Desola: while it appears that Tinubu makes sense in his suggestions, he is in no position to talk really as not only is he a beneficiary of the rot in government, he is also a perpetrator. That he created a party different from that of the notorious evil party - PDP, does not avail him from the ills he has also committed. If truly he believes in fairness and credibility, he would have encouraged a far more qualified ACN member to represent Lagos state and not foist his wife whom had no recorded experience in political administration other than being a one time first lady of Lagos state. Admitedly, PDP is probably the worst political party that has ever happened to Nigeria, but ACN with its oligarchic tendencies could be another PDP waiting to happen.

As per the matter he raised, my opinion is that for there to be check and balance, we require both the lower and the upper houses. Getting rid of one and giving absolute power to the other would be absolutely wrong (at least in Nigeria) because we know that absolute power corrupts absolutely! What we need is an overhaul, restructuring but not removal. In all, our powers need to be separated and made more effective, less corruptible and more credible. These are what we need. Can you tell the UK to remove the house of Lords or tell the US to remove the senate? It makes no sense.

Tinubu should come up with suggestions that can actually be implemented not just talking for talking sake so as to be seen as an opposition leader. He is getting stale fast.

Desola:

You are right but really, is this the time to be making good but weak and virtually unimplementable suggestions? Didn't we vote the ACN for a reason? They are part of the legislature to implement policies, effect changes and not harp on about federalism (which by the way is a brilliant move)but effect changes that can be felt now, translate to a direct gain for the masses or betterment? Nigerians want direct changes now and re-writing the constitution isn't exactly immediate, is it? I personally don't think doing away with the senate is feasible.

Dudu_Negro:

People are tired of Nigeria. We are not living as citizens of a country, we are existing on a hopeless dream that a leader will come tomorrow to break the yoke of our sufferings. Each leader that come has been worse than the one before it. People say Fashola will be the change agent but they forget that his part will only be one corner of a four sided wall and the other three are held by veteran thieves that we ignorantly address as honorables. The drummers that keep singong the tune of one nigeria and the anthem of tomorrow will be better are agents of doom sucked in by their own greed to hold on to the advantages of market demographics and what it would mean if that market was partitioned into its natural sovereignties.

People are living an illusion....there is no better tomorrow for Nigeria. It is time to part......

Joeadamu86: I thot he was once a senator,it is obvious that TINUBU is confused,he never knew that the Senate is important until now abi...

Sky Blue:

But how long have we be having this talk? Who hasn't at some point grown weary about Nigeria? The first attempt to secede from Nigeria if I recall correctly was by Adaka Boro (before Biafra). The thing is we just want a country that works and a better life for our people. We want a country we can at least look up and feel some pride about, one that harnesses the potential of is people and provides equity. The thing is, whatever way you see this happening, you should at least be willing to create a path towards achieving it and come up with WORKABLE plans, or else do you remain a perpetual moaner and lameter till you die? The issue has NEVER been about a dearth of ideas on what can change things. We all agree the foundations of nationhood are weak. For me, the centre needs to lose power and the stronger regions get, the more achievable this becomes (or Nigerians can just rise up and demand a change - but come on . . . . it is Nigerians we are talking about).

Sky Blue:

Again, cheap populist sentiment. It seems to be the running fad these days. Want to sound intellectual? Call for Sovereign National Conference and that seems to erase all negative views about you in the eyes of the people. Calling for SNC WITHOUT a clear path towards achieving it, all the logistics involved, and carrying Nigerians along is nothing more that hopping on cheap populist sentiments (even Soyinka seems to have cooled off on the whole SNC and has instead started fighting for good governance as exemplified by Akpaibo after he visited Uyo). Does that mean SNC is a bad idea? No. But when Nigerians are really ready for that change some of us desperately desire then that change will come. It requires galvanising of the people and the people unknowingly have what they want. SNC seems to be the new "I will give you road, I will give you light, I will give you house" campaign jingle.

Sky Blue: There are different ways of achieving what we want. The people can rise up and demand it (the ideal), or [b]we can at least entrench deeper regional integration [/b]and improve inter regional relations and trade. The south-south states now have this BRACED forum, and not all those states are even PDP led. If the middle belt could pool it resources, the south eastern states could also get their act together, the south west also integrates into a regional identity and such groups can work on projects together that improve intra and interconnectivity to build on trade and increase efficiency for doing business both locally and globally, won't that be something? Now is that achievable right NOW? Absolutely yes. I just keep looking to see wether this BRACED forum can realise the potential of pulling together of resources and pay more than lip service - which seems to be all they are doing now. The visions I have of Nigeria . . . . it is a shame really how disunited we can seem when many of us want the same things.

Demdem:

I disagree completely. Just like any other man's undertaken, there will always be challenges in going about it so the SNC cant be an exception. First step is to appreciate the fact that the present structure is faulty and needs to be re-arranged. Soyinka's visit/speeches in Uyo doesnt in anyway suggest that he doesnt believe that this needs to be done. The jingle u talked about has always been been there for decades and hat have we to show for it? If it has not worked then then why do u think it will work now under the same fraudulent system? I think its high time we stop deceiving ourselves. There is nothing fair and credible about our present structure and that must change.

Desola:

How many of such appreciation of challenges have actually seen restructuring. To say the senate should be removed is to uproot the fundamentals of the Nigerian government. How feasible is that, really? It's like saying America should uproot its constitution which is the main foundation of the country.

Why can't we just crawl before we walk?

The politicians in the senate are the problems and not the senate. Why not deal with the root cause rather than throw the baby away with the bath water.

Dudu_Negro: Thsts why i said Tinubus statement has a different goal than what was stated.

Both the American Senate and the House of Representatives are the legislative arms of government. They are constituionally the same ; viz- legislature......but functionally different; viz -voice of the people.

The best way to see their functional role is to compare the roles of a president and the prime minister or president and vice president.

The senate is not the voice of the people.....the house of representative is. Senate is ceremonial. Its role is well befitting for America but may not be a good option for Nigeria.Democracy can survive if senate is scrapped, but house of reps on the other hand is indispensable.

Tinubu is effectively saying bring government closer to the people.

Desola:

If that is the case, why is he getting personally involved a la sending his wife to the senate? Is he a do as I say and not as I do leader? His utterances are not in alignment with his actions. He now wants to do away with the same system he has tremendously and continues to benefit from? I don't get it. We need to be careful, very careful at choosing our leaders. He doen't even practice what he's preaching!

Desola: while it appears that Tinubu makes sense in his suggestions, he is in no position to talk really as not only is he a beneficiary of the rot in government, he is also a perpetrator. That he created a party different from that of the notorious evil party - PDP, does not avail him from the ills he has also committed. If truly he believes in fairness and credibility, he would have encouraged a far more qualified ACN member to represent Lagos state and not foist his wife whom had no recorded experience in political administration other than being a one time first lady of Lagos state. Admitedly, PDP is probably the worst political party that has ever happened to Nigeria, but ACN with its oligarchic tendencies could be another PDP waiting to happen.

As per the matter he raised, my opinion is that for there to be check and balance, we require both the lower and the upper houses. Getting rid of one and giving absolute power to the other would be absolutely wrong (at least in Nigeria) because we know that absolute power corrupts absolutely! What we need is an overhaul, restructuring but not removal. In all, our powers need to be separated and made more effective, less corruptible and more credible. These are what we need. Can you tell the UK to remove the house of Lords or tell the US to remove the senate? It makes no sense.

Tinubu should come up with suggestions that can actually be implemented not just talking for talking sake so as to be seen as an opposition leader. He is getting stale fast.

Lilprocess: National Leader of the Action Congress of Nigeria (ACN) Asiwaju Bola Tinubu yesterday called for the scrapping of the Senate, saying that it is costly to maintain and that it only replicates functions of the House of Representatives.

Tinubu spoke at the 2012 annual conference and awards ceremony of Leadership Newspapers Group where he also called for laws to allow Chairman of the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) appoint state electoral commissioners (RECs) for the sake of fairness and credibility of the electoral process.
He said “we have kept complaining about the cost of governance and the recurrent expenditure…but we have never examined the structural problems of even the constitution that we are operating.

“Why do we need two houses of National Assembly when House of Representatives represent smaller constituencies enough in the same number of population? Why not get rid of the Senate? To equip better and effective legislative activities, let us start examining that.”
On the call for INEC autonomy “when you say somebody is a chairman and chief executive officer of a corporation,you give him all the authority to act onbehalf of the people.

“We gave INEC power and authority to act on our behalf, to be an institution that will be transparent and independent and they are being funded directly from the source; from the allocation, first line charge, expenditure from our commonwealth,Federal Republic of Nigeria.

“Why would we not allow the buck to stop on the desk of the INEC Chairman so that if he messes up, we have somebody to blame. Why would an INEC chairman not be able to appoint those in the branches in the states, RECis the representative of INEC in the state; why would they be appointed bythe president who is equally partisan, a member of political party who said they would rule Nigeria for 60 years. How would they not?

“If they are the ones appointing RECs, card carrying members of PDP, how would we have a reliable electoral system? Whether you have executive position or not, power is not served ala carte, it is not like a menu in Sheraton, you have to struggle for it. Let’s first of all straighten and strengthen the institution. We are ready as opposition to work together with any other party to wrestle power from this inept government.”


http://www.zimbio.com/Nigeria/articles/irZGlpbuWWp/Tinubu+calls+abolition+Senate

free2ryhme:




And your wife is in the same senate, right?

Demdem:

I disagree completely. Just like any other man's undertaken, there will always be challenges in going about it so the SNC cant be an exception. First step is to appreciate the fact that the present structure is faulty and needs to be re-arranged. Soyinka's visit/speeches in Uyo doesnt in anyway suggest that he doesnt believe that this needs to be done. The jingle u talked about has always been been there for decades and hat have we to show for it? If it has not worked then then why do u think it will work now under the same fraudulent system? I think its high time we stop deceiving ourselves. There is nothing fair and credible about our present structure and that must change.

Demdem:

How far can those present regional integration go if economic power isnt added. It will just be another pressure group or talk session that will not achieved anything sensible at the end of the day. A situation where the bulk of the resources needed by these regional groups is controlled from Abuja suggest to me that they will so much be handicapped. Its not impossible though with the limited resources they presently control, it will just take ages. besides one entity in Abuja can even influence decision since the person with economic power is the person truly in power.

free2ryhme:




And your wife is in the same senate, right?

Dudu_Negro:

We practice democracy. What is democracy?
Simply, a society or congregation of people!
The baseline or the unit of government is a household of people.

We are so top heavy in theoretical knowledge that the simplest of social problems become a dramatic issue. We lack application, so we pass and juggle our theories around kicking and passing it from one regime to next and yet missing the point on how best to reduce our isssues into managable proportions that resolves and move us forward.

The single most powerful instrument of the people is the ballot box. Through their votes people communicate their resolve. Why are we outsourcing that power? If we want to know what direction to head then make the people vote on it. SNC has becime thw flavor of the month in mediatalk because the power is no longer wih the peiple. By having a selected peer of leaders convene on SNC also set the wrong expectation. I say this because whatever is agreed to in the SNC agreements must eventually go to NASS for passage and seal. Constitutionally, two thirds majority carries the floor. Geopolitically, the Northern states are two thirds of the whole country. So their opposition to any alternative proposed by the SNC will continue the status quo.

Thats not a smart way to represent the will of the people. To guage what people want, I say scrap SNC and throw the question of One Nigeria or dissolved Nigeria into a ballot poll and gt the people out into those booths to express their voice and desire....thats how to practice democracy.

Desola:

Aboo rimi bayi? Oro lasan ni mo beere o ti agba iya yen ma de mu mi bu ke. I respected him a lot and was to a degree influenced by what I thought were unbiased points of views and political issues affecting Nigeria but as time passed, I started to notice a pattern - a pattern where you were not allowed to speak against the ACN, that if you were Yoruba, you were meant to accept all that ACN does so as to resist PDP in every way. No one loathes the PDP and the jonasatan's government more than me but I refuse to be a sheep and take all that ACN does, hook, line and sinker. ACN isn't infallible, they are nothing more than an offshoot of PDP (giving that a good chunk of their members were at some point PDP card carriers) but they on the back of Fashola and Oshiomole seem to be edging their rivals. However, must we say because one is our child, we should over pamper it? If we don't remove the speck from our eyes, should be wait for others to do it? I have never read any thread where this man has constructively criticised ACN or is he trying to say that they are without blesmish? Trust me, Seanet, your egbon is no longer impartial. I have a strong belief that he is now being paid. He is not as objective as he used to be.

He can call me all obscenities in the book but I make no apologies for my NL personality. I don't wear masks like he does and to be honest, he has let me down big time.

Desola:

Aboo rimi bayi? Oro lasan ni mo beere o ti agba iya yen ma de mu mi bu ke. I respected him a lot and was to a degree influenced by what I thought were unbiased points of views and political issues affecting Nigeria but as time passed, I started to notice a pattern - a pattern where you were not allowed to speak against the ACN, that if you were Yoruba, you were meant to accept all that ACN does so as to resist PDP in every way. No one loathes the PDP and the jonasatan's government more than me but I refuse to be a sheep and take all that ACN does, hook, line and sinker. ACN isn't infallible, they are nothing more than an offshoot of PDP (giving that a good chunk of their members were at some point PDP card carriers) but they on the back of Fashola and Oshiomole seem to be edging their rivals. However, must we say because one is our child, we should over pamper it? If we don't remove the speck from our eyes, should be wait for others to do it? I have never read any thread where this man has constructively criticised ACN or is he trying to say that they are without blesmish? Trust me, Seanet, your egbon is no longer impartial. I have a strong belief that he is now being paid. He is not as objective as he used to be.

He can call me all obscenities in the book but I make no apologies for my NL personality. I don't wear masks like he does and to be honest, he has let me down big time.