ekt_bear:

Well said.

Mimiko said the regional economic initiative should not be reduced to a party affair, stressing that Southwest should only continue to strive after free and fair elections.
He said: "Sincerely, it is not a party thing. It is an idea we must key into. All we can say is to hope and pray that free and fair and credible elections will be sustained in Nigeria. Once it is sustained, if any party emerges in any state tomorrow, once it derives its mandate from the people, it does not matter whatever name it is called. I don’t want political terrorism of Labour Party or ACN.
"I don’t want to exchange the near feudal mindset of PDP leadership in the Southwest . It is idea that we should be talking about. We must not emphasise parties. We should emphasise ideas and credible elections.

ayinba1:

I don't really trust this dude. All SW governors better watch out for a saboteur! "Nuff said.

"And we can create a bigger market and benefit from the economy of scale. If, for example, I want to build a power plant, leveraging on gas, Ekiti does not have to pipe gas all the way to Ado-Ekiti from Ore. So, we can build a big power plant there and distribute it".

Eko Ile:


I truly admire the sense of communal reasoning and the act of brotherly love depicted in this quote.


I wish them all a lot of success.

This is serious demystification and rejection of the presence and influence of the federal government, unfortunately, others around the country are still sitting around waiting and begging the federal government to help tie their shoes for them

sbeezy8:

lagos ondo ogun osun ekiti oyo - can you have a better dream team? All the states gold, education/universities, hospitals, agriculture,oil gas real estate banking industry seaports proximity to ghana benin togo---> rest of west africa ( probably the most traveled region to leave/enter nigeria by road) - can you ask for a better dream team?

surrounding states better hop on the SW TRAIN!

Gbawe:

I would have thought the PDP has done far more than enough for most of their representatives to be chased away with very big sticks. Alas , it is democracy at work. What words of enduring wisdom from Fela when he surmised that Nigerians love "suffering and smiling".

[b]

It was to be expected that the Action Congress of Nigeria would sweep the Yoruba-speaking states of the South-west in the just-concluded elections. All that was required was a level playing field.

The only fly in the ointment is Ondo State, where the Labour Party holds sway and where the governor, Dr Olusegun Mimiko, has openly voiced his problems with the ACN hierarchy. This is a pity although not necessarily terminal. A dissenting voice is a check on overweening power and thus good for democracy, especially in a country where 'government of the people, by the people, for the people' still has shallow roots. Moreover, Mimiko himself shares many of ACN's progressive ideals as derived from Chief Obafemi Awolowo's Action Group in the 1950s and early 1960s, and Unity Party of Nigeria in the 1970s and 1980s: people-oriented policies (free education, free primary health care, public housing etc), and a diversified economy based on industrialisation and the infrastructure required to support it.

In other words, for the first time since the demise of the old Western Region following the 15 January 1966 military coup, and with it the long years of centralising military dictatorship, the South-west is now in a position to set its own agenda. It is telling, in this regard, that all of the states concerned are in the process of establishing a Ministry of Regional Cooperation in order to draw up a blueprint on the way forward. This will include the long-overdue railway line linking all the state capitals and extending to Benin, ACN also being in power in Edo State. One can immediately see the advantage to the economy of the region which hosts West Africa's busiest port but is currently constrained by a road network unable to cope with the efficient movement of a large volume of people and goods.[/b]

Not that the idea is new, only that it now stands a chance of being realised, but with one proviso, and a serious one at that. This is The Nigerian Railway Corporation Act, 1955, as amended in 1990, which gives the Federal Government monopoly of the country's railways. The fact that this, the oldest public utility in the country is in such a parlous state is indication enough of the Federal Government's failure despite repeated contracts awarded at mind-boggling sums, but then the same is also true of all other areas the centre insists on monopolising - power, roads, even conducting a census - with what dire results Nigerians are daily forced to live with. As the major opposition to PDP (ACN also made a strong showing in the National Assembly elections in Benue, Kwara and Plateau states), the party is in a position to negotiate the end of an Act (as amended) which is so clearly against the wider national interest.

Given the above, it is heartening to learn that ACN has rejected any notion of joining a Government of Nation Unity, as PDP is currently canvassing for reasons best known to the party. Gaining a working majority is the goal of any political party anywhere in the world, which can then proceed to implement its manifesto without the tiresome horse-trading that plagues all such governments. PDP does indeed have a manifesto but it hedges on all fronts, for instance that it will 'ultimately provide free, functional education at all levels', 'ultimately' here obviously being measured in decades, however ultimately 'functional'; conversely,


Governor Fashola of Lagos State, the lone ACN standard bearer until the stunning reversals in Ekiti, Ondo and Osun, was re-elected with a huge majority on the basis of clear-cut policies which he simply implemented.

The ability of a defined region of six or seven states to work together in a coordinated manner for a common purpose will immediately simplify an otherwise burdensome process by releasing the resources - human as well as material - for the urgent work in hand. That this has already started happening is shown by the example of the Igbara-Odo road which links communities in Ekiti and Ondo states. Each state simply resurfaced its own side without recourse to a Memorandum of Understanding drawn up by each state's Ministry of Works with all the bureaucracy entailed, not the least of which are the kickbacks without which nothing can happen. This was exactly the kind of cooperation which signally failed to happen between Lagos and Ogun states in the dispensation now drawing to a close, with the result that Lagos was unable to utilise land in its 'sister' state to help house its ever-expanding population.


This newspaper has argued tirelessly for the enthronement of true federalism, which was how Nigeria came together as an independent nation all those years ago. Here at last is the chance to begin the process of doing just that, and with it realisation of our much-touted potential.

Our editorial perspectives on what should be the preparation of the different Geo-Political zones for the incoming dispensation is thus concluded.


http://allafrica.com/stories/201105190541.html

The ability of a defined region of six or seven states to work together in a coordinated manner for a common purpose will immediately simplify an otherwise burdensome process by releasing the resources - human as well as material - for the urgent work in hand. That this has already started happening is shown by the example of the Igbara-Odo road which links communities in Ekiti and Ondo states. Each state simply resurfaced its own side without recourse to a Memorandum of Understanding drawn up by each state's Ministry of Works with all the bureaucracy entailed, not the least of which are the kickbacks without which nothing can happen. This was exactly the kind of cooperation which signally failed to happen between Lagos and Ogun states in the dispensation now drawing to a close, with the result that Lagos was unable to utilise land in its 'sister' state to help house its ever-expanding population.

chino11:

;D Yorubas keep talking, no wonder an average yorobaman have massive mouth. Other regions are moving to greater height. With all these talks show by your rascal rulers southwest states still wears old looks and dirtiness. I marvelled at the documentary of CNN on lagos as the center of environmental chaos. We are not talking about states pf oson, ogun, ondo, oyo, eketi that appears worse, with the state capitals cutting the image of caves with shrines and mud houses adorning the streets in the 21 century. You guys should first and foremost embark on urban reformation and cleansing instead of going into a white elephant political projects that will never be implemented.

dem_people:

[size=14pt]@ekt_bear,[/size]

I'm very happy for the SW and particularly, the ACN for having the foresight for such progressive development ideas. It shows that Nigeria can really do better along regional lines. I just hope they keep it up and not procrastinate later on cos that will set the regional development backwards in years.

The SE has the South-East Nigeria Economic Commission  (SENEC) which they want to use as a vehicle for regional development and are pretty serious about it. I'm excited about the SE and SW. The SS alrea

dy has the NDDC which unfortunately, hasn't lived-up to expectations.

Mimiko reminds me of Peter Obi who despite from another party, is actively involved in socio-political and infrastructural developments in Anambra and other SE states.



They should all keep it up. We all deserve better from our governments.

Ileke-IdI:

God bless Ekiti and Ondo state

Eko Ile:

Obviosly, you show face here to talk about your SE while hiding under SW, this is about SW, not SE. If you feel like running mouth about your SE, kindly go and start your own Topic and I hope its not going to be a lie like your last topic. Must you people always leech on other people?

chino11:

Yorubas keep talking, no wonder an average yorobaman have massive mouth. Other regions are moving to greater height. With all these talks show by your rascal rulers southwest states still wears old looks and dirtiness. I marvelled at the documentary of CNN on lagos as the center of environmental chaos. We are not talking about states pf oson, ogun, ondo, oyo, eketi that appears worse, with the state capitals cutting the image of caves with shrines and mud houses adorning the streets in the 21 century. You guys should first and foremost embark on urban reformation and cleansing instead of going into a white elephant political projects that will never be implemented.

alj_harem:

watin sef, it is not all about sw u know