The first publication of the TheWonderful Wizard of Oz was in 1900. By 1902, the title of this children’s book by L Frank Baum was shortened to The Wizard of Oz and in 1939 the tale became a film classic. But is it merely a fanciful child’s tale? Or is it a double story? Is it about red slippers and a Tin Man? Or is it economic treatise and monetary allegory? Much has been written in recent weeks regarding the 18th Amendment and the devolution of the remaining seven federal ministries under the third and final phase of translating the will of the electorate to an on-the-ground reality. This stage of devolution of power to the provinces has a calendar date of July 1, 2011. Devolution of powers is the statutory granting of powers from central government of a sovereign state to governance at a regional or sub-national level. The 18th Amendment is succinct. Citizens know it is time for the sprouts of regional governance to flourish. The shareholders within the provinces no longer assume a passive footing and wait-and-see attitude. Passivity is the model of the blind beggar carrying the lame man on his back. Today the demand is for a new level of autonomous governance. The 18th Amendment is not the result of aberrant political pressure. It is birthed from the frustrated recognition that regional stakeholders in Pakistan have suffered from the bottleneck of both talent pools and cash flow from the coffers of centralised government. With the majority of power and resources in the hands of the few, the needs of the many are neglected. What makes the lofty ideal of devolution of powers difficult is how the concept is mated to that of divestiture, which is economic in nature. The years of investment in federal ministries to the neglect of considering a divestiture strategy directed at the provinces must end. Stripped of lofty titles such a ‘president’ or ‘prime minister’, ‘judge’ or ‘parliamentarian’, the bare bones of governance lie in the utterance of two simple words: service industry. Government is a service industry! And when the industry is vibrant at the centre of power but impotent to impact the far reaches of the societal rim, alienation occurs. When alienation occurs eventual revolution is the outcome. Whilst in some cases divestiture is seen as the dumping ground for bad investments and strategy, there is a good side to divestiture. It can be the beginning point for the creation of a stronger service industry, hence more adequately served population. Just as The Wizard of Oz presents as a double story, my mind travelled to Manteq-ut-Tair (Conference of the Birds) by Farid-Ud-Din Attar as the literary companion with characterisations and plot lines which mirror Pakistan’s current state of affairs. Some readers obtusely reduce Attar’s work to a mere ‘bird allegory’ whilst others elevate it as a masterful Sufi tale of the path to annihilation. For today, it is used as a practical story bringing conceptual parallels from the birds’ point of view. The various birds are unhappy. Misery loves company. Hence the need for a conference. Winging their way to the meeting area, they express a distinct need. For the life of them, they cannot figure out who is in charge. They need a king. They lack governance. As in all ad hoc committees, intentions are good, passions run high, and personalities light up the landscape. Sacrificial service can also be lacking. All of us love to plan the work which others must do! The peacock preens with false humility. The duck quacks about his love for water. The nightingale is unwilling to leave the rose garden and the heron is unwilling to vacate the lagoon. The owl is the monarch of a desolate wasteland and he is most likely contemplating his next field mouse tenderloin. The hoopoe is the practical soul. The group must pass through seven difficult valleys to achieve their goal. The conversation turns to the hard work of process. If the seven valleys are stages of process, Jul 1, 2011 placed Pakistan within the valley of ‘independence’. Quickly review the valleys in your mind. What comes next? It is the valley of detachment! A generalised detachment of those monitoring the devolution of powers must not occur within the valley of independence. The amendment passed. But unity is required to also move through the valleys of bewilderment and stupefaction. Taking what is on paper and making it a ground reality is where dreams end and nightmares begin. I will leave it to the reader to imagine what the final two valleys hold for your own ‘Conference of the Birds’. The Persian poet who penned the aforementioned classic work was born in Neishapur. It is also the birthplace of another well-known 12th century poet, Omar Khayyam. His most famous work is Rubaiyat and one of his quatrains is appropriate: “On the Day when the good rewards receive, May I, a suppliant sod, a share derive! Let the Fates count me with the good, if good, Or with the bad, if bad, may They forgive!” May each suppliant sod in Pakistan receive the share of governance which meets the minimal need. I hope the devolution of powers and divestiture of purse strings and talent pools moves quickly. But as in all things which involve the marriage of power and money, there remains the other ‘D’ word. Divorce. This might play out like the average divorce. Who gets the house? Where does the money go and who pays the bills to sustain the progeny until maturity? To keep things on track the citizens must follow the progress of the devolution. And, hopefully, five years from now this column will belong in the valley of annihilation; an obsolete thought which no longer speaks to the need of the citizen. May the flowering of the 18th Amendment be noted across the provinces. The writer is a freelance columnist. She can be reached at tammyswof@msn.com