Nigerians in UK express disappointment with referendum result
A cross section of Nigerians in Europe on Friday expressed
disappointment over the decision of the UK in a referendum to leave the
European Union (EU).
Results released early on Friday by UK authorities indicated that 17,
410,742 Britons voted to leave EU, while 16,141,241 others voted to
remain.
The Leave campaigners won by 52 per cent to 48 per cent with England
and Wales voting strongly for Brexit, while London, Scotland and
Northern Ireland backed staying in the EU.
In telephone interviews with the Europe Correspondent of the News
Agency of Nigeria (NAN) some Nigerians described the outcome of the
referendum as a catastrophe for ethnic minorities in Europe.
Mr. Raymond Aste, a lawyer and political analyst in London, said
those who voted in favour of Brexit (Britain Exit) did so emotionally in
line with their individual opinion on what a Leave EU vote meant.
” I can understand concerns by the white supremacist to stem the flow of immigrants into their country.
“But for the immigrant communities, it beats me as to how they considered voting to leave the EU.
“This has a long implication economically, legally and many others,” Aste said.
Similarly, Dr John Duniya, who resides in Scotland, said the Leave EU
outcome meant ethnic minorities would not have protection of EU laws,
especially on human rights issues.
“Being under the EU meant we had some kind of protection under
certain laws but with this development the UK will be in full control of
its system without interference from the EU.
“Secondly, the argument put forward by the Leave campaigners on
immigration control and better welfare for commonwealth citizens is just
a deceit.
“I bet you their idea of commonwealth means Australia and Canada, not Nigeria, Ghana , India and Pakistan.
In the same vein, Mrs Yetunde Olivier, a member of Nigerians in Diaspora Organisation, France, said “this is bad for Europe.
“Britain should have pushed for renegotiation in areas it is not comfortable with rather than seek for exit.
“This is not only about immigration, it is about trade, currency, law and, above all, supremacy.
“I hope at the long run Nigerians and others would not be kicked out of the UK,” she stressed.
Some Nigerians, who spoke to NAN from Switzerland, stressed the need
for Nigerians in diaspora to start considering going back home.
Mr Uche Obiano, a systems analyst, said “all this fear about
uncertainty in the UK can be addressed if we start considering going
back to our fatherland.
“If Europeans developed Europe themselves we can also go back home and contribute to nation building.
“The so-called opportunities ethnic minorities in the UK think they
will benefit from after Brexit are not jobs their people want.
“Britons do not do cleaning, care-giving or security jobs, these can
be very tasking and degrading but at the same time immigrants are
seeking these jobs for survival.
“My opinion is that if you find life tough abroad then go back home and hustle,” Obiano said.
Similarly, politicians from France, Germany, Belgium, among others
have expressed concern over the EU’s economy and future without Britain.
Some anti- immigration politicians in Europe have lauded the move and recommended the same step for their countries.
The Brexit referendum which held on Thursday was described by UK
authorities as historic with a record number of more than 30 million
voters -the highest turnout at a UK election since 1992 – participating.
DEFINITELY, we are at
cross roads and perhaps at a cuI-de-sac. This explains why we have been
vacillating over our choice of system of government, heated arguments
over revenue sharing formula, creation of more states, more local
government councils, resource control and so on.
We become more incensed each passing day as we haplessly see our economy
collapsing rapidly in addition to the massive decay of our
infrastructure, the unprecedented plundering of our national economy by
the managers of the economy who rail roaded their way to power either
through the barrel of the gun or callous rigging of elections. Also, the
raging violence on the land has conspired with all these to compound
our problems.
These man made problems have placed us in a quagmire, constructing a way
out becomes a major problem. This is why public commentators at various
fora, proffer several solutions on the way forward. Even in beer
parlours, offices, motor parks the debate continues endlessly as the
frustrations of the down trodden slides deeper.
Reverting to the regional structure recently brought to the fore by
Chief Emeka Anyaoku, a highly respected statesment and a patriot to the
core, needs to be examined. Advancing his reasons in nostalgia like
others who had previously favoured this argument, recalled the
tremendous achievements recorded under that arrangement, which was
practiced in a very competitive and exciting years of Nigeria’s golden
era of Federalism. He reminded us that the nation was developing better
unlike under the present 36 states arrangement where many states remain
unviable and unable to pay salaries of civil servants.
The former Secretary General of the Commonwealth, reasoned that the 36
states structure is burdensome because of the huge resources spent on
governance catering for 36 states houses of assembly and 36 judiciary
services. No one doubts the argument of our statesman, but returning to
the former regional structure, will defmitely return us to the polemics
of the past, the cry of marginaliation, the a gitation of more states
that dominated the last decade of the struggle for independence. Then as
the nationalists, clamoured for independence, the northern and southern
minorities were also agitating for more states coupled with the Niger
Delta politicians asking for a fair deal. These demands were the safety
values the minorities asked for hinged on wider participation in
governance.
With the 36 states created, there is wider participation in governance
not withstanding some inherent man made problems. Going back to the huge
success of the former regions before and after independence, we should
not forget that the regions were allowed to legislate on the appropriate
legislative lists approved by the constitution.
The Federal Government then, legislated on exclusive list, the regions
legislated on concurrent list along with the central government, while
the local governments were left with the residual list. The governments
of the regions were resourceful, encouraged agricultural development and
export of groundnut, cotton, hides and skin from the North, cocoa,
timber, rubber, palm products from the west and East regions
respectively. Revenue from these sustained their regions, universities;
hospitals and several kilometres of roads were built by the regional
governments. The funding of free education by the western region
government was solely from cocoa export.
The North also spent its resources to educate northerners in its strive
to bridge the wide education gap between the North and the south. The
local governments recorded resounding success, building and maintaining
dispensaries, rural feeder roads, don’t forget PWD of that era. All
these were possible when we had constitutionalism at work, not now when
we have unitary government masquerading as federalism. One can recall
when late Chief Obafemi Awolowo, the flag bearer of Unity Party of
Nigeria and his rival, late Dr. Nnamdi Azikiwe of Nigerian Peoples Party
replayed their rivalry of the past when Chief A wolowo boasted that his
region had highest primary and secondary school enrolment in the
country while Zik boasted his region built more kilometres of road.
That was Federalism at work. This is where the failure of the 36 states
was planned and executed by the unpatriotic intrusion of the military in
national politics, a development, the civilian regimes of the second
Republic 1979 – 1983 and the current civilian regimes of 1999 to date
have been unable to reverses for the good of the country.
The situation we found ourselves today is painful, a situation that
truncated the orderly developments started by our founding fathers. This
is the making of our managers of resources, the visionless, the
scoundrels and buccaneers in government who allowed the nation to
careen. The state and local governments cannot generate fund, but go to
the Abuja Santa Clause for statutory allocation which is far more than
their Internally Generated Revenue (IGR).
A return to genuine and full federalism is the panacea that will
extricate us from this quandary. Constitutionalism should be allowed to
thrive for rapid growth of Nigeria.
In this regard, all tiers of government – central, States and Local
Governments should share powers as stipulated in the 1999 constitution.
The Local Governments should be freed from the State governments’
mindless expropriation of its powers as stated in Schedule Four of the
constitution.
Read more at: http://www.vanguardngr.com/2016/06/return-regional-structure/
DEFINITELY, we are at
cross roads and perhaps at a cuI-de-sac. This explains why we have been
vacillating over our choice of system of government, heated arguments
over revenue sharing formula, creation of more states, more local
government councils, resource control and so on.
We become more incensed each passing day as we haplessly see our economy
collapsing rapidly in addition to the massive decay of our
infrastructure, the unprecedented plundering of our national economy by
the managers of the economy who rail roaded their way to power either
through the barrel of the gun or callous rigging of elections. Also, the
raging violence on the land has conspired with all these to compound
our problems.
These man made problems have placed us in a quagmire, constructing a way
out becomes a major problem. This is why public commentators at various
fora, proffer several solutions on the way forward. Even in beer
parlours, offices, motor parks the debate continues endlessly as the
frustrations of the down trodden slides deeper.
Reverting to the regional structure recently brought to the fore by
Chief Emeka Anyaoku, a highly respected statesment and a patriot to the
core, needs to be examined. Advancing his reasons in nostalgia like
others who had previously favoured this argument, recalled the
tremendous achievements recorded under that arrangement, which was
practiced in a very competitive and exciting years of Nigeria’s golden
era of Federalism. He reminded us that the nation was developing better
unlike under the present 36 states arrangement where many states remain
unviable and unable to pay salaries of civil servants.
The former Secretary General of the Commonwealth, reasoned that the 36
states structure is burdensome because of the huge resources spent on
governance catering for 36 states houses of assembly and 36 judiciary
services. No one doubts the argument of our statesman, but returning to
the former regional structure, will defmitely return us to the polemics
of the past, the cry of marginaliation, the a gitation of more states
that dominated the last decade of the struggle for independence. Then as
the nationalists, clamoured for independence, the northern and southern
minorities were also agitating for more states coupled with the Niger
Delta politicians asking for a fair deal. These demands were the safety
values the minorities asked for hinged on wider participation in
governance.
With the 36 states created, there is wider participation in governance
not withstanding some inherent man made problems. Going back to the huge
success of the former regions before and after independence, we should
not forget that the regions were allowed to legislate on the appropriate
legislative lists approved by the constitution.
The Federal Government then, legislated on exclusive list, the regions
legislated on concurrent list along with the central government, while
the local governments were left with the residual list. The governments
of the regions were resourceful, encouraged agricultural development and
export of groundnut, cotton, hides and skin from the North, cocoa,
timber, rubber, palm products from the west and East regions
respectively. Revenue from these sustained their regions, universities;
hospitals and several kilometres of roads were built by the regional
governments. The funding of free education by the western region
government was solely from cocoa export.
The North also spent its resources to educate northerners in its strive
to bridge the wide education gap between the North and the south. The
local governments recorded resounding success, building and maintaining
dispensaries, rural feeder roads, don’t forget PWD of that era. All
these were possible when we had constitutionalism at work, not now when
we have unitary government masquerading as federalism. One can recall
when late Chief Obafemi Awolowo, the flag bearer of Unity Party of
Nigeria and his rival, late Dr. Nnamdi Azikiwe of Nigerian Peoples Party
replayed their rivalry of the past when Chief A wolowo boasted that his
region had highest primary and secondary school enrolment in the
country while Zik boasted his region built more kilometres of road.
That was Federalism at work. This is where the failure of the 36 states
was planned and executed by the unpatriotic intrusion of the military in
national politics, a development, the civilian regimes of the second
Republic 1979 – 1983 and the current civilian regimes of 1999 to date
have been unable to reverses for the good of the country.
The situation we found ourselves today is painful, a situation that
truncated the orderly developments started by our founding fathers. This
is the making of our managers of resources, the visionless, the
scoundrels and buccaneers in government who allowed the nation to
careen. The state and local governments cannot generate fund, but go to
the Abuja Santa Clause for statutory allocation which is far more than
their Internally Generated Revenue (IGR).
A return to genuine and full federalism is the panacea that will
extricate us from this quandary. Constitutionalism should be allowed to
thrive for rapid growth of Nigeria.
In this regard, all tiers of government – central, States and Local
Governments should share powers as stipulated in the 1999 constitution.
The Local Governments should be freed from the State governments’
mindless expropriation of its powers as stated in Schedule Four of the
constitution.
Read more at: http://www.vanguardngr.com/2016/06/return-regional-structure/
