Former President Olusegun Obasanjo, yesterday, said that for the country’s federalism to function well, there must be political will, good governance, and leadership commitment.
Chief Obasanjo, who spoke at the just concluded ‘5th International Conference on Federalism’ in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia, said, “It is my belief that in a diverse and developing society like Nigeria, you need a strong, though not intrusive or oppressive central government that is democratic, transparent, accountable, effective, efficient, and adequately funded to manage the rough edges of federal politics and protect weaker or less_resource endowed constituent units. Nigerians appreciate this fact.”
“Ultimately, it is democratic practice, political will, good governance, leadership commitment, and a dedication to the cause of the people that determine the functioning of any federal arrangement. In essence, there must be popular participation at all tiers of government and facets of life with adequate accommodation for all for federalism to function appropriately.”
He further said, he “following military rule in the country, the challenge of re_federalisation has not been as easy as many continue to carry the consciousness of the unitary and hierarchical command character of the military. The powers of the sub_national units, joint delivery of services in education, energy, health, poverty eradication and so on, remain areas for discussions and negotiations.
“The issue of fiscal federalism, processes of constitutional amendments, devolution of powers, public security, and strengthening federal character are also on_going areas of public discourse.
“In some way therefore, federalism is natural to Nigeria as the basis for unity in diversity for development and progress was established centuries ago.
The desire to, or imperative for unity, stability, growth, development and progress precipitated a preference for a political arrangement that will not just bring peoples together but also harness the creative and productive energies to build a viable nation state in the interest of all.
“There was a declared need to rise beyond the various inter and intra ethnic and communal wars to build a nation_state that all would contribute to, be part of, but not lose their respective identities, cultures, values and traditional institutions. This, in some way, has been the underlying strength of Nigeria’s federalism,” he added.
hmm!
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