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ENUGU POLITICS AND THE LONG STANDING ZONING ARRANGEMENT

Published

6 years ago

September 9, 2020

By Ifeanyi Ogenyi Esq.

In recent times, so many jaundiced, accidental pundits/analysts have emerged, each claiming to be public-spirited and Public Affairs Analysts like one ONYEABOCHUKWU CHRISTIAN.

Recently, I came across an article written by the said Onyeabochukwu Christian in the Vanguard Newspaper of 04-08-2020 entitled ‘OF ENUGU 2023 ELECTION AND ZONING SENTIMENT’.

I feel compelled to respond to the article not because it worth it, but because of the inaccuracies, it conveyed and also to enlighten the unsuspecting readers and his social media fans.

I am not surprised by the tone, content, and intent of the article because the writer, the self-acclaimed Co-ordinator, Coalition of Enugu West Youth Organization has clearly shown where he is coming from. The article is one of the voices of Jacob but the hands of Esau.

However, it would have been better if the writer had started by telling us whom his sponsors are, why he has been hired to present this clueless article to the public just like Baalam in the scripture who was hired by Balak to curse the Israelites so as to stop their progress or is it due to some deliberate mischief?

The article would have been ignored because it stands logic and common sense on the head but to do so, however, will give credibility to falsehood and mischievous assertions designed to manipulate people’s perception of the realities on the ground regarding Enugu politics and it’s the long-standing power-sharing formula.

While I agree that the writer has the right to free speech, I don’t think such right should exceed the boundary of sound reasoning. Having said all these, it is now proper to address his hatchet job and in doing so I will restrict myself to the issues he raised.

A textual analysis of the article would throw up two key points namely:

That political zoning and other power-sharing arrangements have overshadowed liberal democracy; and
That Zoning is undemocratic and it encourages sacrificing meritocracy on the altar of mediocrity.

Zoning as a political arrangement is as old as man himself. It has been in existence for decades. In Nigeria, for instance, Zoning of key political offices in the country dates back to the second republic era when it was adopted in the 1979 Presidential election and the arrangement produced a Northern Nigerian President and Southern Vice President in the persons of Alhaji Shehu Shagari and Dr. Alex Ekwueme respectively. It would have been possible for the North to produce both the President and Vice President then and vice versa.

If not zoning, what does the basis of agitation for the Igbo Presidency come 2023? Or do we think that the southeast or South-South in Nigeria can attain to such a critical leadership position in Nigeria without zoning? The answer is capital NO!

Zoning is one of the practical solutions for bickering and disregard for others especially the disadvantaged minorities in the present Nigeria political landscape. It makes for every recognized zone or section in the country or state to be given a sense of belonging; and any zone that gets its turn should be magnanimous enough to allow others to get their turn.

Zoning as a political arrangement has engendered and promoted fairness, peaceful, equitable power-sharing, and representation at all levels of government.

Zoning though not entrenched in Nigeria Constitution is an acceptable democratic principle for power-sharing at federal, state, and local government levels in Nigeria.

It has become an acceptable practice that the major key political positions rotate among the recognized zones.

As a matter of fact, one of the key decisions reached at the National Confab of 2014 and which was recommended for implementation was the rotation of Presidential Position among the six Geo-political zones and Governorship position among the senatorial zones to ensure equity, fair play, and harmonious existence in the polity. This recommendation was well received and applauded by all well-meaning Nigerians especially those from the Southern part of this country including those that are now clamoring for zoning jettisoning.

Even at the National Assembly is widely adopted in sharing of the key positions and the zoning principle in place has made it possible for the sharing of the key positions in the National Assembly among the six geo-political zones; and most people whom their allies are today calling for questioning of Zoning are beneficiaries zoning arrangement at various times in their political carrier.

Zoning is not only democratic but it’s also a veritable mechanism for political stability and fairness as it diffuses the negative reactions and tendencies of a particular section, group or zone to remain in power as long as possible and to use the commonwealth of the people for the service of its sectional interests.

I am persuaded to state without mincing words that zoning in Enugu politics is a long-standing and acceptable political arrangement that has remarkably set Enugu State apart as a peaceful state where politics is played with little or no rancor and bickering.

It helps to narrow down political contests to a particular zone or section, thereby making the leadership recruitment process easy and manageable.

Since the inception of our evolving democracy, Enugu has always adopted the zoning principle in the sharing of key political positions since 1999 till the present administration. It has always been the case that at every dispensation, one Senatorial zone would produce the Governor of the State, another zone produces the Deputy Governor and it has been working perfectly that way.

The writer unguardedly asserted that zoning encourages sacrificing meritocracy at the altar of mediocrity. In response, I wish to state that zoning does not in any way undermine merit or having competent hands in leadership positions. There is no zone in Enugu State that does not have capable, competent, and qualified persons that can take leadership positions in Enugu even at the larger context of Nigeria politics.

In fact, zoning allows varieties of competent personalities from various zones to showcase their endowed good leadership qualities, perception, and innovative approach to leadership.

So the writer should not insult our collective senses of reasoning with his competence and best brain fallacies.

It is a well-known and acceptable fact except for those who want to distort the existing political arrangement in Enugu that it is the turn of the Enugu East Senatorial Zone to produce the next Governor of the State come 2023 and Enugu East Senatorial Zone has eminently qualified, experienced, the competent and best material for the position.

I make bold to say that Onyabochukwu’s assertions regarding zoning were made mala fide and contrary to his ill-motivated assertion that “zoning is like a prescription that kills instead of heals”, I submit that zoning is a democratic drug for fair play, equitable power-sharing formula and representation; and an effective cure and panacea for marginalization. It gives a sense of belonging to the various interest groups within the system including the perceived or the so-called minorities in the system.

Onyeabochukwu Christian’s metaphors of a leader giving to Agbaja 5%, giving Nsukka 90%, or Ndi Awgu 80% and Nkanu 15%, and other innuendoes contained in his article are mere trivialities that do not require dissipation of energy. It only shows how desperate and clueless the writer was as he is just hobbling and nobbling without making any sensible point to his readers except the gullible public and his social media fans.

Onyeabochukwu Christian, the self-acclaimed Coordinator of the Coalition of Enugu West Youth Organization should better support the long-standing zoning arrangement and age-long good practice; and wait for the turn of Enugu West Senatorial Zone.

Enugu people are wise and intelligent; and as such, they cannot accompany Onyeabochukwu Christian or whatever name he called himself, his allies and cronies on this reckless journey on the path of ignorance which they say is a disease

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Turning Africa’s Raw Materials Into Wealth: The ARMS 2026 Industrial Agenda

Published

3 days ago

September 29, 2026

The Gleamer

By Joel Ajayi

For decades, Africa’s vast natural resources have powered industries and economies far beyond the continent, while many African countries have remained largely exporters of unprocessed commodities and importers of finished products.

That familiar pattern is now coming under renewed scrutiny as policymakers, researchers, investors and industrialists seek to change the direction of Africa’s resource economy.

At the centre of that conversation is the second edition of the Africa Raw Materials Summit (ARMS 2026), scheduled for October 19 and 20 at the Abuja Continental Hotel, Abuja, under the theme: “From African Feedstock to African Factories.”

Organised by the Raw Materials Research and Development Council (RMRDC), the summit is being positioned as more than another gathering of policymakers and industry stakeholders. It is intended to provide a platform for confronting the structural challenges that have kept African raw materials largely disconnected from local manufacturing.

Africa has for years operated largely within a “pit-to-port” economic model, exporting raw materials while importing expensive finished products.

Speaking at a press conference ahead of the summit on Tuesday in Abuja, the Director-General and Chief Executive Officer of RMRDC, Prof. Nnanyelugo Martin Ike-Muonso, said the event would bring together policymakers, investors, researchers, technology providers and industrialists to develop practical strategies for transforming Africa’s abundant natural resources into industrial wealth.

The challenge, therefore, is not simply the abundance of resources, but the continent’s ability to transform those resources into industrial value, employment, technology and wealth within Africa.

Nigeria alone, according to the RMRDC, has more than $582.4 billion in documented non-renewable natural resources, while the wider continent possesses substantial deposits of critical minerals, agricultural raw materials and industrial feedstock.

Yet, the benefits of this resource endowment have often been constrained by inadequate processing capacity, weak infrastructure, limited technology, financing gaps and fragmented regional value chains.

From Dialogue to Industrial Action

ARMS 2026 builds on the maiden edition held in May 2025, which attracted more than 1,000 delegates from across the world.

The inaugural summit also witnessed the unveiling of the Ten-Year Raw Materials Transformation Roadmap (2025–2034) by the Minister of State for Industry, Senator John Owen Enoh.

The roadmap was designed around areas including technological capability, climate-resilient processing and backward integration, establishing a policy framework for greater domestic utilisation of Africa’s raw materials.

The second edition is expected to move the conversation further by bringing policy, capital, technology and industrial stakeholders around practical mechanisms for turning raw materials into locally manufactured products.

One of the major proposals highlighted by the RMRDC is the 30 per cent Mandatory Value Addition Bill, which seeks to establish a statutory minimum level of value addition to Nigerian raw materials before export.

The Council says the proposed framework could support job creation, import substitution, foreign-exchange conservation and increased manufacturing contribution to the economy.

Building the Infrastructure for Value Addition

The industrial transformation envisaged by ARMS 2026 goes beyond legislation.

A major concern is the “missing middle” between where raw materials are produced and where factories are located.

Poor transportation networks, inadequate cold-chain facilities, weak rural roads, limited testing and certification infrastructure and border-related delays can make locally sourced materials more expensive and less competitive.

Consequently, logistics and infrastructure constitute one of the five principal pillars of the summit.

The objective is to develop more reliable corridors connecting farms and mines with processing centres and manufacturing facilities, thereby reducing losses and improving the movement of industrial inputs.

The Digital Dimension

Technology is also becoming an important part of the Council’s strategy.

The RMRDC says it has developed the Nigeria Integrated Information Statistical System for Raw Materials and Products (NISSRAMP), described as a digital repository containing information on feedstock deposits, specifications, production outputs and industrial absorption rates.

The Council has also highlighted its transition towards paperless operations and its certification as a Data Controller/Processor of Major Importance by the Nigeria Data Protection Commission.

Such digital infrastructure could provide investors and manufacturers with better information about the availability and characteristics of raw materials while supporting more informed industrial planning.

Turning Waste Into Industrial Inputs

Another major component of ARMS 2026 is the proposed expansion of the circular economy.

The summit will examine how agricultural by-products, mine tailings, scrap metals and biomass can be recovered and reused as inputs for new production processes rather than being treated simply as waste.

The RMRDC argues that such an approach could lower raw-material costs while supporting more sustainable and climate-resilient manufacturing systems.

For Africa, where industrial expansion must increasingly balance economic development with environmental considerations, waste industrialisation could become an important part of the continent’s manufacturing conversation.

From National Production to African Value Chains

The African Continental Free Trade Area is another important element of the summit’s agenda.

The RMRDC sees AfCFTA as an opportunity to create regional value chains in which raw materials sourced in one African country can be processed and supplied to manufacturers in another.

Under such a model, Africa would move beyond simply exporting commodities to external markets and develop stronger internal networks for supplying chemicals, refined minerals, agricultural inputs and other industrial materials across national borders.

This approach places regional integration at the heart of Africa’s industrialisation strategy.

Bridging Research and Capital

A recurring weakness in many developing economies is the gap between research and commercialisation.

Innovations may emerge from universities, research institutions and laboratories without receiving the financing, equipment or market connections required to become commercially viable.

ARMS 2026 intends to address that gap through technology commercialisation and capital linkages, connecting research outputs with investors, development finance institutions and industrial off-takers.

The RMRDC has also cited partnerships with the Bank of Industry for commercial-scale post-harvest processing and a South-South technology-transfer partnership with the National Innovation Centre par Excellence in Shanghai, China.

A Larger Industrial Conversation

The scale of ARMS 2026 is expected to be significantly larger than the maiden edition.

The organisers project more than 1,800 delegates from all 54 African countries and global industrial partners.

The programme will feature high-level policy dialogues, technical panels, an advanced raw materials and technology exhibition, industrial site visits and the African Raw Materials Industry Awards.

The exhibition, in particular, is expected to showcase locally fabricated processing machinery, advanced domestic materials, green chemicals and engineered commercial inputs.

Beyond the speeches and exhibitions, however, the real significance of ARMS 2026 will ultimately depend on what happens after the summit.

Africa’s challenge has never been a shortage of raw materials. The more difficult question has been how to transform those resources into factories, products, skilled employment, technology and sustainable economic opportunities.

For Nigeria and the rest of the continent, the proposed shift from “pit-to-port” to “feedstock-to-factory” therefore represents a broader debate about the future structure of African economies.

ARMS 2026 seeks to place that debate firmly on the industrial agenda — with value addition, technology, finance, infrastructure, circular production and regional trade at the centre.

If the commitments and partnerships generated by the summit translate into measurable industrial activity, the event could provide another platform for Africa to examine how its enormous resource base can support stronger domestic manufacturing.

The message from the organisers is clear: the continent’s raw materials should not only leave African soil as commodities; they should increasingly become the foundation for African industrial production

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