Case for the creation of states on linguistic bases

Chapter Four of Chief Obafemi Awolowo’s press release of 18th August, 1975.

CONTINUED FROM LAST WEEK

WHEN all these have been said, however, the STARK REALITY remains that on this issue of new States, many Nigerians just cannot be bothered about scientific principles. ‘Politics’ they contend, and quite rightly, ‘is the art of the possible’. So that whilst political ideals must remain the goal of action for those who believe in them, the reality of every situation and epoch must, in practical terms, be given due recognition when absolutely necessary.

The naked truth about the position in Nigeria now is that, because of a number of factors mainly subjective and emotional, partly environmental and historical, and to not a little extent personal, many leaders in Nigeria are implacably bent on having the territories of their birth carved out as separate states.

From purely pragmatic and realistic points of view, therefore, and because I believe that disillusionment awaits the protagonists in the not distant future, I THINK THAT EVERY GROUP WHICH ASKS FOR A STATE SHOULD BE GIVEN. SO FAR AS CAN BE JUDGED FROM THE MEMORANDA WHICH HAVE REACHED MY HANDS, MANY OF WHICH HAVE BEEN PUBLISHED, NO ONE HAS UNREASONABLY ASKED.

To give to some, and deny to others, on grounds which are not dictated by objective and generally accepted principles; to approve the creation of Kanuri State and deny that of Kwararafa; to approve Yoruba Eastern, and deny Wawa; to approve Bauchi State and deny Calabar-Ogoja-Ikom State; to do any of these and, withal, to refuse to merge the Ijaws of the Midwest with those of the Rivers as well as leave the Gwaris and Kamberis scattered in four states and two states respectively, would be to give gratuitous and unmerited joy to some, and cause avoidable grief to others who are equally deserving. In any case, it must be borne ill mind that the creation of new states now, will only serve as an invitation and encouragement to others to demand their own separate states in the very near future.

In closing my observations on this topic, I would like to make two brief points.

Firstly, I would like to invite the close attention of the lrikefe Committee and the Supreme Military Council to the memorandum of the Itsekiri community, published in the Daily Times, asking for ltsekiriland to be made an Autonomous Province within the Midwest State. Short of a full-fledged state for every minority group, and short of grouping such minorities together into separate states of their own, the ltsekiri formula is, in my view, the answer to the fears of linguistic minorities throughout the country. All those concerned should carefully study this formula as well as the Constitutions of the USSR and Yugoslavia with special reference to the provisions for minorities.

Secondly, the present Federal Military Government should not allow itself to be bogged down by any controversy or problems arising from the immediate creation of states, to the extent that such controversy or problems would be used as a pretext for delaying the return to civilian rule. To do this would not be in the national interest, and would surely and totally destroy the raison d’etre of the last coup as our people see it.
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The new federal capital in Abuja and the old city of Lagos

From Chief Obafemi Awolowo’s press release of 18th August, 1975.

THE deficiencies of Lagos as Federal Capital have been stated and commented upon in the newspapers almost ad nauseam, and I do not want to repeat or contradict them. But there are some salient points to which I wish to direct my observations, partly as a contribution to the general debate on the subject; and partly for the consideration of the Aguda Committee and the Supreme Military Council.

Firstly, it must be borne in mind that the type of modern Capital we have been talking about takes a long time to plan and construct.

There must be detailed survey of the area chosen; layout, designs and models must be prepared for exhaustive discussions at technical and political levels. After all the spade work has been done, tender documents must be prepared for the various segments ofthe capital, and invitation to tender must be extended to contractors all over the world. I reckon that the planning of the new capital up to the awards of contracts would take between FIVE to SEVEN years, unless of course we want to make a hash of what is conceived as a lofty project. The actual construction would take another F[VE to SEVEN years.

In any case, whatever we do about this question of new capital, we must not encourage the military to embark on any aspect of its planning. We should seek to limit their participation in this matter to a quick decision on the Aguda Committee’s Report. The actual implementation of that report should be left to a future civilian administration.

Secondly. whilst the planning as well as the construction of a new capital is in progress, it will be our duty to make Lagos more habitable and presentable. In ten or more years from now. and taking into account the rate at which Lagos roads are being improved and at which modern buildings and industries are springing up all over the place, we might find ourselves completely frustrated at the end of the journey. We would have the new capital of our dreams: ultramodern, superlatively prestigious, and all the rest of it; but the old capital would have been transformed and would be pulsating with more liveliness, gaiety and business-as-usual than the new.

Someone has referred to the prevalence of immorality in Lagos as one of the factors which disqualify it from continuing as the country’s capital. He did not elaborate. But I have no doubt that what he had in mind was the existence of night clubs, gaming and pools houses, brothels, and the comparative super-abundance of prostitutes and women of easy virtue in Lagos.

lf one may be brutally frank without being offensive, the truth is that, from the beginning of time, it is these things which, abhorrent as they have always been to the Saints, make life worth living for the vast majority of human beings. They constitute a socio-gravitational pull even to those who live outside the borders of where they abound.

CONTINUES NEXT WEEK