Anyaoku advocates return to regionalism for Nigeria

Anyaoku advocates return to regionalism
by Agency Reporter

Emeka Anyaoku, GCVO, CON was the third Commonwealth Secretary-General. 

Born: January 18, 1933

Former Secretary-General of the Commonwealth, Chief Emeka Anyaoku, has advocated a return to regionalism “for Nigeria to effectively face her development challenges”. According to the News Agency of Nigeria, Anyaoku made the call in Awka, AnambraState on Thursday at a lecture on good governance organised in his honour by a non-governmental organisation, Youth Affairs International Foundation.

The theme of the lecture was ‘The Role of Youth in Governance’.
He said, “There are big challenges confronting the governments; state and federal, the challenges of youth unemployment, how to deal with the massive corruption and the growing challenge of insecurity. “Insecurity that began with kidnapping in the Niger Delta is an identifiable grievance that the area which produces the nation’s resources was underdeveloped.” Anyaoku stressed that the security challenges had manifested in the Boko Haram menace which was “making life nearly impossible for those in the northern parts”.

The elder stateman added, “That is a challenge that the government need to tackle much more effectively. “For the country to effectively face the challenge, we do need to return the structure of our governance to a regional system. “I recall that there was healthy competition during the era of regional system. “Now we have a system that not only involves the country in spending too much in the cost of governance, but also fuels destructive competitions among the diverse ethnic groups for the control of power at the centre.

“I don’t think our country can achieve the desired goals on the existing structure. “Our country Nigeria, by all economic indices was at par with South Korea and Malaysia, but today these countries are one or two generations ahead of us. “I hope that you, the youth of today, will remedy the situation in not too long a time to come.”