29th March, 2012
As he turns 60 years today, former Governor of Lagos State, Asiwaju Bola Tinubu says he has no regret whatsoever for his political decisions in life, saying the decisions have helped to shape things.
Tinubu spoke at the Colloquium held at the Eko Hotel in Victoria Island, Lagos, Southwest Nigeria, to mark his 60th birthday.
The governor had reacted to Governor Babatunde Fashola’s statement that he should treat his acquaintances with justice, saying that had it been he was not partial, Fashola would not have emerged governor of Lagos State.
“If there is no partiality, you (Fashola) cannot be governor. I exercise quick judgment. Whichever way it goes, I say ‘sorry’. With my decision on you, Fayemi, Aregbesola, Ajimobi, I have no regrets. What can I change at 60? I will continue with that behavior,” he said.
The former governor also said his eight years tenure in office as governor of Lagos was tough, as he tried to blend technocrats with politicians.
“Those days were trying period. Any captain can steer the ship in a voyage, but it takes exceptional leadership and cooperative team to chart a new course. With procrastination, there will be no result. Without team effort and team spirit, there will be no success. I learned team spirit from the private sector.
“I used the best brains and used the best tools to search for them. It was not politically easy to assemble the team. Many of them did not have party cards, except Leke Pitan and Rauf Aregbesola,” he stated.
Former Secretary-General of the Commonwealth of Nations, Chief Emeka Anyaoku, at the event called for the convocation of a national conference to solve the problems of the nation but said the word ‘sovereign’ should be removed from it as the nation was already a sovereign state.
Anyaoku, who was the chairman of the occasion called for the abolition of the 36 states structure and formation of six federating units which he said, made the country spent her 74 percent on expenditure.
“We need six federating units rather than 36 states. If the states must remain, they will become development zones within the six proposed federating units,” he said, while identifying national insecurity, with the growing armed attacks by Boko Haram, raging debates on revenue allocation formula and declining standard in education as key challenges to the nation’s unity.
He said if the nation must overcome her challenges, “we indeed need a national conference of chosen representatives from the six geo-political zones to dialogue on how to address our challenges.
“We must restructure how we conduct our national affairs if the architecture of government must promote peace and stability in Nigeria. We cannot achieve this without far-reaching changes to the 1999 Constitution.
“If we are to arrest the present destructive competition and if we must repair the collapse in our society, we should get the national government to reach a consensus to devolve key responsibilities such as internal security, police, education, health and economic development.”
Governor of Osun State, Ogbeni Rauf Aregebesola called for total reclamation of the entire Yoruba region from the shackles of underdevelopment, saying there was the need for the Action Congress of Nigeria, ACN, to re-strategise to achieve this aim.
He called for concerted efforts to address issues unemployment and moribund education and transportation system.
“We need to ensure that our youths have jobs and that they do not roam about the streets. If we provide enough jobs for the youths, Boko Haram will be greatly tackled and duly addressed,” he said.
The governor also called on the Economic Community of West African States, ECOWAS, and other African countries to unseat the military junta in Mali, saying it was an embarrassment to the democratic ideal in West Africa.
The event was attended by who is who in the nation’s political arena such as former Chief Justice of Nigeria Mohammed Uwais, former governors Lucky Igbinedion (Edo), Diepreye Alamieyeseigha (Bayelsa), Ibrahim Shekarau (Kano), Aremo Segun Osoba (Ogun), Chief Bisi Akande (Osun) and Abubakar Audu (Kogi)
There were incumbent governors, such as Ibikunle Amosun (Ogun), Aregbesola (Osun), Fashola (Lagos), Aliyu Babangida (Niger) and Kayode Fayemi (Ekiti).
Speaker of the House of Representatives, Aminu Tambuwal was at the event. Prince Bola Ajibola, Alhaji Abubakar Ahmadu, Senators Ganiyu Solomon, Gbenga Ashafa, Segun Obadara, Sani Abu, Femi Lanlehin, Ajayi Boroffice, Abba Buka Ibrahim and Ayo Adesegun also graced the occasion.
Former Chairman, Economic and Financial Crimes Commission, Nuhu Ribadu was present, along with Abike Dabiri-Erewa, Alhaji Yakubu Balogun, Justice Christopher Segun (retd), Alhaji Lateef Jakande, Chief Molade Okoya-Thomas, Alhaji Tajudeen Olusi, Ayo Opadokun, Osun State Deputy Governor, Grace Laoye-Tomori, Alhaji Yusuf Ali, Mrs. Oprah Benson, Mr. Opeyemi Bamidele, Mr. Moruf. Akinderu-Fatai, Apena Kaoli Olusanya, among many others.
—Kazeem Ugbodaga