FRANK UKONGA LECTURE
10: THE MARGINALIZATION OF THE MIDWEST REGION IN THE NIGERIAN DEMOCRACIES.AN APPEAL TO THE CONSTITUTIONAL REVIEW COMMITTEE TO CREATE 2 MORE STATES FOR THE
MID WEST REGION AND MORE LOCAL GOVERNMENT AREAS.
THE NIGERIAN STATE: The Nigerian Federation is the largest
Democracy in Sub Saharan Africa and the African continent with a population of
above 250 million peoples emerging as the most populous nation of the Black
Race of the world and the third largest Democracy. It is a great country of
more than 230 tribe Nations and well endowed in both human and Natural
resources. Nigeria was colonized by Britain after the amalgamation of the
Northern and Southern trading protectorates of the British by H.E. Lord Luggard
about 100 years ago and later Nigeria got its independence in 1960 and four
Regions emerged from that era as in Northern Region, Western Region, Eastern
Region and the Mid West Region. But ever since the creation of the Mid West
Region in Nigeria there has been a systematic marginalization of the Region in
the schemes of things of the Nigeria Federation. The only time our sons and
daughters are remembered is when they are needed to be seen in the schemes of
things but never to be heard and kept inactive capacity as yes men, rubber
stamp men and used as instruments in most cases by other tribes of the
colligating federalism.
THE INDEPENDENCE STRUGGLE: The Motion for the independence of
Nigeria was moved by the Mid West Region by our great Representative MP Chief
Anthony Enahoro and the British respected the great sage and erudite
intelligentsia of the Mid West Region and agreed with Chief Antony Enahoro to
give Nigeria Independence. And my uncle chief E.S. Ukonga who was a Minister in
the then federal Government as well as my Father Chief Gabriel Ukonga who was
the former Controller General of Accounts of the Nigeria Army and my grand
father Chief Okomayin Ukonga, who was the of the Okomayin of Igarra Kingdom, and
my great grand father HRH Otaru Ogbodo
Idanage Ukonga, who was the paramount Ruler of the Igarra Kingdom of the Mid West
region were supportive to Chief Antony Enahoro , Chief Obafemi Awolowo and the
Western Region; and they all fought assiduously to liberate Nigeria from the
colonial British Rule. If not for Chief Enahoro’s motion of independence,
Nigeria may still be under the British colonial Rule till today. Also involved
in the great struggles for the independence of Nigeria, in the Mid West Region
were Chief Alfred Rewanie, Chief Okohtie Eboh, HRH Oba Akenzua of Benin
Kingdom, Chief Mariere, the Okumagas, HRH Olu of Warri, HRH Otaru of Auchi, etc
all fought assiduously for the independence of Nigeria as well as for the
creation of the Mid west Region. Our great leaders of the Mid West Region
joined hands with the leaders of other Regions like Chief Obafemi Awolowo, Dr
NNamdi Azikiwe, Alhaji Sir Ahmadu Bello, Sir Ibrahim Kasheem, Alhaji Abubakar
Tafawa Balewa, and others to liberate Nigeria from slavery, colonization and
white imperialism. And we in the Mid West played our role very well as we were
ahead of other Regions in Education, technology, civilization in the Mid West
as we were the first to have contact with the White Race. It is the other
Regions that were foot dragging when the clarion call for independence was on
that is now milking the entire Nigeria leaving the Mid West Region that spare headed the Nigerian independence
to languish in poverty, backwardness, death, grief and shame.
THE ROLE OF UKONGA ROYAL FAMILY IN THE INDEPENDENCE STRUGGLES OF
NIGERIA: I, Prince Frank Onaivi Ukonga, Governorship Candidate of Edo state
in 2012 polls, was brought up by my grand father HRH Okomayin Ukonga who was a
traditional Head of the Eshinogu Ruling dynasty of Igarra kingdom and a very
rich cocoa farmer and cocoa merchant and he told me all the events of that era,
how he donated generously to all political parties particularly Action Group,
How Akoko Edo Lga, then Kukuruku Province gave Western Region the sum of
200,000 pound sterling( which is a very big sum of money today) in the struggle
for the independence of Nigeria and subsequently Mid West Region. But when you
go to Igarra town today you will shed tears for all Igarra people. The entire
place is in ruins, underdeveloped, with neither roads, nor water and the
electricity is epileptic, no factories, no university nor polytechnic nor any
State or Federal presence. It is really a sad case for Igarra and its great peoples.
The poverty is so acute now on us that even it becomes a temptation to aspire
above the position of councilor as an Igarra indigene/Akoko Edo Indigene. When
I contested for Governorship in 2012, and asked the primaries to be hosted in
Igarra the INEC officers from Abuja and Benin and all the security operative
top brass of the Nigerian Federation, that came to monitor the event, were surprised
that I could call governorship primaries in such a place looking like a big
village. After I explained to then the great past glories of Igarra they now
saw reasons with me and it was the first time such a great event as a
governorship primaries being held in Igarra town and the entire peoples of
Igarra were very appreciative to INEC and the Federal Government. I am the first Igarra son and indigene to ever
contest the governorship election in the entire 500 years history of the Igarra
Kingdom / Akoko Edo local government and second in the entire Edo North history.
You can really see that it is not normal, so I am calling on the Federal
Government of President Goodluck Jonathan to do something for the Igarra
peoples like locating a Federal University in Igarra. I am also calling on
private investors to come and invest in Igarra. We have lime stones and lots of
underground solid minerals. We also have cocoa, cashew nuts, and palm kernel,
iron ore deposits. The Eshinogu Royal Ruling family where I belong is ready to
donate land and take equity participation with any body who want to invest in
Igarra or if you want to build a University in Igarra we shall provide the land
free. Etc.
STATE
CREATION: Nigeria had four Regions but when General Yakubu Gowon was
creating 12 states the Mid West Region was left alone and marginalized and its
name only changed to Bendel state. No state was created out of the Region were as
other regions had a minimum of 3 states. That is why the Mid West region is the
most underdeveloped Region of the Nigerian Federation. The Mid West Region
today should have been shared into at least 4 states but today the region has
only 2 states of Delta and Edo states. It should have been shared into four
states with Igarra as state capital, Uromi as state capital, Asaba as state
capital and Benin as state capital. This was how other Regions have
underdeveloped us. This is a passionate appeal to the constitution review
committee to give Mid West Region more states at least two more states. Give us our due share in the schemes of
things.
LOCAL GOVT CREATION: The same happened during the creation of Local
government Areas where many local Government Areas of Bendel state where never shared,
like the Akoko Edo local Govt has been like that since 100 years ago, and no
development and it’s the largest local government in Nigeria and Africa today
with large population and only one allotment from the federated account. Other
local govts with the status of Akoko Edo has become States: its headquarters
Igarra which remains as a local Govt status for more than 90 years, other towns
which were provincial capitals like Oshogbo, Akure,Gombe, Katsina, etc have
become state capitals. In the local Government set up, out of the 774 local governments
in Nigeria Edo and Delta states has only 38 lga while Kano state alone has over
44 local governments Areas, and this means over 44 allocations from the
federated account. The entire Northern Region has more than 400 lga of the 774
lga while the Western Region has above 120 lga and the Eastern Region of almost
9 states has above 200 lga. So the Mid West Region has been short changed and
underdeveloped in the schemes of things by acts of commissions and omissions by
other stakeholders in the Nigerian Project. Mid West is one of the biggest
stakeholders in the Nigerian Project and my Royal Family of Ukonga is also a
major stakeholder in the politics and governance of the Mid West and Nigeria
for the past 500 years non stop from generation to generation. The constitutional review committee should
give us more local governments. Give us our due share.
FEDERAL ALOCATIONS: This translate to the fact that the Mid West
has been marginalized since independence on what is given to us from the
federal allocation which used to be one allotment when we were Bendel state for
many years where other regions where getting 4 allotments that is from 1967
until when President Babangida decided to split Bendel state in to two in 1986 as in Edo and Delta states., and from then
till now we continue to struggle under only two allotments when other regions
gets above 6 allotments on monthly basis and in the LGA allotments we get less
than 40 allotments as a region while other region gets above 200 allotments ,
then how do you expect development to come out of the Mid West Region.
NO FEDERAL PRESENCE IN THE CONTEXT OF INFRASTRUTURES AND INSTITUTIONS:
Likewise as the regards of having federal presence there are very few federal
institutions headquartered in the Mid West and the context of companies there
is no single Federal Government company
sited in Edo state safe for the oil producing capacities of the Delta state and
Edo states which necessitated oil exploration and extraction institutions and other
few companies there is little federal
presence in the entire Mid West Region. And that is why the Region is poor,
underdeveloped and only surviving with the help of God.
PETROLEUM PRODUCING REGION:
The Mid West Region is a petroleum producing Region as the two states of Edo
and Delta states are oil producing states. Despite our immense contributions to
the wealth of Nigeria which is largely based on petroleum removed from our
soils, the proceeds have not reflected in the development of the region at all.
We travel to Lagos, Abuja and other towns of Nigeria and we see the standard of
infrastructural developments in these areas. We see Federal Presence all over
these places.
ORIGIN OWNERSHIP OF POLITICAL PARTIES: SYTEMIC MARGINALIZATION: Since
independence there has not been a big political party that originated from the
Mid West Region. As soon as political dispensation begins all other larger
Regions forms their own political parties and intrude into the Mid West Region
to recruit members as instruments to be use and dumped after they gain access
to power. In the political dispensation of the pre independent and post
independent era Chief Okotie Eboh of the Mid West camped with NCNC while Chief
Antony Enahoro camped with Action Congress of Chief Obafemi Awolowo. Mid West
Region has become the battle group for political parties from other Regions and
the true political identity of the great Mid West Region has been wiped out of
history of the human race save for the
regions to play a second fiddle or forth fiddle in the schemes of things all
the time. In the times of NPN and Unity Party of Nigeria a similar thing
happened when the Unity party of Nigeria a western originated political party
ruled the state. And in this new dispensation same thing is happening as in the
battle between PDP a mainly Northern Origin party took sway of the state for 9
years and just recently the ACN a western off short of Awolowo’s Action group
took over the state as in the emergence of H.E. Adams Oshiomhole of the Labor
congress.
H.E ADAMS OSHIOMHOLE AND THE LABOUR PARTY: We in the mid West
Region were very optimistic when H.E. comrade Adams Oshiomhole came into the
state with the Labour party and we understood that the political pedigree of
the Labour party may be too fragile to win in general elections and he decided
to go into partnership with a traditional partner the ACN a western originated
party with which he was able to secure a wining. This is a great strategy, but
then the entire peoples of the Mid West are getting tired of playing back seat
role in ownerships of political parties at its origin and either we are running
to Lagos to get orders and assistance or we are running to the North for
assistance or even to the Eastern Region. It is time we grow up and carve out a
unique identity for ourselves as a Region and determine our future by
ourselves.
NATIONAL REFORMATION PARTY: It was only Chief Antony Enahoro who
used to be in union with western originated parties that finally realized the
necessity to form an Mid West originated party as in National Reformation party
which was registered but the great sage could not nurture it to maturity to
achieve the great aim of giving the mid west region a voice, a political
identity before he left to join his ancestors last year.
SOCIAL DEMOCRATIC MEGA PARTY: The Social Democratic Mega Party is a
coalition Party of several political parties in Nigeria and it is our desire to
united with other political parties particularly the National Reformation Party
of Chief Anthony Enahoro and consolidate it as a Mid West Origination Party and
using this platform to raise a new avantgard of seasoned politicians ,
statesmen, professionals and leaders of the Mid west and field them for
subsequent elections in the Mid West and on National Basis as our input into
the colligating Regional arrangements.
CONCLUSION: Whence I am calling on all sons and daughters of the
Mid Western Region to join hands with me in this noble venture to reinvent the
Mid West Region and bring back the glories of our fathers and fore fathers who
paid the supreme price to liberate Nigeria and the Mid West Region.
LONG LIVE FEDERAL REPUBLIC OF
NIGERIA
Prince Frank Ukonga
Governorship Candidate Edo polls 2012
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