Igbo Youth Movement Convention calls for restructuring of Nigeria

 

The 18^th Annual Convention of the Igbo Youth Movement, IYM, has resolved that only a truly federal structure anchored on true fiscal federalism can sustain Nigeria.

The Convention, held in Enugu on Thursday, 19^th January 19, 2017 had as its theme: “How To Resolve The Crises of Nigeria as a Nation State“.

It was attended by various Youth, Women, Students, Traders and Religious organizations from the old Eastern region with Delegates and guests from all the regions of Nigeria also in attendance.

A communiqué issued based on deliberations at the Convention insisted that Nigeria must be returned to a true federal  structure where Federal Government is a Coordinating Center of Common Services rather than a Controlling Center.

The communiqué, by Evang. Elliot Ugochukwu-Uko, Founder/President, Igbo Youth Movement (IYM) also called for an “all embracing national dialogue or conference of all the true Representatives, (not individuals on their own merit) of the ethnic Nationalities (large and small) comprised in Nigeria and other relevant stake holders as happened under British Colonial administration in 1951 at Ibadan, (where Sir Ahmadu Bello, Dr. Nnamdi Azikiwe and Chief Obafemi Awolowo, respectively led Northern, Eastern and Western ethnic Nationalities, respectively  to resolve Nigeria’s constitutional problems sincerely, equitably and by consensus/ agreement of all the concerned ethnic Nationalities of Nigeria.”

Bello is the full text of the communiqué:

COMMUNIQUE OF THE 18^TH ANNUAL CONVENTION OF THE IGBO YOUTH MOVEMENT (IYM) HELD AT ENUGU, ON THURSDAY, 19/01/2017

The 18^th Annual Convention of the Igbo Youth Movement held in Enugu on Thursday, 19^th January 2017 with the Theme: “How To Resolve The Crises of Nigeria as a Nation State“. The Convention was attended by various Youth, Women, Students, Traders and Religious organizations from the old Eastern region. Delegates and guests from all the regions of Nigeria were also in attendance. Seven (7) papers were delivered on the theme by eminent scholars from all over Nigeria.

 

1. Convention is of the considered opinion that the rupture of the 1963 constitution which truncated the federalism Nigeria practiced in the first republic is at the root of our misery today. That the political crisis of western Nigeria of the early 1960s, which began with the imprisonment of Chief Obafemi Awolowo and the violent elections in the region, which came to a head with the Operation Wetie of 1965 coupled with the Tiv Riots of the same season, inspired the military coup of January 1966.

 

2. Convention noted that the change of the nomenclature of the regions to group of provinces by Decree 34 of May 1966, the horrendous three wave pogrom of 1966, the failure to implement the Aburi Accord of 4^th and 5^th January 1967, and the sudden creation of 12 states on 26^th May 1967, had plunged Nigeria into a 30 month internecine war that cost over 3 million lives with the victors falsely believing that, altering the sustainable true federal structure built on fiscal federalism for a quasi unitary structure, created entirely by unelected military regimes could create an enduring nation state. Facts have since shown that only a truly federal structure anchored on true fiscal federalism can sustain Nigeria.

 

3. Having struggled fruitlessly for five (5) decades, to sustain the unitary structure, it has become self evident that only an early return to six or eight regions in a new federal constitution fashioned along the lines of the 1963 constitution can save Nigeria now.

 

4. Convention is of the opinion, that the euphoria, fear and misplaced hangover that characterized all the military regimes, from 1966 – 1999, has evaporated suddenly, as we are faced with the stark reality of the attendant fallouts of the faulty unitary structure which has overwhelmed the nation, thereby making an early return to true fiscal federalism inevitable, if Nigeria is to survive.

 

Such fallouts such as, fierce struggle for central power, do or die elections, corruption and sleaze, unviable 36 States, regional divisions, ethnic hatred, religious bigotry, impunity, nepotism, militancy, agitation for cessation and absolute loss of faith in Nigeria as presently constituted will only get worse, if we don’t restructure now.

 

5. The convention agreed that the current crisis ravaging the land today (herdsmen rampage, militancy, agitations for cessation, nearly comatose economy, all sorts of militancy, etc) point to the undeniable fact, that the artificial peace built on a faulty unitary structure in January 1970, made possible by the use of Russian Jets, Egyptian Pilots and British Military Advisers has lost its hold on the almost 200 million Nigerians from more than 300 ethnic nationalities.

 

6. Accordingly, convention  declares:

That only an early restructuring of Nigeria along the lines of true fiscal federalism can save Nigeria now. A national conference of all ethnic nationalities to fashion a new federal constitution, is the only solution to the myriad of problems bedeviling Nigeria.

The Convention considered all the previous attempts starting from 1951 at Ibadan to the latest Conference at Abuja in 2014, all aimed to restructure Nigeria into a sustainable Federation of the over 300 ethnic Nationalities comprised of Hausa, Yoruba, Igbira, Itshekiri, Birom, Igbo, Kanuri, Fulani, Ibibio, Tiv, Edo, Nupe , Ijaw etc.

 

The Convention also noted in particular, Nigeria’s good effort at Ibadan in 1951 to restructure Nigeria during the British Colonial Rule into a Federation of a Federal (Central) Government with clearly defined responsibilities of Common Services and the Federating Regional Governments of Northern, Western and Eastern regions.
 

Convention noted that all the three Federating Regional Governments had Regional Autonomy in and exclusive responsibility and control of their land, natural resources, education at all levels of their respective Citizens and operated at their own factor endowments in healthy competition with each other and for all the responsibilities not specified for the Federal (Central) Government. This is the constitutional arrangement that assured Nigeria true unity, peace and progress.
 

Convention hereby recommends an early restructuring and returning Nigeria, by Consensus of all the ethnic Nationalities comprised in Nigeria, to a sustainable Federalism in which unity, peace and progress will reign in Nigeria as a Nation State. Convention recommends as summarized below, as follows,

• making the Federal Government a Coordinating Center of Common Services rather than a Controlling Center, but with exclusive responsibility for the Common national services such as the Armed Forces, National Police, Citizenship, Customs, Central Banking and Currency, Immigration, Foreign Affairs including foreign trade, National Education Standards, National Industrial goods standards and National Scientific Research Standards, respectively,

 

• making the Federating Regions (which should reflect the interests and aspirations of respective various ethnic nationalities, (large and small), and other relevant Stakeholders) have primary control and responsibility over their land and natural resources, education institutions (at primary, secondary and tertiary levels), agriculture, industries and economic production, internal (State or Regional) security, internal economic supporting development infrastructure of electricity supply (leaving Federal with the National Electricity Grid), internal roads and internal economic development supporting infrastructures among other specific internal infrastructures,

 

• sharing National Revenue among all the tiers of Governments based strictly on mutually agreed ratio of derivation and in proportion to what each Federating Unit contributes to the sustenance of the Nigerian Federation to ensure healthy competition among the Federating Regions in economic and industrial production activities,

 

• organizing an all embracing national dialogue or conference of all the true Representatives, (not individuals on their own merit) of the ethnic Nationalities (large and small) comprised in Nigeria and other relevant stake holders as happened under British Colonial administration in 1951 at Ibadan, (where Sir Ahmadu Bello, Dr. Nnamdi Azikiwe and Chief Obafemi Awolowo, respectively led Northern, Eastern and Western ethnic Nationalities, respectively  to resolve Nigeria’s constitutional problems sincerely, equitably and by consensus/ agreement of all the concerned ethnic Nationalities of Nigeria, and

 

• the above to be achieved, not by demonizing or denigrating any of Nigeria’s constituent ethnic Nationality as the Devil, as it is clear from Nigeria’s history from 1914 to 2015, that all the ethnic Nationalities comprised in Nigeria (be they large and or small), have all contributed equally to what now divides Nigeria, No ethnic Nationality can be said to be guiltier than any other in what has divided and bedeviled Nigeria since Nigeria’s Amalgamation in 1914.

 

 

Evang. Elliot Ugochukwu-Uko

Founder/President

Igbo Youth Movement (IYM)

[email protected]