ASUU seeks 15-year Emergency Development Plan for Niger Delta

Dr. Dipo Fashina, a Trustee of the Academic Staff Union of Universities, says the union has advocated for an Emergency Development Plan for Nigeria Delta to run for 10 years to 15 years.
Dipo said this on Wednesday in Calabar, Cross River State at a two-day seminar organised by the Institute of Public Policy and Administration, University of Calabar and the African Research Council for Sustainable Development.
Dipo delivered the keynote address on the topic: “Re-visiting the Structural Foundation of Nigerian Federalism.”
He said the plan would serve as veritable option for solving the structural imbalance in Nigeria’s federal system.
“We have recommended this option among others, as part of efforts to solving the structural defects in Nigeria’s federal structure,” he said.
Dipo, who was a former President of ASUU, was emphatic that calls for national dialogue would not yield any meaningful result unless it is driven by “real people”.
According to him, what Nigeria requires is not true federalism as canvassed by some groups but “just federalism”.
He said: “I don’t think we should look for true federalism but a just federalism.
“By that, we talk about a just and equitable distribution of our national wealth; a fair and just society where everybody has a stake.’’
In his speech, Senator John Owan-Enoh, Chairman of Senate Committee on Finance, believes that there was something wrong with the Nigerian system.
Owan-Enoh said: “If after 56 years of Independence, we are still having issues of militancy in the Niger Delta, issues of corruption, agitations for resource control among others, then it goes to show that our federalism is imperfect.
“All these are indications that all is not well with our federalism.”
According to the senator, Nigeria was doing better before and immediately after independence under the various regions.
Owan-Enoh added: “The West controlled the Cocoa in their domain; the North controlled Groundnut pyramid; and Palm Oil in the East, all these made the regional economies very strong, and there was a healthy competition.”
Dr. Diji Chukwuemeka, the Chairman of African Research Council for Sustainable Development, University of Ibadan, said Nigeria has the potentials to excel.
Chukwuemeka said that the future of the country lies with the youths, who must work hard to take over as leaders of tomorrow.