Ayodele Olalere
Lagos State governor, Babajide Sanwo-Olu, has canvassed for independence of states from federal government to run their affairs for the economic growth of the country.
Sanwo-Olu spoke at the 3rd Annual Lecture of Freedom Online held at Sheraton Hotel, Ikeja, with the theme “Nigeria: Foundation, Fundamentals, Future.”
In his speech, governor Sanwo-Olu, who was represented by his deputy, Dr. Obafemi Kadiri Hamzat, said for Nigeria to move forward, it must learn from the past so as to shape the future. He lamented over reliance on federal allocation by state governments, adding for the country to move forward, each state should be allowed to develop using its natural resources.
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He advocated for the reduction of the power of the federal government on states, lamenting such power deprive states of development.
“As a nation, we must acknowledge the role of yesterday to shape up today. The constitution is not the problem but the operation of it. The federal government takes the largest of the nation’s income. The federal government must give more power to the state. There is no reason states can not operate independently, cannot generate electricity and distribute licenses,” he said.
He added: “The challenges we are facing are not peculiar to us. With efforts, any nation can do well. The way forward is to devise a way for us to move forward. To achieve reform, a lot of our laws must change. Its important we change our attitudes. We have what it takes to do what is right. We need to set ambitious goals, rediscover our past, and stop using ethnicity and religion to divide ourselves. The challenges is not that we can not do it right but failure to set target,” he said.
