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The governments of Delta and Edo States have been urged to set up Mid-West Security Network (MSN) to facilitate proactive intervention against the influx and activities of bandits, criminals and terrorists in the two states.
TheNewsGuru.com (TNG) reports this was part of recommendations made by Mid-West Professors Forum (MPF) at a one-day virtual conference held on Saturday, 27th February, 2021.
In view of the security threats and breakdown caused by the criminal activities of criminal elements posing as cattle herders, the Forum advocated for a conference of stakeholders under the auspices of the governments of the two states with a view to setting up machinery to identify and take inventory of all cattle business owners operating within the Mid-West Area.
According to MPF, Nigeria’s economic woes and security challenges are clearly traceable to poor governance.
“Poor governance is in turn blamed on mediocre leadership, weak institutions, all of which are ultimately connected to a flawed Constitution and the dysfunctional federal/governance structure of the Nigerian State,” the forum stated.
A communiqué, issued at the end of the conference, which was signed by Professor Hope Eghagha, Professor Edoba Omoregie, the moderators of the conference, observed that the myriad of challenges currently confronting the country including the unfortunate politicization of ethnic pluralism, the unequal yoking of the North and the South, a fractured federalism, and a Constitution which appears to lack popular legitimacy, Nigeria has found itself at crossroads with the future of the diverse nationalities in the country including those in the Midwest Area at stake.
Read communiqué below:
Communiqué issued at the end of the Virtual Conference of Midwest Professors’ Forum (MPF) held on Saturday, 27th February, 2021
PREAMBLE
The Mid-West Professors Forum (MPF) (hereafter “the Forum”), is an umbrella body comprising professors of Edo State and Delta State extraction within the country and in the diaspora. The Forum held a one-day virtual conference on the 27th February 2021 to deliberate on key issues currently confronting the Nigerian State and their implications for the Mid-West Area. 35 professors based in Nigeria and in other parts of the globe including the UK, the US and Canada, were in attendance.
OVERVIEW
The conference was attended by a distinguished speaker and two discussants as well as members of the Forum and invited guests, with the duo of Professor Hope Eghagha and Professor Edoba Omoregie moderating the event. Prof. Abednego Ekoko, a former Sole Administrator of Delta State University was the Speaker who presented the lead paper entitled The Immediate Challenges of Nationhood and the Future of the Mid-West Area in the Ensuing Crisis. Distinguished Professor Jim I. Unah, of the University of Lagos and Professor Ighodalo Clement Eromosole of the Federal University of Agriculture, Abeokuta were the two discussants. After the presentations, the discussion continued with contributions from other members of the Forum and invited guests, on the diverse issues raised by Lead Speaker and the two Discussants.
OBSERVATIONS
In the course of deliberations, the following observations were made:
Given the myriad of challenges currently confronting the country including the unfortunate politicization of ethnic pluralism, the unequal yoking of the North and the South, a fractured federalism, and a Constitution which appears to lack popular legitimacy, Nigeria has found itself at crossroads with the future of the diverse nationalities in the country including those in the Midwest Area at stake.
The immediate and urgent challenges facing Nigeria especially the Mid-West Area are primarily the heightened insecurity occasioned by emerging ethnic hegemony with accompanying widespread banditry, the Boko Haram insurgency and rampaging herdsmen, all of which constitute a threat to the survival of Nigeria as a sovereign state.
Nigeria’s economic woes and security challenges are clearly traceable to poor governance. Poor governance is in turn blamed on mediocre leadership, weak institutions, all of which are ultimately connected to a flawed Constitution and the dysfunctional federal/governance structure of the Nigerian State.
The popular saying “oil boom has become oil doom” appears to be particularly true in relation to the Mid-West Area and the entire South-South geopolitical zone, with all the attendant negative socio-economic, political and environmental consequences.
The Mid-West Area, as clearly defined in and created by the 1963 Constitution, is not intent on territorial expansion but fervently desires to pursue self-determination on its own and to relate to other nationalities as equals. It is also content to coexist as an autonomous collection of diverse minority identities based on the principles of federalism and peaceful co-existence.
The bond between the two states of Edo and Delta does not appear to exist as was the case in the old Mid-West Region/Bendel State. Instead, the negative propensity of statism seems to have overshadowed the historical affinity and closeness between the two states. This is manifest in the near zero-co-operation between them in any field of human endeavor. It is no wonder that the boundary dispute between them has remained unresolved.
RECOMMENDATIONS
The governments of Edo and Delta States should be encouraged to resolve the boundary disputes between both states which have remained unresolved since 1991 when the two states were created out of the old Midwest Region/Bendel State. This resolution has become even more urgent and imperative given the existential threats being faced by the two inseparable states in the Nigerian Federation. An amicable resolution of the dispute will strengthen the age-long fraternal bonds that have existed between the various linguistic communities of the two states.
In the short term, cooperation between both states should begin at the highest level of government on security matters. The Forum advocates for the establishment of a Mid-West Security Network (MSN) to be funded by their two state governments and stakeholders. The proposed MSN shall be involved in gathering and exchange of vital security information and intelligence to facilitate proactive intervention against the influx and activities of bandits, criminals and terrorists in the two states.
In view of the security threats and breakdown caused by the criminal activities of criminal elements posing as cattle herders, the Forum advocates for a conference of stakeholders under the auspices of the governments of the two states with a view to setting up machinery to identify and take inventory of all cattle business owners operating within the Mid-West Area. Where it becomes unavoidable, the governments of the two states should activate all lawful steps to limit open grazing of cattle in their various domains in addition encouraging residents of the two states to boycott the eating of cow meat as a strategy to force full compliance with the ban on open grazing.
The Governors of the Mid-West Area should urgently commence collaborations in other areas such as sports development, forest and water resources control under a joint, well-articulated Developmental Agenda For Midwest Area to be designed by experts and stakeholders gathered together by the government of the two states and other organized bodies from the two states. In this regard, the Forum advocates for a standing body of technocrats which should function as the think tank and clearing house on matters relating to the developmental agenda.
The governments of the two states of should as a matter of urgency take steps to promote massive investment in food production to mitigate the impending food shortage due to the displacement of farmers by herders nationwide. They should also jointly and severally encourage investments in the development of Timber clusters, Rubber clusters, Oil Palm clusters and Cocoa clusters which would in turn guarantee robust raw material base for agro-allied enterprises in the two state with positive impact on employment opportunities for our teeming army of the unemployed, particularly among the youth population in the states.
The government of Edo and Delta States as well as stakeholders in the states should jointly and collectively articulate a robust way forward to protect the people of the two states from the negative consequences of threat to the continuance of the Republic and its possible but avoidable disintegration.
Given the lack of critical voices from Edo and Delta Area on matters of national concern and even on matters concerning both states, except for the gallant efforts of Chief Edwin Clerk and the late Anthony Enahoro in the past, there is need for a strong advocacy group to emerge from diverse platforms within the area to address contemporary issues confronting the country and to act as umbrella advocate/promoter of Mid-West interests.
There is an urgent need for deliberate efforts to be mounted to promote civic knowledge amongst the grassroots and traditional institutions in the Midwest Area particularly on matters of collective interests, including matters relating to the danger posed by the influx of potentially dangerous elements into the two states.
All the 12 main ethnic nationalities comprising the Midwest Area should forthwith halt further occupation of their forest areas and reserves by anyone or group without the collective official approval/authorization by the governments of the two states, their traditional institutions and other stakeholders.
The Midwest Area should vehemently resist the Water Bill currently being considered at the National Assembly as the Bill is an unwholesome attempt to capture the water resources as well as the flora and fauna of the two states, and others states affected by the Bill.