SO Sanusi, and his co-travelers would do better and rather alert the never do well and indolent governors on the urgent need for them to draw near their people to reduce their pain and anguish for the well being of the country.

They should reduce the cost of governance, reduce number of trips they make abroad; reduce the number of aids and sycophants milling around them; reduce the fleet of cars in their convoys; reduce the security votes they collect; use their brains to think out ways to uplift their state and people; look inwards for avenues to generate more income like mechanize agriculture; exploration of mineral resources in each of the state and reduce over dependence on monthly federal allocation; do proper staff audit of all government parastatals and agencies (to fish out ghost workers); and ensure that government workers are well utilized as to increase productivity and hence get more results. Thus the increased funds will then help them to meet the developmental needs of their people.

What distances us from the developed economies of the world is simply insincerity and not being passionate about finding lasting solutions to our problems.

And until Nigerians inculcate the necessary values that successful nation thrive on, that is honesty, hard work and patriotism, we will continue to waste our time.

Think of instances where instead of building roads that can last for ten years some of our governors build only roads that can last for just five months or instead of buying vehicles, machinery or equipment for government that can be used for years they go out to bring in refurbished ones. This is no way to move forward.

Nevertheless, the current financial crisis facing many states today in the federation also owes to the dependency syndrome which the constitution we operate has hoisted on the federating units. This has forced many states to depend on the monthly federal allocation for the greater percentage of the funds to run their governments.

Therefore what we need is a restructuring of our constitutional arrangements that constrain the states from getting funds to embark on government functions even as we enthrone real fiscal federalism or else real development may continue to elude our country.

Amendment of the constitution can encourage state governments to work in partnership with the private sector to generate and distribute electricity for their areas.

They will equally be encouraged to issue mining licenses to prospective investors through which they will make money and pay royalties to the federal government.

Human progress never rolls in on wheels of inevitability, it comes through the tireless efforts of men willing to be co-workers with God and without this hard work, time itself becomes an ally of the forces of social stagnation. The time here is right and the door is open and it is for us to step up and take the fullest advantage of all the changes that are occurring in our fast changing world.

Now is the time to make real the promise of democracy and transform our country. Now is the time to lift our national policy from the quicksand of self centeredness, high cost of governance, corruption and shackles constitutional constraints to the solid rock of real fiscal federalism.

Yes we can become the nation of our dreams if we can throw overboard the consumption binge the military hoisted on us through the constitution resulting in unending annual government recurrent expenditure of nearly 80 percent and capital expenditures of a paltry 20 percent.

Our esteemed place in the sun with emerging developed nations like China, Russia, India and Brazil awaits us, if we can muster enough will to take the necessary step.

Dr. Simon Okolo,  immediate past National President of NACCIMA, wrote from Aba, Abia State.