THE communiqué issued after the meeting of the southern Governors’ Forum, held in Asaba, Delta State, on Tuesday 11th May, 2021, has generated huge reactions, predictably including loud commendations and condemnations from different quarters, depending on which side of the divide such people speak from. However, even though the meeting was not belated, it came rather too late, considering the festering of the issues that led to the convocation of the meeting, particularly as the meeting was a response to the security, political and economic challenges confronting citizens, who have become despondent in the face of unending regressions across critical spheres of life.
THE unanimity with which the forum spoke was uncommon, and was a strong confirmation of the dire situation the country has found itself, denoting that all is not well, given general abrasive insecurity, agitation for restructuring, parlous economy and threats posed by COVID-19.
IT is instructive that the physical meeting that produced the 12-point resolutions came on the hills of a virtual one that was coordinated by the Governor of Ondo State, Arakunrin Oluwarotimi Akeredolu. The Hope observes that out of the 12 notable resolutions reached, four are considered highly controversial, and they include the banning of open grazing, call for restructuring of the Nigerian Federation to achieve the review of the existing revenue allocation formula in favour of sub-national governments, building of inclusiveness to tame agitations, and the call on President Buhari to address Nigerians on the challenges of insecurity, which would help restore the confidence of the people.
WE commend the southern governors for rising above party politics and affiliations, to pursue the wellbeing of their people in their respective States, in absolute awareness and demonstration of their constitutional responsibilities to the people. Expectedly, the reviews the communiqué generated have remarkably signaled the sharp dichotomy between the North and the North, with some endorsements, nonetheless, blurring the line of demarcation.
IT is instructive to note that despite the opposition of some individuals to the ‘Asaba Declaration’, who got emotional and sentimental in their responses, the backing of the resolutions of the 17 southern governors by Northern minority reps, the support for the ban on open grazing by Arewa Consultative Forum (ACF), and, more importantly, the endorsement of the resolutions by Southern Senators, are clear testimonies of the desirability of clear and workable solutions to rescuing the country from the precipice, even as many more reactions would still greet the development. Arguably, we are of the view that if implemented, these resolutions will, no doubt, help to douse palpable raging tensions in the country, and reposition her for greater attainments.
THE Hope believes that, going forward, the forum should be expanded to include national assembly members of southern extractions, as part of the possibility of building stronger consensus with political players within and outside the southern hemisphere. This is more important to building the needed understanding and synergy that would be required for appropriate legislations and, similarly, in relation the possibility of constitutional amendments needed to action the resolutions.
THE Hope further reminds the Southern Governors’ Forum that, politically speaking, the backlash arising from this noble step might be enormous, with the possibility of conscious attempts from detractors to break the resolve of members of the forum, in order to goad them to abandon the details of the communiqué. Collective ownership of the resolutions, which would place the governors as true leaders and representatives of people in their States, would give the Asaba communiqué a life of its own.
THE Hope appeals to people that have sternly rejected these resolutions, either in parts or whole, to endeavour to rise above primordial considerations and buy into every initiative that is meant to foster unity, justice, fairness, and equality, which are some of the ingredients needed to engender peaceful coexistence and nationhood.
WE also call on President Muhammadu Buhari to consider the enormous political goodwill he enjoyed from the people in his quest for the Aso Villa, ensure the quick emplacement of necessary machineries that would help attend to the southern governors’ resolutions, as they are too weighty to be ignored. The platitude is ever potently true, that ‘a stitch in time saves nine’!