What significance lies within a name? A great deal, we assure you. A name imparts a sense of identity and connection, especially when it pertains to a national symbol or landmark, such as an airport or stadium. Such names not only preserve history but also ignite inspiration, serving as touchstones for future generations.

Just like everyone else, we were astonished to learn that the President has, including the Port Harcourt International Airport, which has now been designated as the Obafemi Jeremiah Awolowo International Airport.听

We acknowledge the current state of Nigeria, which has seen a significant increase in tribal influence since the 2023 general elections. However, we assure you that our appeal to the President is not based on tribal or linguistic factors. Allow us to present three reasons why we are urging President Bola Ahmed Tinubu to rename the Port Harcourt International Airport to Ken Saro-Wiwa International Airport: 

To the Niger Delta, Ken Saro-Wiwa signifies selfless hope:

Many decades before the Global North began to throw around the terms 鈥渃limate change鈥� and 鈥渆nvironmental conservation鈥�, Ken mobilised Ogoniland and the peoples of the Niger Delta to speak out against the degradation of their land and livelihood鈥攁t a time when freedom of speech came at a cost and against an oil giant so powerful no one could confront.听

It was a typical David vs. Goliath, but sadly, 鈥淕oliath鈥� and General Abacha ganged up to kill David. Ken鈥檚 defiant hope is something we can all identify with in Rivers State, and it serves as a lesson to the Nigerian State in how it treats minority tribes. It is only be-fitting that his bravery be immortalised this way.

The Niger Delta is in dire need of positive role models:

Unlike the Western region of Nigeria, where Chief Obafemi Awolowo is from, and Northern Nigeria, where many stories account for role models to whom young people can aspire, positive role models are not uplifted as much here in the Niger Delta.听

Years of violence have birthed many negative role models, and we believe the renaming of the Port Harcourt International Airport provides an opportunity to uplift a selfless role model for posterity to look to.听

Ken-Saro Wiwa International Airport will be a reminder:

A reminder to everyone flying into the Niger Delta that more than 40 years later, the environmental degradation of Ogoniland and other oil-producing communities in the Delta has not ended.听

It will be a reminder to the Federal Government to fulfil its promise to clean up the Niger Delta and restore the livelihood of community members who have been rendered poor while Nigeria feeds on the profits of crude oil sales. It will be a reminder to the world and the global community that indigenous people matter.

It is important to note that, we do not in any way, through this petition, seek to belittle the strides and contributions of Chief Obafemi Jeremiah Awolowo to Nigeria and its existence. However, we believe that the Federal Government can identify several landmarks and monuments to immortalise this great man; however, for the sake of Rivers State and the Niger Delta, we believe that Ken Saro-Wiwa will be a better fit. 

Also, as a policy organisation, we want to recommend that the Federal Government develop a Guide or Convention for naming national monuments and landmarks, ensuring that the wishes and thoughts of host communities are considered before final names are announced. 

A national monument/landmark title is sacred and should not be reduced to a handout for friends; careful thought and consultation must go into it., a US State.

If you are a citizen and we鈥檝e been able to convince you, we hope you can spare a few minutes to :

The last time we that has now influenced policy changes in over 30 universities around the world and in the UK to exempt Nigerians and other Anglophone Africans from English language tests. 听 will save the African continent up to 90 million dollars per year.

Let鈥檚 do this again.

In a world where Nigeria鈥檚 lawmakers are hard to reach like Dangote鈥檚 billions, OrderPaper鈥攁 think-tank monitoring Nigerian legislators鈥攊s here to help you unravel a few things about the legislative landscape with the MVP awards.

Do you know who an MVP is? 

MVP typically stands for Most Valuable Player in a collaborative setting and Minimum Viable Product in the world of product development, and our partner has redefined it as the abbreviation for Most Valuable Parliamentarian in Nigeria鈥檚 National Assembly (NASS)鈥揝enate and House of Reps.

As Senators and Honourables, in the bicameral legislature established under Section 4 of the Nigerian Constitution, these legislators are recognised as the V (valuable) class due to their proven performance-driven, excellence-inspired, and public-spirited nature.

Out of the 469 parliamentarians comprising a Senate with 109 members and a 360-member House of Representatives, OrderPaper has shortlisted 25 individuals from the 9th Assembly to contend for the MVP Hall of Fame鈥攐nly a selected few among the 25 would make it. The selection process so far has focused on evaluating the Bills they have sponsored, and the number of Bills passed, especially those signed into Law and their impact.

The sponsored Bills by these MPs encompass various reforms, programmes, and policies in education, healthcare, security, economic development, and environmental sustainability. Each Bill aims to address specific societal issues or concerns and enact laws that foster the well-being and progress of the citizens and Nigeria as a whole.

The 25 MPs who have been shortlisted for the MVP Hall of Fame are:

Senators:

1. Sen. Aishatu Dahiru Ahmed (Adamawa Central Senatorial District): 11 bills sponsored, 2 signed
2. Sen. Ezenwa Francis Onyewuchi (Imo East Senatorial District): 11 bills sponsored, no bills signed yet.
3. Sen. Ibrahim Yahaya Oloriegbe (Kwara Central Senatorial District): 16 bills sponsored, two signed
4. Sen. Ifeanyi Patrick Ubah (Anambra South Senatorial District): 20 bills sponsored, no bills signed yet.
5. Sen. Michael Opeyemi Bamidele (Ekiti Central Senatorial District): 23 bills sponsored, no bills signed yet.
6. Sen. Mohammed Sani Musa (Niger East Senatorial District): 38 bills sponsored, 6 signed
7. Sen. Ovie Augustine Omo-Agege (Delta Central Senatorial District): 25 bills sponsored, 1 signed
8. Sen. Orji Uzor Kalu (Abia North Senatorial District): 25 bills sponsored, no bills signed yet.
9. Sen. Sadiq Suleiman Umar (Kwara North Senatorial District): 25 bills sponsored, 1 signed
10. Sen. Suleiman Abdu Kwari (Kaduna North Senatorial District): 15 bills sponsored, 2 signed
11. Sen. Uba Sani (Kaduna Central Senatorial District): 31 bills sponsored, 2 signed
12. Sen. Yahaya Abubakar Abudullahi (Kebbi North Senatorial District): 7 bills sponsored, 4 signed

Also Read: Who Are the Female Senators in the 10th Senate?

Members of the House of Representatives:

1. Hon. Benjamin Okezie Kalu (Bende Federal Constituency, Abia): 45 bills sponsored, 1 signed
2. Hon. Ben Rollands Igbakpa (Ethiope East/Ethiope West Federal Constituency): 17 bills sponsored, 1 signed
3. Hon. Dachung Musa Bagos (Jos South/Jos East Federal Constituency, Plateau): 33 bills passed, no bills signed yet.
4. Hon. Dan Agundi Munir Babba (Kumbotso Federal Constituency, Kano): 8 bills sponsored, no bills signed yet.
5. Hon. Femi Gbajabiamila (Surulere I Federal Constituency, Lagos): 23 bills sponsored, no bill signed yet.
6. Hon. Fulata Abubakar Hassan (Birniwa/Guri/Kiri Kasama Federal Constituency Jigawa): 15 bills sponsored, no bills signed yet.
7. Hon. Mohammed Tahir Monguno (Monguno/Nganza/Marte Federal Constituency, Borno): 52 bills sponsored, 2 signed
8. Hon. Onoifiok Luke Akpan (Etinan/Nsit Ibom/Nsit Ubium Federal Constituency, Akwa Ibom): 34 bills sponsored, 3 passed
9. Hon. Samuel Ifeanyi Onuigbo (Umuahia North/Umuahia South Federal Constituency, Abia): 4 bills sponsored, 1 signed
10. Hon. Simon Davou Mwadkwon (Barkin Ladi/Riyom Federal Constituency, Plateau State): 23 bills sponsored, no bills signed yet.
11. Hon. Tajudeen Abbas (Zaria Federal Constituency, Kaduna): 74 bills sponsored, 21 signed
12. Hon. Uzoma Nkem Abonta (Ukwa East/Ukwa West Federal Constituency, Abia): 40 bills sponsored, 2 signed
13. Hon. Waive Ejiroghene Francis (Ughelli North/Ughelli South/Udu Federal Constituency, Delta): 38 bills sponsored, no bills signed yet.

Many of these bills will undergo all before they can become Law. As you wonder why there is a much greater number of Bills sponsored than signed, it’s because many of the Bills are at these different stages:

• First Reading: Introduction of the Bill, presenting its general principles and objectives
• Second Reading: Debate and voting on the Bill鈥檚 principles and content
• Committee Stage: Detailed examination of the bill by a committee, and they will propose amendments if necessary.
• Third Reading: Final debate and voting on the Bill, marking its passage in the House of Assembly.

As the 9th Assembly prepares to be dissolved, more than half of the 469 seats in both the Senate and House of Representatives after the February 25 parliamentary poll to join the 10th Assembly. As regards the bills sponsored by those who were not elected, they will not be automatically withdrawn or invalidated鈥攖he fate of those bills lies in the legislative dynamics, the level of support from other lawmakers, and the priorities of the incoming legislative session.

Among other stakeholders with expectations of the 10th Assembly, the Civil Society Legislative Advocacy Centre has applauded OrderPaper, stating that the MVP Hall of Fame will encourage more 鈥渆xemplary leadership鈥� in the country鈥檚 legislative process. 

Reason am, this recognition by OrderPaper will motivate the parliamentarians to keep doing excellent work for the betterment of their constituents and the nation.

The MVPs listed above set a precedent for more leaders to follow suit by sponsoring bills addressing specific societal issues or concerns. Their actions will undeniably inspire other lawmakers to take up the challenge of crafting bills that will foster the well-being and progress of the citizens and Nigeria as a whole.

Read the here to get more insight into the MVP Hall of Fame in Nigeria’s House of Assembly.

In January 2020, a Nigerian policy advocate, , confronted in an after he was asked to prove his English language proficiency before enrolling in a business program.

Wikina鈥檚 refusal to take a language proficiency test forced Nexford to review its . This was the foundation for the #ReformIELTS campaign鈥� a policy advocacy movement that has across Africa to challenge language discrimination in the global education system. 

The campaign, which has featured on more than 500 media platforms globally, led to 20 universities across Canada, the United States, and the United Kingdom, removing the IELTS/TOEFL barrier for applicants from English-speaking countries in Africa. 

While Wikina has been at the forefront of this reform, , a policy reform and advocacy organisation he founded in August 2020, has been the organised fighting front. 

Policy Shapers have engaged the UK government鈥檚 Home Office in a policy debate. For every intellectual gbas from the Home Office, Policy Shapers responded with a greater gbos.

Is it even possible for a young person to be a policy advocate?

But how did these young Nigerians achieve this level of bravery, and how can you do something like that?

Let鈥檚 talk:

Policy Advocacy 101

Policies are the decisions and principles of organisations and establishments that determine how they act or treat people who deal with them. Those Lagos restaurants that refuse people entry because of how they are dressed are acting based on their internal policies.

Policies can be discriminatory鈥攍ike how Lagos restaurant policies are anti-baddies鈥攂ad or need to be amended to meet new needs.

Policies may come from private establishments or the government; like fuel subsidy removal or Emefiele鈥檚 naira redesign policy.

Every time you see a policy you don鈥檛 like and you speak against it; you are doing the work of a policy advocate鈥� like how Wikina to write IELTS at Nexford.

If you take it forward by telling your friends about the policy and they take action with you, leading to the policy being reformed or eliminated, you are doing policy advocacy.

With 62% of Nigeria鈥檚 population under 25 years of age, organisations like Policy Shapers believe in youths as the major stakeholder in Nigeria and should be part of the policy dialogue and decisions that decide their future. 

So, in case you鈥檙e still wondering, yes, you have a role to play in the policy decisions made in Nigeria because you will be affected whether or not you do something. The price of bread or shawarma, the cost of internet data, the price of Netflix and Prime subscriptions, or whether or not delivery companies are successful all depend on policy decisions.

How Policy Shapers influenced policy decisions in 20 universities globally 

Simple answer: Obasanjo鈥檚 internet.

Policy Shapers encouraged many young people like you, to use email and social media, and a to ask abroad universities to stop asking us to prove we can speak English. 

After #EndSARS protests against Police Brutality in 2020, the group felt it was safer to protest and advocate online. They used the People, Data, and Time (PDT) principle. Here鈥檚 what that means according to them:

• People: Every policy advocacy campaign should be about people. The model we piloted through this campaign was not to directly lead every aspect of this advocacy. On the contrary, we empowered and inspired young people in Nigeria and the diaspora . One person who has been very influential in this entire process of engaging schools, and has now inspired many others to follow him, is , a Nigerian post-doctoral research fellow based in Canada. Dr Olumuyiwa single-handedly wrote to almost 100 schools seeking policy changes and we are so glad to have someone so passionate working with us.

• Data: For government officials, the numbers must make sense. This is why in collaboration with over 80 young people in our Advocacy Taskforce to back our argument for the inclusion of Nigeria and Anglo-African countries in the UK鈥檚 Majority English Speaking Country (MESC) list. These data points have helped us drive the message of our campaign and we produced it 

• Time: Change takes time. In our fast-paced AI world, it鈥檚 easy to want change to take place immediately but it doesn鈥檛 always work like that in the policy world. We must remain patient and resolute till the end. Since the incident with Nexford University in January 2020, it has taken more than 50 months of persistence before we arrived here. When you want something,  don鈥檛 stop until you get it, right? 

Policy Shapers is building a community of young policy enthusiasts to co-create policy ideas and advocate for a better Nigeria.

This piece is produced as part of the partnership between Policy Shapers and 91大神 Citizen to deliver policy analysis to young Nigerians. 

This Hear Me Out was written by Aladeselu Margaret Ayomikun.

Of all the things a girl could be in this world, I chose to be a 19-year-old feminist in Nigeria. I was 9 years old the first time I read Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie’s Purple Hibiscus. Even though I could only understand the book the best way a child can, I still remember feeling like I had discovered the eighth wonder of the world.

鈥淏eing defiant can be a good thing sometimes.鈥漈hese words stood out to me. Aunty Ifeoma was just a character in a book, but she gave me permission to embrace my 鈥渄efiance鈥�.

It seemed almost impossible that somebody could give ordinary words so much power. And the more I flipped through the pages, the more I felt as if Chimamanda was writing my mother鈥檚 story. Then, it occurred to me that many women in Nigeria are just like Mama. In that very moment, I knew I had to know more about the author.

I picked up my older sister’s phone and started my little quest for answers. It was during this process I discovered the word feminist, and when I knew what it meant, I knew I had found my identity.

I had found my identity. 

The world will always come up with new ways to objectify and sexualise women. I grew up wearing mini-skirts and thin-strap tops my mother bought for me at bend-down-select. I was called a slut for the first time when I was only 10. And as weird as it might sound, it was my own mother who called me that. According to her, people were starting to talk, my breasts were poking through the thin fabric of my favourite tops. One day, she looked at me with distaste and called me a slut.

As a Gen Z feminist, you must be ready to become the topic of every family meeting. You should also prepare yourself for endless unsolicited opinions. I have come to realise my feminism terrifies a lot of people; it makes them angry. If I didn鈥檛 have such a coconut head, perhaps, I would鈥檝e cared.

I鈥檝e always been vocal about my feminism. I would walk into a room and somehow, start talking about women鈥檚 rights. The world has a long history of despising 鈥渓oud women.鈥� The result of that is I鈥檝e had to sit through painfully long hours of my parents giving me “the talk” about how no man will ever want a wife who won鈥檛 submit. 

Several times, I鈥檝e listened to my brother try to convince me that identifying as a feminist would make people hate me. He suggested I try other terms like “gender rights advocate.” I鈥檝e seen my name become the butt of jokes about Nigerian feminists in my school. People have asked, “Oh, you’re a feminist?” I imagine they pity the person who would marry me. 

And I can鈥檛 forget my religious friends who remind me that feminism is not part of God’s plan. As a matter of fact, I鈥檝e been bullied in church because of my feminism. 

On a 鈥渟pecial Sunday鈥�, youth pastors were walking in circles, selecting random people in the congregation to answer questions. One pastor called me out and asked, 鈥淲hat would you do if your husband wants you to cook, do his laundry, do the dishes and clean the house, every single day?鈥� My answer was simple. 鈥淚 would tell him I鈥檓 his wife, not a slave.鈥�

I was walking back to my seat when a young man requested to speak next. 鈥淲omen like her are the problem of the church鈥�. Even though these words were coming from a complete stranger, they still stung. There is a common idea that feminists are 鈥渟trong鈥� and have a 鈥渢ough skin鈥�, but we鈥檙e only human. 

I was publicly humiliated at school once. I was in the middle of a heated argument about how Nigerian culture needs to be reformed until it acknowledges that daughters deserve the same respect sons get without even trying. There was a look of disgust on the faces of the men I was arguing with because I was suggesting something as 鈥渟acred鈥� as culture needed to be reformed.

Not just that, the only woman who agreed with me expressed her view in low whispers. I was still trying to make people see the sense in what I was saying when I felt somebody yank my wig off my head. The loud echoes of laughter that followed right after broke my heart. I cried horribly for days because that was the smallest I鈥檇 ever felt in my entire life. I didn鈥檛 tell anybody about the new level of anxiety and self-doubt it unlocked inside me. 

Memories like these leave me with questions I haven鈥檛 been able to answer to this very day. What鈥檚 it about my feminism that terrifies people? Why does it make people’s blood boil? Is it because I鈥檓 tired of seeing doors slammed in the faces of deserving women on the sole basis of gender? Is it because I believe women should not be denied their right to safe abortion? Or because I would never fit the 鈥済ood African wife鈥� narrative my mother has spent her entire life trying to fit? 

Society claims to appreciate women, but in reality, they only appreciate women who deliberately dim their light just to allow men shine. As a woman, you鈥檙e expected to aspire to be a good wife and mother, to never prioritise anything over your matrimonial duties.

On some days, you鈥檙e allowed to have an opinion, but it鈥檚 usually better to keep those opinions to yourself. You can speak up about gender-based violence, but when you do, prepare for the 鈥渕aybe you shouldn’t have gone to that place, or worn that dress, or said that to him鈥� speech that would follow right after.

You鈥檙e expected to dress the way women are 鈥渟upposed鈥� to dress 鈥� everything knee-length or baggy, minimal accessories and NO cleavage 鈥� any other type of dressing would be seen as defiance. You should also smile even when you have no reason to. I鈥檝e watched many women shrink themselves to fit that little, demeaning image society has created.

All my life, my mother shrunk herself just to stroke my father’s ego, and it鈥檚 never made much sense to me. Even though we all knew how hard she worked to raise our school fees, she would give the credit to my father because that鈥檚 what good wives do. Just like my siblings and I, my mother had a curfew because 鈥済ood wives shouldn鈥檛 be outside past 8 p.m.鈥� And if God forbid, she ever misses her curfew, he would punish her the way bad wives should be punished, by locking her outside her own home.

It鈥檚 very easy for people to ignorantly assume feminists are angry and unhappy women who hate men, and I鈥檓 tired of this misconception. You could spend your whole life educating people about the true meaning of feminism, and they would still choose to listen to those little patriarchal voices in their heads. I鈥檓 not naive enough to think the world would change overnight because of me, but I鈥檓 never going to stop clamouring for that change.

I was once the kind of feminist who only said the things men like to hear. Things like, 鈥淚鈥檓 a feminist but I still think a man should be the head of the family鈥�. I was at a point where I relied heavily on people鈥檚 validation for every aspect of my life. Even my feminism was tainted by societal stereotypes because I didn鈥檛 want my views to offend anybody. I would tell myself I could be a feminist and still be a 鈥淣igerian woman鈥�, the one who would master the act of compromising to seem nicer to men. A small part of me didn鈥檛 want to contradict everything the Bible says a woman should be.

But last year, I got selected for a women鈥檚 rights fellowship where I met 19 like-minded women. For the first time in my life, I had the opportunity to be in a room full of feminists, and they helped me realise that if I couldn鈥檛 be an unapologetic feminist, there was no point in being a feminist at all. I鈥檓 used to being hated now. As a matter of fact, it doesn鈥檛 bother me anymore because the kind of people who hate me for my feminism is exactly the kind I don’t want to be associated with. 

I have a clear vision of how I want my feminism to impact the world. It starts with calling bullshit on all the misogynist nonsense society likes to preach. And on days when I feel like giving up, I remind myself of the different ways society robbed my mother of her voice and happiness. Like many Nigerian women, she deserved better. She still does.

ALSO READ: 8 Nigerian Women Talk About Why They Became Feminists

By Bob MajiriOghene Etemiku, bird story agency

Nollywood’s premier film industry event, the Zuma Film Festival, or ZUFF resumed after a two-year hiatus to a changed world鈥� one in which online work and video meetings and the streaming of entertainment have become the norm, globally. And one in which Africa has become a single market, under the Africa Continental Free Trade Area, or AfCTFA.

Named for Zuma Rock, an inselberg outside of the capital Abuja, May’s event, themed “Show me the money” (“Show me di pepper”, or “owo”, in pidgin), was refreshingly introspective.

Up for debate was the uncertainty surrounding the Nigerian, and indeed the African, film industry over what renowned actor, entrepreneur, director and producer, Emeka Ike, 55, called 鈥淥ld Nollywood to New Nollywood鈥�.

For an industry whose massive growth can in large part be linked to a revolution in cheap digital video cameras and DVDs in the 1990’s and which thanks to the limitations of streaming in Nigeria, has remained insulated from more recent digital advances, the latest developments in streaming and in the market are both alarming and a huge opportunity.

The 鈥淥ld Nollywood鈥�, was a world of evergreen stars such as Ike, Sola Sobowale, Pete Edochie, Ireti Doyle, Kanayo O. Kanayo, Patience Ozokwo, Nkem Owoh, Joke Silva, Richard Mofe Damijo and Genevieve Nnaji, among others who were household names across Africa in the late 1990s and early 2000s.

According to Ike, who was one of the panelists at this year鈥檚 ZUFF, Nolllywood succeeded because it employed a different but innovative approach to film-making, resulting in mass appeal.

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鈥淥ne thing that makes movie production in Nigeria unique is that while the rest of the world produces movies for theatre before they go to television, Nigeria produces movies for television first rather than for theatre,鈥� he said.

鈥淥ur films are first produced in DVDs, and this increases the number of people interested in buying into the market either as marketers or consumers. Most Nigerians hardly go to film houses to see movies but have only to buy a DVD, slot in their favourite movies, and enjoy our movies in the comfort of their homes. But we will soon lose the market because we are no longer using DVDs to promote our movies. Instead, we want to rely on digital methods because of 鈥榤odernity’.鈥�

He warned that the emerging 鈥淣ew Nollywood鈥� would keep struggling unless it borrowed from the strategic approach of the 鈥淥ld Nollywood鈥� and set itself on a 鈥渞eboot of sorts鈥�, leveraging on the dynamics of technology and market trends not only at home but elsewhere in Africa and globally.

Nollywood makes over 1,000 films a year and employs more than a million people, placing it between India’s Bollywood and Hollywood, according to Canon, the global camera equipment manufacturer.

Nigerian scholar Ugo Ben Ebelebe of UK鈥檚 Griffith University, said Nollywood is already leveraging the latest in digital technology to not only remain relevant but also to raise much-needed funding.

In an article, Reinventing Nollywood: The Impact of Online Funding and Distribution on Nigeria Cinema, he argues these far-reaching transformations are being driven by 鈥淣ew Nollywooders鈥� who are tech-savvy and are leading and embracing innovation, using crowdfunding and content distribution via online platforms.

This virtual space not only breaks down physical and administrative boundaries but also bureaucratic hurdles across the continent, allowing for a wider audience for Nollywood鈥檚 creative content, an example being South Africa鈥檚 DSTV and sister firm, GOtv, streaming Nollywood content for its subscribers across Africa.

According to Victor Okhai, president of the Directors Guild of Nigeria, gatherings such as ZUFF and an upcoming November 2022 film festival are important both for benchmarking and for enhancing collaboration across Africa.

Nollywood has recently seen collaboration with Gollywood (Ghana) and Riverwood (Kenya) and several other would-be African 鈥渨oods鈥�.

EDITOR’S PICK: All the Ingredients of Every Old Nollywood Action Film

Okhai added that Zuff was also a way to leverage AfCTFA, which has opened numerous opportunities for creatives and film production on the continent. Already, Nigeria and South Africa have signed a treaty to enhance collaboration on 鈥渁udio-visual cooperation鈥�.

鈥淥ur filmmakers may no longer get problems with visas to South Africa to work,鈥� Okhai said.

Terrence Khumalo, Manager: Film Certification at South Africa’s National Film and Video Foundation, explained the treaty’s potential.

鈥淲e will be working on a legal framework that puts the treaty into some kind of action. The treaty allows actors in both countries to pull resources together to minimize unanticipated risks. It also allows them access to the markets of their respective countries,鈥� he said.

Nigeria has also signed an agreement with Cameroon on joint film production and is negotiating another deal with Burkina Faso.

To grow its industry, Nigeria’s government is leading a drive to enable Africa鈥檚 creatives, actors, and film producers “tap the continent鈥檚 diverse and rich cultural heritage, unique geographical features, fauna and flora beside the groundswell of creative youth talent.”

Addressing the funding challenge, Nigeria’s Minister of State for Federal Capital Territory, Ramatu Tijani Aliyu, said the government recognises the potential of the Nigerian film industry, which has an estimated contribution of 2.3 per cent to national GDP.

She added that there is room for public-private partnerships with two banks 鈥� Access bank Plc and the Bank of Industry 鈥� offering the NollyAccess loan and the BOI NollyFund, respectively, to help Nollywood grow and become a benchmark for Africa.

You may like this: Dear Nollywood, Come and Explain These Ridiculous Scenes, Please

Other investments came from a collaboration with the African Development Bank (AFDB), which the minister said made a $500m facility available to Nollywood by the end of 2021.

To further support the industry and other African film producers, the Nigerian government is set to introduce specific incentives such as a Pioneer Status Incentives (PSI), a tax holiday to cover the production of digital movies, animation, videos, television programmes, commercials (including online distribution and exhibition), music production, publishing, and online digital music distribution, production of cameras, motion picture and slide projectors, overhead transparency projectors, and photography for tourism purposes.

Beyond the fanfare and talks, ZUFF 2022 showed the potential of African film production and that film has can be a rallying point for African creativity, resourcefulness and innovation.

鈥淣igeria has been able to use this festival and Nollywood to demonstrate the big brother role that we have played in the African Union. Nollywood is one of the biggest acts on the continent; if you travel from Zaire, Kinshasa to Accra in Ghana you鈥檒l find Nigerian films all over,” said Fidelis Duker, the man who birthed the concept of the Abuja International Film Festival (AIFF) in 2003.

Yet despite its heavyweight stature, Nollywood must still address issues relating to the “old” and “new” Nollywood. Will the November 2022 film festival in Abuja help to further address these transition issues? Time will tell.

ALSO READ: Nollywood Keeps Doing Remakes, So We Ranked Them From Best to Worst

By Seth Onyango, bird story agency

It is evening and daylight is fading fast along the Jinja-Tororo road as it passes through Buwenda Village, Uganda. The road is dry, littered with shrivelled leaves dancing on vacant murram-sidewalks 鈭� their rustling clearly audible as they roll along the dusty ground. The lush green vegetation surrounding the neighbourhood is the source of birdsong as the day winds down. The weaverbirds in the neighbourhood are still busy, as are the women in the textile workshop at Kilombera Weaving.

Kilombera is the local name of a weaverbird found in the area. The male birds spend hours weaving an intricate and attractively designed nest in a desperate bid to attract a mate.

The Kilombera workshop, on the other hand, has both men and women practitioners, all busy producing ornate kikoy cloths, baskets, bags and other beautiful products that are destined for overseas markets, either via visiting tourists or via exporters who are finding ready markets for beautiful handmade goods, all over the globe.

On a typical day, activities at the workshop reach their apogee around noon. Betty Korutindo is immersed in her work, arranging yarns on a beam to form the patterns that will be threaded into a loom. The yarns are organised into stripes, requiring laborious threading.

Korutindo is one of a growing number of workers in the industry whose fortunes have changed significantly since they joined the industry.

They have been helped by the transformation of markets in Africa and elsewhere, thanks to the growing opportunity for online sales by both individuals, who might have come across African products on a trip to the continent, as well as major retailers and even luxury brands.

For some time, baskets and other handmade products from Africa have found buyers through Amazon, Wayfair, Etsy and on fair trade platforms, where they first got noticed.

Now, luxury brands have joined the fray. Brands such as Prada, Chlo茅, Celine and Dolce & Gabbana are selling luxury woven tote bags inspired by Ghana’s Bolga and Kenya’s Kiondo handmade bags.

Purchasing one online could set you back anywhere between 500 and 4,000 US dollars.

Colourful handwoven African sisal baskets made by women’s co-operatives are also being sold on online marketplaces like the Africanmarketbaskets.com which sources products from artisans and sells them wholesale in the US and Canada.

From Tanzania to Morocco to Ghana, weaving is helping to create African entrepreneurs, many of them women.

In Somalia, the skill has also become a source of income and provided economic empowerment for many women in Internally Displaced Persons (IDP) camps while in Morocco, Beni rugs have gained such worldwide attention and soared in prices to such an extent that only the affluent can afford them.

In Bahir Dar, Ethiopia, weaving has helped bridge the employment gap in the populous East African state, while in Akatarong鈥檕t village in Kenya鈥檚 arid Turkana, a 30-year-old, mother of seven, Alice Korea has just received a monthly payment from the Hunger Safety Net Programme (HSNP), a government initiative. It is not much, but enough to buy her raw materials to support her basket weaving business, buy food and educate her children.

With two children in high school, she is relieved to have a regular source of income 鈥� and the independence that comes with that.

鈥淚 am so happy I can educate my kids and buy food. We don鈥檛 need charity and pity鈥� we need the government to create a market for our products because key markets are far,鈥� she said.

She is in a group of women making baskets, mats and brooms which are transported to Kitale, the administrative town of Trans Nzoia County for large-scale trade 鈥� and then to the capital, Nairobi.

The Akwete Women’s Weaving Cooperative in southeastern Nigeria has built a reputation for making hand-woven cloth (Akwete). Their motifs are created by a supplementary weft structure on a warp-faced, plain-weave ground, with the white and lurex enhanced with multi-coloured patterns. Women in Nigeria and elsewhere in Africa are increasingly choosing richly woven cloth like this for their wedding outfits, replacing imported “white wedding” wear.

The same is happening in Tanzania, Togo, Burundi, Rwanda, Liberia and South Africa, where weaving has become a financial model that creates a cycle of entrepreneur-driven growth among women, resulting in permanent financial independence for the artisan.

Back at Buwenda in Uganda, women working here are among those that have been able to abandon a way of life characterised by women staying at home to nurse children while their husbands went out to work.

Today, these women have polished their craft to deliver making beautiful kikoys, baskets and bags and take home a fixed income to support their families.

Korutindo’s journey is an incredible one, from stultifying poverty to community-wide influence.

鈥淏efore I got this job, I used to be a stay-home mum but now life has changed and I can educate my kids and cater to other needs,鈥� she said.

At the other end of the workshop, Godfrey Dhafa engages a group of tourists placing their orders for hand-woven kikoys. The materials will be ready within three weeks of their stay in Uganda.

A deal inked with Eco Mama Global (EMG), a conscious, grassroots organisation based in Vancouver, Canada, under which the latter will purchase products directly from the workshop and sell them abroad, has him in good spirits.

鈥淥ur mission is to enhance the quality of living for families in poor rural areas through education of women involving environmental sustainability, permaculture, holistic health, natural birthing and yoga,鈥� reads the organisation鈥檚 vision, in part.

At the workshop, visitors are regularly awestruck by the richness of the products 鈥� which extend to scarves, shawls, mobile and tablet bags, changing mats, hooded towels, burp cloths and baby bibs.

Some of their products take as long as a week to create, depending on the design. The level of artistry and intricacy achieved in the handloom fabrics is difficult to replicate and certain weaves/designs are still beyond the scope of modern machines.

According to Dhafa, the advantages of the business are that it provides sustainable employment to a relatively small but skilled labour force, is eco-friendly and has the flexibility of small-scale production, while also being able to adapt to market requirements. It also establishes a bond between buyer and manufacturer.

Here, here every weave has a human touch to it.

bird story agency

READ ALSO: 鈥淚 Love Transforming People Into Rich Aunties鈥� 鈥� A Week in the Life of a Textile Designer

In 2012, UNESCO predicted Igbo would become extinct by 2025. Instead, the language has become an internet sensation.

By Gabriella Opara, bird story agency

On a regular school day at a junior secondary school in south-eastern Nigeria, an Igbo language teacher walks into a classroom and begins the lesson with a greeting. 

When the learners greet her in unison, with “Good morning!” their teacher responds: “Mba, na Igbo!” (“No, in Igbo!”) 

To which the students reply, “Ututu Oma.” (“Good morning’)

“Daalu. Nodu ala, ka anyi malite,” (“Thank you. Sit down, let’s get started”) the teacher responds, again in Igbo.

Junior secondary school students are among the thousands of young learners in Nigeria and worldwide who are learning the language that the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organisation (UNESCO) declared would be extinct by 2025.

In 2013, Emmanuel Asonye, Postdoctoral Research Fellow at the University of New Mexico, explained that the sentiments of its speakers and bastardisation of the language were broadly threatening the language.

鈥淚t is a fact that Igbo people acknowledge that they exhibit a negative attitude towards their language. This includes both the educated and non-educated population. It is in fact, an irony that those who claim that UNESCO鈥檚 prediction is untrue are among those who can neither read nor write Igbo 鈥� those who have no scholarly work on Igbo language to their credit 鈥� those who boldly but ignorantly murder both Igbo and English language in their speech and writing,鈥� he wrote, in the Journal of the Linguistic Association of Nigeria (2013).

The UNESCO announcement seems to have shocked those who use the language – one of the more than 500 spoken across Nigeria – into action and given the language wings, locally and globally. Ten years on, it is becoming a common language of instruction and study in the region, much as Kiswahili, another African language recently adapted for official use at the Africa Union, did in east Africa.

RELATED: Everything You Need To Know About 艃d茅b茅 A New Writing System Invented by Lotanna Igwe-Odunze

Igbo is now one of the five top languages in Nigeria and is spoken by an estimated 25 million people, mainly in the southeastern part of the country. In popularity, it comes second to Hausa, spoken by an estimated 50 million people, mainly in Northern Nigeria. Other languages include Yoruba, Hausa, Kanuri, and Ibibio.

Online communities have emerged to ensure its survival and spread from its cradle to the rest of the world – and new generations. 

Igbo History & Facts, Igbo Dances, and Okwuid are some platforms on Twitter and Instagram promoting the Igbo culture and its language to the world.听 Others are Learn Igbo for Kids, Igbo Amaka and Igbo 101 by Genii Games.听

Igbo mobile language apps have proliferated with many showing substantial download numbers, while websites such as igbotic.net, created by Maazi Okoro Ogbonnaya, an Igbo linguist, researcher and historian, are also helping first-time learners to grasp the language quickly.听

鈥淭he platform is designed bilingually. Additionally, I have been travelling, documenting the cultural and linguistic history of the Igbo and making the information available for the public through social media and blogs,鈥� said Ogbonnaya, who believes that there must be deliberate efforts to keep the language alive.

鈥淯NESCO is right. We can only prove their prediction wrong by taking action immediately. As a linguist, I believe that when a language is neglected by its speakers, it will become extinct. Many people cannot boast of speaking Igbo fluently. When a language is gone, culture is gone. It means that identity has gone too.鈥� 

Already in 2013, Asonye was seeing a reaction to the shocking pronouncement, which appears to have jolted the Igbo-speaking community into action.

鈥淯NESCO鈥檚 prediction itself has awoken Igbo scholars and indigenes towards a greater conscious effort to keep their language alive, as several clarion calls are being made by many Igbo scholars for a positive attitude towards the language,鈥� he wrote.

According to the UNESCO Atlas of The World’s Languages in Danger, 鈥渆xternal forces such as military, economic, religious, cultural or educational pressures,鈥� build a 鈥渃ommunity鈥檚 negative attitude towards its own language or into a general decline of group identity,鈥� contributing to the demise of a language.听
听
鈥淧arents in these communities often decide to bring up their children in other languages than their own. By doing so, they hope to overcome discrimination, attain equality of opportunity and derive economic benefits for themselves and their children,鈥� it states.

According to musician and self-proclaimed Igbo language advocate Ifechukwu Mercy Michael, a new, conscious effort to maintain the language is making it more dynamic and its popularity is growing amongst the youth.

鈥淎s long as people like myself exist, our language can never die. I infuse Igbo into everything I do; my music, interviews, campaigns, and style,鈥� Ifechukwu said.

For decades after independence. Nigerian households and institutions widely regarded indigenous languages as being for the 鈥榦rdinary and unschooled’.  Those who spoke their mother tongues in schools where English was the language of communication and instruction, were punished.

English is the only official language in Nigeria. Urbanization, cross-cultural marriages, and migration have also played a role in the gradual demise of many of the country’s indigenous languages, especially among the youth. In 2012, Igbo, spoken by over 20 million people, had been in danger of going the same way.

But there are new champions of the indigenous African languages, promoting their use and preservation.

One of them is Onyeka Nwelue, Founder of the James Currey Society. Nwelue promotes the Igbo language through a collaboration with the African Studies Centre and the Faculty of Medieval and Modern Languages at Oxford University.  

The society started offering Igbo language classes at the university in February. To ensure the programme was running smoothly, in February 2022, Emmanuel Ikechukwu Umeonyirioha was inducted as an Igbo language lecturer.

Sharing the news on Twitter, Umeonyirioha said: 鈥淭his will be the first time the Igbo language will be taught at the university, made possible by the James Currey Society. History has been made.鈥�

In an interview with BBC Igbo, Nwelue said the drive for creating Igbo language classes at Oxford University was his desire for 鈥渨hites to learn to speak Igbo, just as we learn English.”

For Adaku Jennifer Agwunobi, a post-doctoral researcher in Engineering Science at Oxford University, this was exciting news.

Born in the United Kingdom to Igbo parents, Adaku had visited Nigeria for the first time when she was ten-years-old, and the second time when she was twenty-three. Growing up, she mainly connected to her community through the Igbo highlife music her family had played in the house when she was a little girl.

While understanding her native language was easy, however, the problem was speaking it. 

RELATED: 13 Things Nigerians Who Can鈥檛 Speak Their Native Language Will Understand

鈥淚 always struggled with speaking Igbo. It doesn鈥檛 sound right when I speak it because of my British accent. I had to learn to pronounce my (first) name properly,鈥� Adaku said.

Adaku hopes Igbo will evolve from being taught by the James Currey Society at Oxford University to becoming a course of study in the university, just as Igbo has at top institutions in the United States, like Boston University, Yale University, and Harvard.

Across Africa, attitudes are also changing, as more Africans seek to reclaim their disappearing languages – the vehicles of their culture and identity.

鈥淒uring my tour and the #AfricaEducatesHer campaign for the African Union International Centre for Girls and Women鈥檚 Education in Africa, I spoke Igbo in the countries I visited, although most people spoke French. Eventually, I related with the Igbos I met, and they were very excited to see and listen to me,鈥� said Ifechukwu.

Already there is far greater awareness of the geographical spread of the language and its different dialects – and not just in Nigeria.

According to a report by Indiana University, “The Igboland is now situated in seven states of Nigeria (Abia, Anambra, Ebonyi, Enugu, Imo, Rivers, and Delta with a variety of dialects that include Ikwere, Etche, Ika, and Ibo). There is also a great number of Igbo speaking people in the Diaspora (U.S.A., Canada, Great Britain, Germany, and every part of the world).”

鈥淚f you go to any country, and an Igbo person isn鈥檛 there, just know that humans cannot survive there. There are Igbo descendants in Equatorial Guinea with a similar culture to Igbos in Nigeria. But they don鈥檛 speak exactly like us. The reason is that of a linguistic factor,鈥� explains Maazi Ogbonnaya.

鈥淚n sociolinguistics, there is language contact and shift. Language contact takes place because of proximity between two or more languages. The Igbo tribe of Bioko, Equatorial Guinea had contact with others which influenced their language, and it shifted from the original Igbo form.鈥�

Ikhide Ikheloa, Chief of Staff to the Board of Montgomery County Public Schools, Rockville, Maryland, believes that staying true to one鈥檚 culture gives true identity.

鈥淓very language depends on its speaker for survival. That鈥檚 what gives it purpose and agency,鈥� Ikheloa said.

鈥淗owever, we鈥檙e a colonised people. We hold everything we do to the standard of the white man, so our food, language, and culture have become gentrified. Our children learn Chinese, Spanish, and other foreign languages, but there鈥檚 a need to reorient our way of life and the value of our languages. We can鈥檛 continue to be embarrassed about ourselves. At some point, our culture will become revived and fashionable again.鈥�

Related: QUIZ: Only Language Experts Can Score 9/13 On This Nigerian Languages Quiz

1. Lojay鈥檚 Monalisa has a coca body 

This one is obvious because even though we never got to see the lower body of Da Vinci鈥檚 Mona Lisa, the chances that a coloniser from the renaissance era would鈥檝e had a massive ibadi are pretty slim. We鈥檙e going to need receipts from the opposing team for this one. 

2. Lojay鈥檚 Monalisa Has miliki for front unlike Da Vinci鈥檚 Mona Lisa 

We don鈥檛 have to talk too much about this. As a matter of fact, we don鈥檛 have to talk at all. Instead, we鈥檒l refer you to the pictorial evidence above. You see what we mean? Next!

3. Lojay鈥檚 Monalisa will hold you down in the corner-corner but Da Vinci鈥檚 Mona Lisa will only stare at you from a corner.

Like this.听

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4. Da Vinci鈥檚 Mona Lisa cannot dance

If Da Vinci tells his Mona Lisa that 鈥淢a jo o Monalisa鈥�, will she break it down like this? Think about it.

5. Da Vinci鈥檚 Mona Lisa does not have eyebrows

Even Eucharia Anunobi made an effort with her brows back in the day. Why this, sis? 

On a random note, you cannot do better than a man who sings this passionately about bumbum.

We hope with these few points of ours, we鈥檝e been able to convince and not confuse you that Lojay鈥檚 Monalisa is more elite than Da Vinci鈥檚 Mona Lisa. Thank you.

ALSO READ: All the Times Nigerian Song Lyrics Had Us Saying 鈥淕od Forbid!鈥�

Contributed by:

An MBA is not needed to become a jeweller. But it may prove useful.

When Bridget Mudota left her office job in 2019 to venture into jewellery design, the reaction was considerable. Here was a highly qualified individual with a master’s in Business Administration, “giving it all up” to venture into a trade that in many parts of Africa is associated with handicrafts and roadside stalls.

However, Mudota was determined. She wanted something else from life.

鈥淭he beauty of this art is that it is therapeutic. It takes one鈥檚 mind away from the worries of life and at the same time opens up the mind to creativity,鈥� she explained.

There is also a lot to be said for a high-end jewellery production industry in Zimbabwe. The country is blessed with copious amounts of diamonds and other gems, platinum and gold. Jewellery is a great way for any country to add value to what otherwise is exported simply as raw commodities, without any downstream benefits to the local economy.

Known as 鈥淏ridgitTheJeweller鈥� in business circles as well as on social media platforms, Mudota prides herself in making beautiful jewellery that subtly combines Zimbabwean traditions with modern trends. Her style ranges from a striking infusion of beads to jewellery that incorporates fabric, wood, seashells, gemstones, metal, strings and hooks.

Her foray into an entirely new business has paid off, thanks to being able to engage with a fast-growing clientele in the diaspora via social media. Having an MBA and the skills to run one’s own business have clearly contributed too.

Despite her wide array of textures and styles, Bridget still plans to venture into leather jewellery, not only as a means of expanding her venture but also to stretch her creativity.

鈥淚 have become very passionate about jewellery-making because it brings out the creativity in me. Also, this art has made me realise that anyone can be creative if given the opportunity,鈥� she explained.

Having access to fashion trends via the internet has meant that she is able to regularly update on changing trends and tastes in the international market.

Bridget鈥檚 name as a jeweller and entrepreneur has become so popular in Zimbabwe that it earned her an invitation to the country’s Ministry of Women鈥檚 Affairs, where she was encouraged to showcase her skills and exhibit her products as a way of encouraging other women to venture into the business. As a result, she now has an opportunity to show that jewellery design and manufacture can be a significant income earner for the wider economy.

Mudota’s suggestion is to make sure that the engagement with a buyer is personal, as each piece has a different reaction from a potential client.

Bridget says that her clients are mostly mature professionals who love to accessorise their outfits to look good, wherever they are in the world.

Recognising that the market for local, high-end jewellery in Zimbabwe has yet to mature, she has called for jewellery-making in the country to be considered as a valuable art form and for the stereotypes around African jewellery to end. She would like her craft to be recognised for what it truly is: a profession worth engaging in.

Contributed by Mandy Kanyemba/bird

If you were on social media on 27th May 2021, you must have seen a involving Remi Tinubu, a former first lady of Lagos State and a current senator representing Lagos Central senatorial district, in a heated argument with another woman over the fact that Ms Tinubu called the woman a 鈥渢hug鈥�.

The incident at the Marriott Hotel, Lagos, where the public hearing on the constitutional review of the 1999 constitution for the southwest was holding. Ms Tinubu was serving as the chairman of the Senate committee in charge of the evaluation of the 1999 constitution in South-West, Nigeria.

But what is the 鈥渃onstitutional review of the 1999 constitution鈥�, and how does it concern the south-western part of Nigeria, and you?

The backstory is that in February 2020, the Nigerian Senate created a 鈥渃ommittee鈥� to review the 1999 constitution 鈥� the that gives rights (and responsibilities) to everyone in Nigeria today. 

The committee was divided into four 鈥渟ub-committees鈥� in April 2021, and they were to look into different things that are currently wrong with the constitution, including the important issue of 鈥渞别蝉迟谤耻肠迟耻谤颈苍驳鈥�. 

The constitutional review committee was also to conduct a “public hearing” across all the geo-political zones in Nigeria where 鈥渙rdinary Nigerians鈥� can suggest the important things that could be written into an amended constitution.

It was at one of those public hearings in Lagos that Ms Tinubu got into a fight with the woman.

Sixteen major issues were up for discussion at the public hearing, including gender equality and women participation in government, federal structure for governance and power-sharing, local government autonomy, revenue allocation, the establishment of state police, state and local government creation, etc.

鈥凌贰厂罢搁鲍颁罢鲍搁滨狈骋鈥�

Whatever the Nigerian Senate tries to do with the constitution, the real issue is that many Nigerians , or even the way Nigeria is currently arranged.

Some other Nigerians have also said that rather than amend the constitution, Nigerians need to have a 鈥渘ational dialogue鈥� where everyone can share their opinions about everything they think is currently wrong with Nigeria and how the country can be fixed.

A day before the incident involving Ms Remi Tinubu, on May 26, 2021, Chief Afe Babalola, a respected lawyer, argued that a 鈥渘ational dialogue鈥� is than any proposed constitution review. And when 17 state governors met in Asaba, Delta State, on May 12, 2021, for the same thing 鈥� that there should be a national dialogue so that Nigerians can have a conversation around how the country can be restructured.

But whoever wants the constitution to change or Nigeria to be 鈥渞estructured鈥�, whether it is a , a current senator, a sitting governor or a newspaper vendor, wants Nigeria to fix up in one or all of these major areas: 

• Creation of state police;
• Review of revenue sharing formula;
• Creation or merger of states;
• Federal structure, power-sharing and local government independence;
• “Miscellaneous

Now, how does any of this affect you as a Nigerian? 

`1. CREATION OF STATE POLICE

Currently, there are only 370,000 police officers in Nigeria compared to a population of more than 200 million Nigerians. This means that, on average, just 2 police officers are on hand for 1000 Nigerians, whereas the United Nations (UN)  an average of 3 police officers for 1,000 residents. Other developed countries even have 4 police officers for 1,000 residents.

Asides the shortage of police, the police officers are all controlled by the Inspector General of Police (IGP), who takes orders from the president or anyone else he delegates.

But there are many arguments against this arrangement, and one of them is that it makes the Nigerian Police ineffective. For instance, the current federal police are underpaid and under-trained, and many local security issues like bandits, kidnappers and farmers-herders conflicts.

People who want state police argue that if the state governors can create and control their police force, then security issues will be handled better in Nigeria, and decisions will be made faster.

It could mean that if state governors had controlled SARS, then some states would have scrapped it and others would have not 鈥� either way; we would not have had to go through everything we endured over #EndSARS, including waiting for the president or the IGP鈥檚 orders from Abuja.

2. REVIEW OF REVENUE ALLOCATION FORMULA:

The Federal Government of Nigeria (FGN) makes money through : oil and non-oil. The government makes money majorly by selling oil and cash from taxing companies, customs revenues and other things.

But when the federal government makes this money, there is a way it is : 52.68% of the money goes to the federal government itself, 26.72% goes to the 36 state governments, and 20.60% goes to the 774 local governments. However, 13% of any money the government makes from crude oil must first go to the eight 鈥渙il-producing鈥� states because of the 鈥渄erivation principle鈥�.

But many people are not happy with this 鈥渟haring formula鈥�. claim that while 36 states and 774 local governments share only 47.32% of government revenues, the FG, which consists of just one body, maintains a higher share at 52.68%.

Critics argue that since we are in a federal government, states should get more money since they have more financial responsibilities to handle, like maintaining roads and providing healthcare facilities.

3. CREATION OR MERGER OF STATES:

Some people want more states to be created in Nigeria. For instance, some representative groups like the Igbo Youths Movement that there should be at least one more state in the south-east region because of Nigeria like the south-west and the north-west all have six and seven states each.

Meanwhile, some other groups like the Arewa Consultative Forum (ACF) that adding more states to the 36 states is unnecessary. 

The Nigerians who want a new state claim that places like Aba can be made from the current Abia state and that the Senate should consider using section 8 of the constitution to create new states. 

4. FEDERAL STRUCTURE, POWER-SHARING AND LOCAL GOVERNMENT INDEPENDENCE:

The constitution to Nigeria as the 鈥淔ederal Republic of Nigeria鈥�, but many observers that Nigeria is not running a 鈥渇ederal鈥� system of government.

In a federal system of government, power is shared clearly between the federal, state and local governments. 

In Nigeria, through the 2nd schedule of the constitution, the federal government controls things like the military and international trade. In contrast, the state governments have powers over electricity generation, agriculture development and many other things.

On the other hand, local governments have powers to establish and maintain cemeteries, maintain and regulate markets and motor parks and do many other things. 

But many Nigerians remain uncomfortable with this 鈥渇ederal structure鈥� for many reasons that have been given above. 

For example, the Federal government all the minerals and natural resources under any land in Nigeria, even though Nigeria from crude oil in January 2021 alone. It also controls the police, and a large percentage of the revenue sharing formula, among many other things.

Supporters of argue that state governments should exercise control over more things, including their natural resources and police force. 

Also, many Nigerians want the local governments to be more independent. For instance, because the constitution says that states and their local governments should run a 鈥淪tate Joint Local Government Account ” where all the money for a states鈥� local governments is paid, many state governments and use them for other purposes.

Meanwhile, some other Nigerians want the Nigerian map to be redrawn, and all the 36 states collapsed so that new regional governments can be created as in the 1950s and 1960s.

5. MISCELLANEOUS

There are other things that people want in a restructured Nigeria. The that the 鈥渟tate of origin鈥� qualification should be replaced with 鈥渟tate of residence鈥�. It means that people will be indigenes of the states they reside in, not just their parents’ states. 

At the southwest public hearing on the review of the 1999 constitution, an organisation called The Muslim Congress (TMC) proposing that Sharia Law should be applicable in the  Southwestern part of Nigeria, while a man, Adeleye Jokotoye, also that Nigeria’s name should be changed to “United African Republic (UAR)” because Nigeria is a name given to the country by British colonial masters and it does not reflect the country’s ethnic diversity.

At the end of it all, whatever amendments are made to the constitution, or even whether the 1999 constitution is totally “scrapped”, either through the senate or through a national dialogue, one thing is sure 鈥� the change will deeply affect you as a Nigerian in many ways, especially in terms of your security and general welfare.

Constitutional amendment and 鈥渞别蝉迟谤耻肠迟耻谤颈苍驳鈥� are becoming really important issues in Nigeria, and they will only become more important as Nigeria heads towards the 2023 general election.