By Sunday Ani
The Southern Solidarity Alliance (SSA) has decried the state of affairs in southern Nigeria, calling for the immediate implementation of the 2014 National Conference Report to address the region’s and Nigeria’s challenges.
The group also urged the abolishment of the quota system and federal character principle, arguing that they have hindered development in the South and Nigeria. Instead, the SSA recommends a merit-based system, emphasizing that merit and competitiveness are crucial for development.
These demands were made at a press conference in Lagos by SSA National Coordinator, Ndubuisi Okafor.
The group condemned the poor condition of federal roads in the region, urging the Federal Government to declare a state of emergency. Some of the roads listed include the Ipele-Isua, Benin-Auchi, Nsukka-Enugu, Sagamu-Ore, Ore-Benin, Benin-Asaba, Onitsha-Owerri-Aba, Onitsha-Enugu, Enugu-Port Harcourt, Umuahia-Akwa Ibom, Uyo-Calabar, Enugu-Nnokpanta, 9th Mile-Opi-Obollo Afor-Makurdi, Amich-Ezinifite-Amaruru-Ihitenasa-Orlu, Ibadan-Ifo-Ilesa Bypass, Ife-Ondo-Ore, and Ughelli-Patani-Port Harcourt roads.
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The SSA also condemned the rising insecurity in Nigeria, urging the government to adopt technology-driven solutions such as population data analysis, fingerprint technology, CCTV deployment, and multilevel policing.
Additionally, the group demanded the release of Indigenous People of Biafra (IPOB) leader, Nnamdi Kanu, asserting that this would ensure peace in the South East.
The SSA criticized the country’s structural imbalance, advocating for resource control, a redress of the North-South imbalance, and true federalism. They argued that the current system, where the Federal Government controls and distributes resources, disadvantages the South. They believe that states should generate their resources, remitting a percentage to the central government for common services.
“Local governments cannot access federal allocations in a true federal state, and actually, there should really be nothing to share; everyone should be productive,” the group stated. “Nigeria is gifted resources wise. Every federating unit should develop and tap its own resources while paying to the centre.”
The SSA condemned the marginalization of the South in resource ownership and control, citing the example of petroleum and port resources being controlled by non-southerners. They also criticized the national census, alleging manipulation against the South.
“It is only in Nigeria that the coastal areas have become less populated than the hinterlands of the same country. This apparent manipulation has undermined the South,” the group protested.
The SSA warned that the current situation is untenable and called for change. “The establishment elite of this country should realise that they have held the South and Nigeria to the ground for too long,” they said. “The enveloping Hobbesian world must be avoided so that there could be prosperity and comprehensive development in the South and Nigeria as a whole. We are impatient with the underdevelopment and wish to be at par with the rest of the world.”