By Ayodele Oni
President, African Development Bank, Prof Akinwumi Adesina has observed that Nigeria’s states are poor in the midst of plenty’.
Prof Adesina made the remark in Akure, Ondo state capital on Tuesday while delivering a lecture, as part of activities to mark the second term inauguration of Governor Rotimi Akeredolu.
Governor Akeredolu and his Deputy, Mr Aiyedatiwa are expected to be sworn-in Wednesday, Feb. 24, for the Governor’s second term in office.
The title of Prof Adesina’s lecture is:
‘Towards a New Nigeria: From Federal Fatherism To a Commonwealth.’
The former Nigerian Minister for Agriculture observed that “with stupendous resources, all concentrated at the centre, states are ever dependent on the centre. With the magnetic field of federal revenue allocations, states are constantly pulled, powerlessly into perennial dependency.
“Nigeria’s federalism does not grow its constituent entities. It simply makes them perpetually dependent. The Nigerian system is therefore not federalism…. but ‘FATHERISM’
“The resources found in each state or state groupings should belong to them. The constituent entities should pay Federal taxes or royalties for the resources. The stronger the states, or regions, the stronger the federated units.
The AfDB President, with reference to Ondo state, pointed out that “the total value of bitumen reserves in Nigeria could be worth up to $1.5Tmillion.
“With an estimated 16 billion barrels in Ondo State, the potential state wealth from bitumen alone could be worth $657B. The paradox however is that Nigeria spends over N300B importing Bitumen’
“Given its vast resources in bitumen, Ondo State should have the best roads in Nigeria. But it’s roads are barely tarred with Bitumen. That is the irony of Nigeria; it imports what it has in abundance and leaves it’s own resources untapped’
“Ondo state’s wealth is not seen. It’s locked under the ground. The state ranks number 13 of the Top 20 states in Nigeria in terms of it’s GDP, estimated at $8.4Billion. That’s the irony of Nigeria’s States: They are poor in the mist of plenty.”
