It is not possible to have female president
BY NICHOLA OHWO
Wednesday, May 24, 2006

A Lagos based lawyer says that the Federal Government’s political maneouvering aimed at resolving the Niger-Delta youth uprising will continue to hit the brick wall unless the root of the problem is identified and given the necessary attention.

According to Mr Olufemi Dafosta Osinowo, Niger-Delta is a major oil producing area in the country which ought to be given priority in the developmental programmes of the Federal Government but the reverse is the case. He said the idea of taking money from the region in the spirit of federalism to develop the far North and Abuja while the people are living in squalor is like robbing Peter to pay Paul which is the bane of the youths restiveness.

Constitution amendment
My opinion is that we need a sovereign national conference where the conditions and terms for our living together as a nation will be discussed, not the kind of sponsored one that is going on now throughout the six geo-political zones.

A lot of money has been wasted in the past trying to fashion out constitution for the country through conferences but ended up in fiasco because the delegates who attended, did so on selfish ground. Even the on-going one will be like one of such attempt because the government is deeply involved so as to give cover for the actualisation of the third term agenda.

To that extent, that is not the kind of constitution conference we are talking about. We are talking about amendment in all facets of our lives and existence. We need egalitarian society where people do not discriminate against one another. The ongoing exercise is borne out of parochial, selfish and self-centred interest. We are saying that in amending the constitution, there should be no vested interest. The people should be empowered through referendum to elect their leaders who will in turn determine the terms and conditions of our continued existence together as one nation.

Power rotation
I will say that power rotation agitation came out as a result of glaring injustice in this country. If there is no injustice, every Nigerian is equally entitled to rule this country and there will be no agitation for power rotation. But for the fact that majority of our leaders come from the North and to that extent, there is a feeling of injustice among people from other region of the country.

The problem of this country is beyond rotational presidency. It may not lead us to the promised land because the concept will allow mediocre to come on board to run the country aground as against people who are competent, who have proved themselves in their field of endeavour to emerge as president. And once you have a mediocrity as president you are bound to have what is called a cabinet of mediocrities.
To that extent, I think merit should be the watchword in selecting who becomes our president, not region or ethnic cleavage or quota system. Quota system has not done good for us in our leadership drive, it should be expurged completely from the system because we are in a competitive world.

Third term agenda
Frankly speaking, the idea is condemnable by every right thinking member of the society. Nobody has a monopoly of wisdom and knowledge. I want to state here that the earlier the man obeys the constitutional provision, not even the amended constitution but the 1999 Constitution on which he became the president, the better for this country.

The third term speculation has already heightened tension. I pray that the speculation should be imagination of some people and not a reality, otherwise there will be anarchy in the land.

Woman president
I don’t believe we are ripe for woman president. I don’t want to sound like a chauvinist, but I must tell you that what happened in Liberia is not likely to happen in Nigeria in the nearest future because Nigerian men are egocentric, self-centred and sometimes, we are African people to the core.
We are talking of African culture whereby the husband is regarded as head of the house. Even in a situation where the woman is economically empowered, she still remains subservient to the husband. Even if she has all the money in the world, she remains subservient to the husband. To that extent, I don’t think Nigerian men will allow such a situation to happen in the country.

Youths restiveness in Niger-Delta
I think the solution to the youth restiveness in the Niger-Delta is not far-fetched. The Federal Government should device a more practical approach to the agitation instead of buying time. The bureaucratic way of solving the problem should be discarded, forget about the NDDC thing and all that because the impact is not being felt.

There is need for government to go to the root of the problem and nip it in the bud once and for all. Get the people to the farm, give them job, provide infrastructure facilities in the localities, let them feel they are in small London.

It is like robbing Peter to pay Paul when you take money from their area to the far North and Abuja to develop, while the people are in abject poverty living in squalor and pig sty environment. It is this glaring injustice that the youths are fighting against. The people need to be carried along and taken care of properly. The people’s patience has been over-stretched, they have been persevering for too long.