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A member of the National Political Reform Conference, Dr. Wale Oladipo, who is also an Associate Professor and Director, Centre for Energy Research, Obafemi Awolowo University, Ile-Ife, speaks with TUNDE ODESOLA
A member of the National Political Reform Conference, Dr. Wale Oladipo, who is also an Associate Professor and Director, Centre for Energy Research, Obafemi Awolowo University, Ile-Ife, speaks with TUNDE ODESOLA
Don't you think that the discordant tunes we experience at the conference suggest lack of unity among the different regions of the country?
I think the discordant tunes showed the diversity of the nation and the diversity of our interests. It is a justification for the convocation of the conference. The discordant tunes show that there are problems with the structure of the country and we have to address the problems.
The confab made a suggestion that government should jumpstart the process of extracting minerals inherent in each state of the federation. As a member of the Nuclear Technology Development Committee, I am aware that the Ministry of Solid Minerals has put in place a map of the country's solid minerals and the conference has recommended that a solid mineral area development commission should be set up.
The commission, among many other responsibilities, would attend to pollution problems inherent in mineral mining. When mineral mining occurs in every state, the present debate over resource control percentage would cease.
Many Nigerians have expressed the fear that recommendations of the conference would be discarded like the Oputa Panel Report…
The intensity of the debates has shown that there is room for change and cohabitation and these are indices which could guarantee the unity of the country. There is no way the conference could go the way of Oputa Panel because the interests generated by the conference in and outside the country have been immense. There is no way you can gather the array of personalities and brains together and, at the end of the day, throw out their recommendations.
What is the position of the majority of the conference members on the proposed ban on ex-military rulers?
When Nigeria was in a dire strait between 1997 and 1999, the country was looking for a link between the military and the civilians. It was a former military ruler that God used to bail us out. God used President Olusegun Obasanjo to pull the country from the brink of collapse.
If Obasanjo had been banned, could he have been used by God to rescue the country? This is the position of the majority of the delegates to the conference. There are two types of ex-military officials that should be banned. The first set is the direct beneficiaries of coups. By direct beneficiaries of coup, I mean people, who sat down, designed and executed a coup. However, people like military administrators, who were commanded to take charge of states and military formations by their bosses, should be exempted from the ban because they had no choice. Refusal would have amounted to treason. The second set of ex-military rulers that should be banned includes those who have disobeyed court orders while in service or outside service.
What paradigm of development would you propose for Nigeria?
Nigeria will be launching itself on the path of greatness if recognition is officially given to the six geographical zones in power-sharing. Our country is so diverse that whatever mechanism we can put in place to make way for development, we should do it. The creation of one development centre in each region of the country is very important and urgent. The Federal Government should ensure that the development centre of a region serves the states under the region. What the development centres should do is to coordinate Federal Government's activities in the region. Abuja is so far removed from the people.
The development centres, for instance, would monitor industries, building and road constructions embarked upon by the Federal Government. The centres should not be located within state capitals. The centres would set agenda for development by determining the critical areas of needs by the people of a region. The centres should not have a large staff but they should be the federal presence nearest to the people.
The PUNCH, Wednesday, July 27, 2005