FELLOW NIGERIANS, JUST HOW DID WE ARRIVE AT THIS MESS?
My wife and I were in Ado Ekiti for the wedding of the son of a close pal last weekend. To catch up with the news, we tuned in to a radio station on the evening of Friday and we heard a long speech from the state governor, Ayodele Fayose, in which he explained laboriously, albeit unsuccessfully to the discerning minds, why his state owes its workers and why it is passing through dire financial straits. The summary of his lamentation (for want of a better word to employ!) is that the 'cow' we call Niger Delta is refusing to be milked by the rest of us because of its restive youths.

The North East, thoroughly vandalized by the mindless Boko haram insurgents, needs to be rehabilitated using the resources from the 'cow' we call Niger Delta, which is now refusing to be milked any further, because of its daring youths. This implies that the rebuilding of that part of the nation will be slow in coming.

Most states of the country need the monthly federal allocation, over 80% of which are from the sales of crude oil from Niger Delta.
How can a governor fight to win an election in the hope that he will run his state (if elected) with the resources sourced from hundreds of kilometers away from his state? In Ogun state, Ibikunle Amosun, has been trying to build a bridge linking alagbole to Akute and a rail line to link ijoko to alagbole, without first providing an alternative route, by fixing Denro-Ojodu road, for the residents of these areas, and, ensuring his state can generate the resources for this project, which looks more like a white elephant project than a needed infrastructure for the state (pardon my digression!). His strategy for funding of the bogus vision is not unconnected with the monthly federal allocation expectation, and somebody is calling the youths of Niger Delta names. How can North East be fixed with the proceeds of oil from Niger Delta? Can an indigene of Niger Delta become a governor in any state other than in Niger Delta?
Whatever became of the groundnut pyramids in Kano? Whatever became of the palm produce of the south east (This is about the saddest story of our descent into this current shameless dependence on Niger Delta - considering how Malaysia came to collect palm seedlings from south east of Nigeria - Nigeria was then the world's number one palm oil producer - only to displace us and take over that rating, leaving us without any global reckoning in that product!); why is Cocoa no longer sustaining the west? Whatever happened to the coal at Enugu and the tin ore of Jos?
These rhetorical questions have one obvious answer: The easy wealth from oil has atrophied our thinking, or more pointedly, has dulled the minds of our leaders.
For about a month now power supply in most parts of the country has gone from epileptic to clinically dead, for the major reason that the 'troublesome' youths of the 'cow' we call Niger Delta, are bored with the milking of that 'cow' by the rest of us! We are now fully a generator/lantern driven economy because the youths of Niger Delta are unhappy with us.
It is to our collective shame that we chose to go through school and we did not allow school to go through us. With all the PhDs and other high sounding and intimidating degrees and professional qualifications we bandy around, with all the solar energy we leave untapped, with all the arable land in our nation, which are left perennially virgin, with the both unfair and unjust quota system/federal character in the gaining admission in federal schools and getting government appointments, why would we not catch cold each time Niger Delta youths sneeze?
Back to the title of the write up. Fellow Nigerians, how did we arrive at this mess? Nigeria is unarguably the only country in the world that a minority can hold hostage.
Truth be told, we have been very unfair to that part of the country under the guise of federalism. I was repulsed the day I heard former president Obasanjo, in a rather far fetched joke say in Asaba, during an official visit he paid Delta state, that it was okay by him if Niger Delta goes on producing oil while he controls the proceeds. That unguarded statement summaries how we arrived at this junction.
If we will turn the situation around and move the nation forward, we must give our state governors a deadline on when they must become financially autonomous or they get annexed by any neighboring state able to fund their existence as states. Detroit, is almost a ghost town because the United States will not give it monthly allocation as we do here. It's only here that we keep serving our states free monthly lunch! The darkest hour in the life of a man is when he sits down to plan how to spend the money he did not work for. The wisdom in that saying of late Zig Ziglar is time-tested.
Any governor who keeps expecting federal allocation will never support confederation, which every developed country practices in different shades. What the states should be contributing to our commonwealth should be royalty from their internally generated resources. From such funds the government at the centre will take care of internal security and defense. Those who think Nigeria should not become a confederation should step aside for those who think she should. How long shall we depend on Niger Delta and how long shall we keep robbing the region, or better put, robbing our states of the blessings of becoming self sustaining?
We call Niger Delta youths rent seekers but the rest of the nation are rent robbers under the mask of federalism!
Its time we put on our thinking caps!

Considering the fact that Nigeria has been balcanised into 36states a confederation will be absolutely fine e.g India,U.S.The independent states can have their state police and generate revenue,signing bilateral agreements with other countries.The military brought us to this mess.What annoys me is that countries like china,singapore,malaysia,south korea etc all had military leaders with vision,well educated and exposed unlike our uneducated myopic generals who only knew how drink beer and have countless orgies

[size=14pt]Confederation or True Federalism is the answer to ALL Nigeria's problems.

All these killings, struggle for political power etc, is about who will control the oil wells from Abuja.[/size]

Fiscal federalism is way out – Briggs Niger Delta woman activist, Ann Kio Briggs, said: “I am not part of the people who are blowing up pipelines, but I’m part of those who are talking that something must change in the Niger Delta. We have been having this thing for a very long time and unless the issues are resolved, they will carry on; we need a resolution of the Niger Delta issue. And what are these issues, they are equity and justice. “The way forward, simply put, is fiscal federalism. You have a constitution that takes everything from a particular region and gives it to everybody, that is empty Niger Delta. You have a constitution that recognises that there are natural resources, but that same constitution claims that the natural resources belongs to me, but if it is oil and gas and any other natural resources, it does not belong to me anymore, the federal government becomes the owner. “So you have a situation where the Kaduna State governor is able to say he would bring in people to explore for gold, but yet, the governor of Rivers State cannot do same for the oil and gas deposits in his state. That is injustice.”

and if I support Niger delta people will start talking. for how long will these last. everyday oil is pump out from one region in the name of one Nigeria.

wat of if its north that these oil is located at.... u tink Nigeria can stand

[quote author=OreMI22 post=46293442][size=14pt]Confederation or True Federalism is the answer to ALL Nigeria's problems.

All these killings, struggle for political power etc, is about who will control the oil wells from Abuja.[/size][/quote
Those who want to perpetually reap where they don't sow already made their dismay over "Jonanathan's National Conference" known. A great deservice to their sense of innovation and the will to look within, exploring alternative sources of income replete all over the country. what a shame on a country to have people of myopic stance existing alongside true progressives with great visions?

regionalism should be the way to go,like minded people will be together to chart a common course.
I sincerely support the Niger Delta they deserve to be in control of their resources.
whatever they decide to do with the proceeds is their personal business.

We had a confederation before some people from Red Mud forced Unitary System on us.

It is the same Red Mudsters that are crying for secession today.

Absolutely, political restructuring is needed for this country to harness her resources and achieve her full potential.

Let us go back to our confederation/regionalism, provided some people will not wake up in a not too distant future to kill the leaders of other regions and force unitary system on us all once again.

SuperS1Panther:
We had a confederation before some people from Red Mud forced Unitary System on us.

It is the same Red Mudsters that are crying for secession today.

Absolutely, political restructuring is needed for this country to harness her resources and achieve her full potential.

Let us go back to our confederation/regionalism, provided some people will not wake up in a not too distant future to kill the leaders of other regions and force unitary system on us all once again.

lol at Red Mudsters.
they would rather blame Yoruba for their loss of fortune.

lalasticlala

To your tents oh Israel, I will support the total independence of of every tribe even if their total population is not up to 5000.
Like minds can then come together to form a country if they so wish, what is the essence of meaningless hullabaloo everyday, some even viewed others as parasites, if countries that have nothing but human resources are doing fine today, I see no reason why the rest of Nigeria cannot survive on their own.

Great article. Feeding bottle govt is the reason why Nigeria is a failed state. Getting cheap money not worked for will be wasted cheaply for nothing. That is what oil money is.
Confederacy or fiscal Federalism were every state will have total control of her resources is the way to go. That is the only way economic diversification can be achieved.
Cc: Lalasticlala