*Want independence of judiciary
Stakeholders from different ethno-religious and civil society organizations in Kogi State, as well as representatives of media houses, met at a one day multi-stakeholder dialogue session organised by Lux Terra Leadership Foundation in partnership with the Savannah Centre for Diplomacy Democracy Development (SCDDD) at the Miami Hotel in Lokoja, Kogi state, on Thursday, April 22, 2021, to reflect on the ongoing challenges of the Nigerian state, and make recommendation for the much desired structural reform.
The delegates noted that today governments at all levels in the country appear overwhelmed by the current security challenges, and that there are ominous signs of an imminent revolution, if urgent steps are not taken to reduce youth unemployment, revive the educational sector and boost industrialisation.
Ahead of the 2023 elections, they called for far reaching reform of the nation’s political and economic arrangements, including the devolution of powers to sub-national units, fiscal federalism (or resource control), as well as true independence of the judiciary and the houses of assembly at national, state and local government levels. As part of their recommendations for the attainment of national cohesion, the group called for the abolishment of “state of origin” in our official transactions and asked that it be replaced by “state of residence” instead.
They urged governments at all levels to make deliberate efforts to ensure justice, equity and fairness to all, and also to work hard towards bridging the wide gap between the government and those they represent, noting that it is the absence of the sense of justice and equity, as well as the trust deficit between the leaders and the people they lead that often fuel the kind of political tension that can easily degenerate into violent uprising.
They decried the abandonment of the Ajaokuta Steel Complex by successive governments and wondered if this would have been the fate of the steel company, had it been sited elsewhere among the more dominant political regions in Nigeria. They also called for an urgent return to the long abandoned work of dredging the River Niger towards the proposed inland ports at Lokoja, Baro and Idah.
Among the delegates and stakeholders at this dialogue session which was facilitated by staff of Lux Terra Leadership Foundation, are Former Speaker of the State House of Assembly, Hon. Umar Ahmed, former Majority Leader, Hon. Alhassan Adakeke, Chairman of the Nigerian Medical Association, Dr. Simeon Omakoji, representatives of Traditional Rulers, Ethno-Cultural Associations, Christian Association of Nigeria, Jama’atu Nasril Islam, Media Practitioners, Youth Groups, and Women Societies.
The Kogi State event is the first in a series of Dialogue Sessions that would be hosted by Lux Terra in the six states of the North Central Zone. Elected delegates from each of these state dialogue sessions will be gathered together in Abuja for a North Central Zonal Dialogue Conference, which is due to be held before the end of May 2021.
At this zonal event, recommendations from each of the states for structural and policy changes towards a more just, peaceful and united Nigeria, will be harmonized and presented as part of the position of a cross section of stakeholders in the North Central Zone on the ongoing National Dialogue.