I do not think the Prrsident need search farther for another self-confessed Boko Haram sympathiser in Sanusi Lamido Sanusi. The only snag is when the president will get rid of him and replace him with another Boko Haramist, just as in the case of the Ag. IGP. If it is sharia Boko Haram wants imposed on Nigeria, is it not commonsensical that we sit down and ask the people involved, that is Nigerians, whether that is theri choice? Gone are the days of foisting sharia on parts of the north while the proponents, crusaders and advocates - choose which ever suits your inclination - go under the cover of darkness to perpetrate infidelity and hypocrisy! 2014 is around the corner, when Nigeria ought to re-appraise the amalgamation done by the overzealous(?) Governor General Lugard, at her centenary. Must a group, however well-connected it claims to be to al Qaeda, hold the other half of the population to ransom because of the blind fanaticism? A sovereign nationa conference will solve this problem once and for all but it appears President Jonathan is unwilling to give up his mandate. let me quickly suggest a way around his fear: between now and 2015, we have about three years. A SNC cannot take less than two years, if all issues are to be on the table, and if all institutions are to be successfully unbundled. So, let us put it in motion and it will safely terminate at the dawn of 2014/2015. Those who now say that derivation has something to do with the emergence of Boko haram should not be allowed to determine out financial fate any longer. Let us call a spade a spade: Mr. President knows the Boko Haram members/sponsors/sympathisers, etc. in his government. He is only too selfish to deal with them. God will continue to expose them as He has started and one day, soon, Nigeria shall be free, and free indeed! 'Diran
----
'Diran ADEMIJU-BEPO, PhD
Department of Theatre and Film Arts
Faculty of Arts
University of Jos
Jos, NIGERIA.
Alternate Email: ademijubepok@unijos.edu.ng
+234 809 425 4817
--- On Sat, 1/28/12, BEN OSAWE <heavenprincessblue@yahoo.com> wrote:
From: BEN OSAWE <heavenprincessblue@yahoo.com>
Subject: USA Africa Dialogue Series - SANUSI LAMIDO'S WARPED LOGIC ON THE EMERGENCE OF BOKO HARAM
To: "USAAfricaDialogue@googlegroups.com" <USAAfricaDialogue@googlegroups.com>
Date: Saturday, January 28, 2012, 1:16 AM
Sanusi Links Boko Haram to Derivation 28 Jan 2012 Sanusi Lamido Sanusi, CBN Governor By Yemi Adebowale, with agency reports, and Ahamefula Ogbu Attempts to redress historic grievances in Nigeria's oil-rich south may inadvertently have helped create the conditions for the Islamic insurgency spreading from the impoverished north-east of the country, so says Sanusi Lamido Sanusi, Governor of the Central Bank of Nigeria. A revenue sharing formula that gave 13 percent derivation to the oil-producing states was introduced after the military relinquished power in 1999 among a series of measures aimed at redressing historic grievances among those living closest to the oil and quelling a conflict that was jeopardising output. But Sanusi who spoke in an interview with the Financial Times Friday said: "There is clearly a direct link between the very uneven nature of distribution of resources and the rising level of violence." He said that it was now necessary to focus funds on regenerating other regions if Nigeria wants to secure long-term stability. "When you look at the figures and look at the size of the population in the north, you can see that there is a structural imbalance of enormous proportions. Those states simply do not have enough money to meet basic needs while some states have too much money. "The imbalance is so stark because the state still depends on oil for more than 80 per cent of its revenues," said Sanusi. The FT, in a further analysis of the issue yesterday, wrote: "Nigeria has made little headway raising taxes for example from agriculture, which accounts for 42 per cent of GDP. Northern Nigeria's economy has traditionally depended on the government more than the south. Many of the industries set up as part of earlier efforts to promote national balance have gone bust or been sold off during a decade of liberal market reforms, power shortages and infrastructure collapse. "According to official figures, the leading oil producing state, Rivers, received N1,053 billion between 1999 and 2008 in federal allocations. By contrast the North-eastern states of Yobe and Borno, where the Boko Haram sect was created, received N175bn and N213bn respectively. Broken down on a per capita basis, the contrast is even starker. In 2008 the 18.97m people who lived in the six states in the north-east received on average N1,156 per person. "By contrast Rivers state was allocated N3,965 per capita, and on average the oil producing South- South region received on average N3,332 per capita. This imbalance is compounded when the cost of an amnesty programme for militants in the delta is included together with an additional 1 per cent for a special development body for the Niger Delta. To boot, the theft of oil by profiteers in the region diverts tens of millions more weekly from federal coffers."(THISDAYLIVE, SATURDAY 28TH JANUARY 2012).
Ben Osawe
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