity, justice and fairness.
Arakunrin Oluwarotimi O. Akeredolu, SAN
Governor, Ondo State and Chairman, Southern Governors’ Forum
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Never push a man to the wall!
When inaction at one end inspires action elsewhere…
Just imagine if House of Representatives members were busy introducing articles of impeachment, based on insecurity in the land, and Senators saying they will debate it if the House impeaches the president. Even when the body cannot get the votes to remove the president, at least demonstrating that it can do something is enough to spur action.
O gbara nkiti kwere ekwe, that is, if you are silent, it means you agreed.
For now we are paying a lot of people in the chambers, whose only job is just to sleep and snore.
And while the southern governors are uniting, they should never forget to unite on building robust economic pillars and human capital across the entire southern states. It is not their political talks and how to amass more money that will make life great for their people, it must translate into economic empowerment and improved wellbeing. No time for empty talks.