It is not yet up to a year since I began to feel differently. I believe I have written about that change here. It is not anything as earth-shaking as St. Paul’s conversion. It was simply a growing awareness of an inward uplifting – that is the only way I can describe it; an internal effervescence that fills you with a gripping desire to ascend to a plane of higher thoughts and nobler deeds.

Democracy? That’s a long way off. What we have on ground is a quarter kilometre to one-party dictatorship. We say we are a Federal Republic of Nigeria, but there is nothing federal about the system which has mutated within half a century from a federation to a military-style unitary dictatorship.

WITHOUT having the opportunity of reading the full details of the proposed Bill, my comments would be limited to the address of the Minister of Petroleum Resources, Dr. Rilwanu Lukman – an experienced oil technocrat. Having served in oil affairs in different administrations, one might be tempted to believe that the oil ‘oracle’ knows what he is talking about on the proposed Bill, which has now become very controversial. From the Minister’s masterly address, inference could be easily drawn on the mindset of the Federal Government.

“Hey! Fashola has been here,” screamed Chibeze. “Yes, he has visited here,” Ifeanyi, his elder brother concurred. Chibeze is 9 and Ifeanyi 11. Chisom who is just eight surprised me most. “Fashola is going everywhere,” he added. Their chatting excited.

MOROCCO is an ancient civilisation with an existing 17th Century monarchy. The current King Mohammed VI who is 45, celebrated his 10th year on the throne from July 23, the exact date of his coronation, into early August, 2009.

Foolhardy, and perpetually risking his own personal interests, friendships, personal safety, etc, his courage to stand by the truth , and prophesy for his community are the intellectual arsenal disposed to him as he restlessly forages his environment, patiently creating new possibilities, seeking for new alliances, shifting and striving for new paradigms.

The eze ndi Igbo institution has not solved the problem it set out to do. Rather, it has become a source of further division as anybody who has the means and supporters can announce himself as one in any city. And this is causing irritation among the owners of the land where these “foreign”, artificial monarchs are engaged in chieftaincy tussles. Some are afraid that some day, these upstart “traditional rulers” might start laying claim to things to which they are not entitled, as experience has shown.

Babangida is talking a lot more about gas flaring these days as he did as Head of State, but he paid his own lip service and Abacha, in spite of his battles with Niger Delta Environmentalists, paid lip service to ending gas flaring.
Obasanjo in his turn, set deadlines, and so has Yar’Adua, who has more or less been neutral to virtually every issue bogging the nation.

So if we run a federal system, the number of local governments a state wants to create should be the business of that state and its people not the headache of the central government. In other words, if Lagos State wants to create a hundred local governments, that would be its business, on the other hand, if Kano or Enugu want to merge their local governments, that should be entirely their business.

Here then is a seminal doctrine of democratic change that needs to be explored further if only to understand the constipation that may be going on in PDP. The author is none other than the irrespessible Ojo Maduekwe, former Secretary of the PDP and current Foreign Affairs Minister”.