Why PIA won’t work lHuge tasks before Tinubu
Elder Statesman and former Governor of Akwa Ibom State, Obong Victor Attah, is a strong advocate for true federalism and devolution of power in Nigeria.
The octogenarian, who stridently championed the concept of Resource Control as a means of making states and communities benefit from the natural resources in their domains, in this interview, maintains among others that Nigeria would have made more progress if the country had adopted fiscal federalism at the return of democratic rule 24 years ago.
The renowned Architect and planner, whose landmark projects dot the landscape of many Nigerian cities, insists that it is not too late for Nigeria to amend the constitution to guarantee true federalism, and return the country to the pathway for steady socio-economic development and growth.
Do you think Nigeria has made the expected progress as a nation 24 years after the return of democratic rule in the country?
I would like to say that I don’t know how to measure progress. I find it difficult to say whether or not we have made progress because we don’t have a yardstick or criteria and you’re talking about 24 years ago.
However, if I were to talk about progress, I would have to go a lot further back than that. And I will do so by telling you a few stories.
One, when I went to Nigerian College of Arts, Science and Technology, Zaria in 1957, a tertiary institution, which later became the Ahmadu Bello University, I was 19 years old. We had stewards, who did laundry for us, and cleaned our rooms. They gave us toilet rolls, provided us with water, electricity and other essentials and they also cooked for us. That was the kind of student life we had. I don’t think we have anything like that now.