Browsing: Olusegun Obasanjo

The monarchs in their submission before the Senate Ad  hoc Committee on Constitution Review said that for peace and security to reign in the country, particularly at the grassroots level,  the traditional rulers must be given  constitutional role in governance as was the practice in the past from pre – colonial era , during colonial period and even post colonial era up to 1976.

Today, February 22, as he marks his 65th birthday, it’s apposite to peek into the life odyssey of the man who easily typifies the true Nigerian spirit of courage and productivity even in the face of crippling headwinds. Needless to say that no comet heralded his birth but his life has been a herald of hope for humanity and the nation. And if every victory has a scar, as it’s often said, then Leo Stan Ekeh bears many scars, seen and unseen.

The central government has hinted to fund the budget from other means apart from oil which is the country’s economic mainstay. There is even a discussion by the government to commence the sale of assets in ten state owned corporations, a move that will generate about $800milion dollars. There is the urgent need for us to cut our coat to our sizes. If you cut your coat according to your situation, you limit what you do to the account of your resources. Action should suit circumstances or resources. Is there any need for us to sustain the bicameral system of legislature we are operating now?

In the broadcast, he declared: “How did we work to get out of this debt quagmire? We did it by resolving and working hard to break with the past; by identifying new voices and new leaders; and by rejecting business as usual and voting for new values of accountability, transparency, fair competition, social justice, and the upliftment of the living standards of Nigerians. We revamped our institutions and put in place an economic agenda that reduced the role of the state in the economy while strengthening the place and role private investors. We mounted a vigorous global campaign to make a good case for debt relief.”