The after-effects of the January 1966 coup and the counter-coup that followed six months after are still haunting Nigeria today, close to 60 years after. Among other things, it set in motion a chain of events that plunged the country into a 30-month civil war, over three decades of military rule and a heightened sense of ethnic consciousness. Nigerians have been clamouring for a reversal of one of the policies spurred by the events of that era: the dismantling of the country’s federal structure. Deputy Political Editor RAYMOND MORDI and Assistant Editor EMMANUEL BADEJO report that it is one of the challenges inherited by President Bola Tinubu
In the twilight of his administration, former President Muhammadu Buhari, a staunch opponent of the idea of restructuring, signed several bills into law that represent a significant milestone in the constitutional reforms desired by Nigerians. The new laws are the result of the constitutional amendments carried out by the last legislative session, the 9th National Assembly. Under two of the legislations that fall in this category, matters pertaining to railways and electricity, which were on the Exclusive List, have been moved to the Concurrent List. The implication is that from now on, state governments are free to provide train and electricity services within their territories while the Federal Government will concentrate on providing inter-state train services.
The above gestures by the former president were not acknowledged by a majority of Nigerians because they were regarded as tokenism that was offered late in the life of the administration. From the moment he took over power in 2015, he had been inundated with requests from Nigerians to implement the recommendations of the 2014 National Conference bankrolled by the Goodluck Jonathan-led administration. But, the former president refused to yield to such calls. The pressure was so much that his party, the All Progressives Congress (APC) was compelled to set up the Nasir El-Rufai-led 23-member committee on restructuring, to work out what the party can do in the area of power devolution since restructuring appears to have different meaning to different advocates of the idea. The panel submitted its report on January 14, 2018, but the Buhari administration left the report to gather dust on the shelves. The APC had listed restructuring as part of its campaign promises to Nigerians before the 2015 elections which brought the party to power. To convince Nigerians it meant business, the party included the issue in its Constitution.
For close to three decades now, Nigerians have been clamouring for constitutional reforms that would pave the way for the devolution of powers to the state governments, which are closer to the people. A growing number of Nigerians believe that the over-centralized system of government that currently oversees their affairs is retrogressive. They insist that until the 36 states are stacked up with appropriate and deserved powers and the central government stripped of most of the items on the Exclusive List imposed on it by the country’s former military dictators, good governance would remain a pipedream.
Some of the items in the Exclusive List that Nigerians want the central government to give up are the prisons, taxation of incomes, regulation of tourist traf?c, registration of business names, incorporation of companies, trade and commerce. Others like the police, they insist, should be on the Concurrent List, so that both the central and state governments can participate in those areas. To be able to tackle the additional burden, an adjustment in the revenue allocation formula has been recommended, to give the federating units (states) a bigger share of the nation’s resources.
Proponents of the idea say “true federalism” is Nigeria’s only hope for survival. They argue that the devolution of powers to the states will speed up the growth and development of the country and that it will douse ethnic tension and crush the growing agitation for self-determination across the country. This is because each state will be at liberty to grow at its pace, and all federating units will breathe the air of freedom with more resources and greater control at their disposal to attract foreign investment and domestic growth of the economy, they added.
Observers also believe that the current set-up, particularly the revenue-sharing formula does not provide enough incentive for states to generate revenue. Under the subsisting arrangement, they added, states angle to get a bigger share of the revenue from the central pool, rather than generate revenue within their territories. Proponents of restructuring are quick to point out what the defunct regions achieved under the 1960 and the 1963 Constitutions, which gave them wide powers to operate. A notable feature of the 1963 Constitution was the extensive powers granted to the regions which enabled them to carry out their immense responsibilities as they best saw ?t. It was such provisions, they argue, that spurred growth and development in the old Western Region under the late Chief Obafemi Awolowo in the 60s.
It was the advent of the military in 1966 that dealt a heavy blow to federalism. But, it was the discovery of crude oil in commercial quantity, which coincided with the period the military took over, that, is believed to be responsible for the change. The independence of the regions was compromised as a hierarchical command structure emerged. A very powerful central government came into being and the states which succeeded the regions became mere appendages to the central government.
But, on the other hand, there are many other Nigerians who are not in support of restructuring; they would prefer that the country continue to maintain the status quo. They are suspicious of the idea because they see those advocating for it as troublemakers or secessionist sympathisers. This polarization has taken regional dimensions and seems to be creating a North/South divide.
Nevertheless, the clamour has been getting louder over the years and it is not expected to abate now that President Bola Ahmed Tinubu who supposedly believes in restructuring is the man on the saddle. In a bid to set an agenda for the new administration, the National Democratic Coalition (NADECO) asked the president to immediately work towards returning Nigeria to a federal system of government. In a statement by its general secretary and spokesman, Ayo Opadokun, the pro-democracy organisation maintained that Nigeria is currently a country and not a nation and that the struggle to make the country a truly federal state must be vigorously pursued.
NADECO said it was gratified that one of its most prominent leaders who contributed significantly to the democratic struggle and campaign that the organisation embarked upon on behalf of Nigerians to restore democracy has by divine destiny become the elected president of the country.
The group reminded Tinubu that the most important demand of the struggle was the imperative to return Nigeria to federal constitutional governance upon which the country secured its independence. The statement reads: “Nigeria remains a country not a nation till date because the military had without Nigerians’ democratic approval truncated, illegally suspended, abrogated and replaced our negotiated independent constitution and replaced it with a unitary constitution till date.
“The deceptively choreographed 1979 and 1999 constitutions which preserved all the grave damages which successive military governments have forcefully imposed upon Nigeria remain the bane of Nigeria’s backwardness, stunted growth and unacceptable level of poverty.”
The group said it was convinced that a return to the 1963 Republican Constitution will restore responsive and responsible government, as Nigeria grapples with the business of reconstructing its country which it said was successively overrun by the narrow personal interests of politicians in military uniform since January 15, 1966.
In the same vein, the Southwest Governors’ Forum has urged President Tinubu to institute a new constitutional order that would ensure “true federalism” in the country. In a statement issued on behalf of the group, its chairman, Governor Rotimi Akeredolu, said this should be one of the first steps to be taken by the Tinubu administration.
In the statement, which was issued to usher in the new administration, Akeredolu said: “The new administration has its jobs well defined, the very first being the urgent need to assist in birthing a new constitutional order which takes into account, keenly, the principles of federalism.”
The group said the success recorded at fixing the basic defects in the 1999 Constitution (as amended) will determine, largely, the pattern and the depth of the deliberative governance designed to achieve development. It added: “All existential issues will be addressed realistically. We must encourage the new government to tread this honourable path. The new thinking should anticipate active participation by the constituent units of the Federation as coordinate partners in revenue generation and the security of lives and property of the citizenry.
“I do not doubt that Mr President is ready to deliver on this mandate of rectitude. His record of service in Lagos State leaves no room for any doubt concerning his capacity to turn things around positively.”
Similarly, Igbo Leaders of Thought (ILT) an umbrella body for Igbo intelligentsia said the only viable option for Nigeria today remains true federalism and devolution of power. In a statement, its Deputy Secretary, Elliot Ugochukwu-Uko said the people of the Southeast geo-political zone desire a restructured Nigeria built on “true federalism” and devolution of powers. He urged the governors in the region to work in unison for the overall interest of the region while they pursue a restructuring of the polity.
He added: “A new beginning is necessary. A new template is desirable. A template anchored on a commitment to true federalism and devolution of powers to the federating units. A new tomorrow built on sincere leadership. Southeast leaders need to sit up now and redirect our tomorrow by correcting the mistakes of yesteryears. The key is to work together as a team.”
One of the attempts to address the growing dissatisfaction with the country’s structure was the creation of the six geopolitical zones in 1995. Later, the idea of zoning or the power rotation arrangement between the North and the South followed. Although the zoning arrangement is not backed by law, it was spurred by the growing sense of alienation in some parts of the country. Several talk shops on the restructuring have been held; the most recent being the 2018 All Progress Congress (APC) Panel on Restructuring headed by the immediate past Kaduna State Governor Nasir el-Rufai. Others are the National Political Reform Conference (2005) and) and 2014 National Conference bankrolled by President Goodluck Jonathan-led administration). But, the outcome of such conferences was never implemented because the political will to do so was lacking.
Today, the states appear to have joined the battle for restructuring; for the raging war on the administration of the Value-Added Tax goes beyond the economic question of how much accrues to states. States appear to have reclaimed the inner spirit of the constitution by reiterating, in every available public space, its core principles of a federation and respect for the diversity of cultures. This state-sponsored push towards more fiscal federalism happened despite relentless resistance by the Federal Government to hold on to the old system that appears not to be working.
The worsening security situation in the country has also compelled many states to exercise their power within the Nigerian Federation. For instance, many states in the South and the Middle Belt have been forced to enact anti-open grazing laws. The Federal Government under former President Buhari was not favourably disposed to the anti-open grazing laws. It had maintained that banning open grazing without providing an alternative for the herders is counterproductive and even vindictive. At the time, it had suggested alternatives such as the RUGA settlement policy and the use of grazing reserve routes by the herders and their cattle; a suggestion that was rejected because they were against the spirit and letter of the Land Use Act enshrined in the constitution, which places all lands in their control and not in that of the Federal Government. The states that have enacted such anti-open grazing laws are bent on implementing and enforcing them, using local state security infrastructure where available.
For the founding National Chairman of the All Progressives Grand Alliance (APGA), Chief Chekwas Okorie, Nigeria’s current system of government is not working because it is not suitable for the country. He said things fell apart after the country’s former military leaders departed from the federal system of government bequeathed to it by its founding fathers; a system that worked successfully in the early years of independence. His words: “The truth is that our current system of government is not working. The reason it is not working is because it is not a federal system of government; this is a highly centralised system of government. Nigeria is too large both in terms of land mass and population to be governed in the manner it is being governed.
“The country was growing economically, educationally and what have you when the regions operated with a level of autonomy and contributed 50 per cent of their revenue to the centre during the First Republic. The regions knew that they have to generate revenue and develop at their pace. But, following the intervention of the military to date, what we have had is more or less a structure that has stunted our growth. Nowadays, many states fold their hands and wait till the end of the month when they will send their commissioners of finance to Abuja to collect their federally distributed revenue from the centre.
“Besides, revenue distribution is tilted towards the centre and we now have about 55 items on the Exclusive Legislative List. This puts under the control of the Federal Government things that are not supposed to be under its control. This sort of arrangement has killed the initiatives of the various federating units to take effective control of their domains. Over the years, the governors have not been challenged to show what they have up their sleeves as leaders; they are just following any script that is designed and handed to them from the centre.
“Take the issue of insecurity. The intractable security challenge in the country is the result of the type of security architecture controlled from the centre; it is controlled by a central police command. Things cannot work like that, even in a country half the size of Nigeria. We have been clamouring for the reintroduction of the kind of regional police system we had in the First Republic. It has also become obvious that justice is not only being delayed but also being denied because of the kind of judicial system we have. People are now calling for the decentralisation of the Supreme Court and many other things; this is long overdue.
“So, until we begin the give the federating units the latitude they require to grow at their own pace, by giving them back the control of many of the items in the Exclusive Legislative List as is expected in a federal set-up, the country will not grow. The things that the central government should be concerned about are things like monetary policy, fiscal policy, defence, immigration and foreign affairs. In the case of the police, we should have the federal police, state police and even community policing because every citizen ought to be a stakeholder in security matters.
“But what we have in place today is a situation where people who cannot even communicate in corrupted English, otherwise known as pidgin English are sent to places where they cannot communicate with the people. In that state of affairs, what do you expect? The only language they understand is the colour of money. So, they go into extortion and turn themselves into an army of occupation. On the other hand, they send policemen who are Christians to areas where people believe in the Sharia system of justice; he does not know what could be misconstrued as blasphemy. So, in the course of carrying out his police duties, he will conduct himself in a way that the people would be considered blasphemous and that would be the end of his life. With this state of affairs, there is no way the country can develop.”
Okorie said he is, however, hopeful that things will change for the better because someone who understands the enormity of the problem the country is facing is now at the helm of affairs. He said: “I am happy that somebody who has been part of the advocacy for true federalism is now at the helm of affairs; all of us have been in the trenches together. So, I am confident that he would not want to leave Nigeria the way he found it. He has taken some good steps already; telling us about food security and that we cannot continue to do things in the old way with regards to livestock farming. I am so enthused because that suggests that the nomadic lifestyle of herders will soon come to an end. Tied to that is higher production in the area of livestock and animal husbandry, as well as the security that comes with it. With this, farmers will have peace of mind to farm with the peace of mind that their crops will grow to maturity and harvest.
“But, these are piecemeal measures; a holistic measure will entail a fresh national conference that will usher in a people’s constitution. A national conference took place in 2014, but its outcome was not implemented by the Jonathan administration and later the Buhari administration. A fresh conference is necessary because several things have changed.”
The APGA chieftain said several attempts by the National Assembly to amend the 1999 Constitution were like a camel passing through a needle’s eye because the lawmaking chambers are part of the institutions that were created by the constitution and the lawmakers are benefitting from the current structure. He added: “The people who created the constitution sat down and with the stroke of the pen, created the 774 local governments that constitute the nucleus of the constituencies the lawmakers represent. So, they are benefiting from the system. Besides, the existing structure gives a certain part of the country the numerical advantage to decide the type of laws that would be enacted by the lawmakers.”
A pro-democracy activist and former lecturer at the Federal College of Education (FCE), Kano, Dr Naseer Kura Ja’afaru said federalism is the most appropriate form of government for a diverse, multicultural and heterogeneous country like Nigeria. He added: “Only a federal system of government can guarantee a measure of balance and accommodation for the diverse ethnic and religious groups in the country. It is the most appropriate, considering the country’s experience following the January 1966 coup and the counter-coup of July 1966. Part of the reason given by the organizers of the July coup was that Nigeria was sliding towards a unitary form of government and that this has made the various ethnic nationalities suspicious of each other. For that reason, they felt that the unitary form of government is not the best for the country.”
Nevertheless, Dr Ja’afaru, a former president of the National Association of Nigerian Students (NANS), said the intention of the organizers of the July counter-coup was not “clinically implemented because of the nature of Nigerian politics and because of the command structure of the Federal Military Government that wanted to re-introduce federalism into the country’s governance system”. He said as imperfect as the 1999 Constitution is, it manages to strike a balance “because it recognizes our diversity, and agrees with our political trajectory in the sense that it accommodated some of the salient aspects of the 1979 Constitution”. He said the implementation of the provisions of the constitution is where the biggest problem lies, due to the lack of political will on the part of the political elite.
The pro-democracy activist said Nigeria found itself at a crossroads as a nation and that it was the fear of the breakup of the country, following the January 1966 coup that compelled the military authorities at the time to abrogate the country’s federal structure on May 24, 1966, to avoid a situation where any component unit would opt to leave the federation. He said ordinarily the constitution ought to have been amended to reflect current realities in the country.
He added: “At every interval of say 10 or 20 years, Nigerians ought to come together to review the progress the country has made and chart a way forward. I am a strong advocate of a periodic national conference to review the state and health of the economy, the system of government, as well as the performance of the institutions of the state. Even the ground norm, the constitution, when there is a need for a review; it should be reviewed because a static and non-performing system is not in anybody’s interest.”
The activist said the several attempts by the National Assembly since 1999 to amend the constitution have not achieved any meaningful result because of the lack of sincerity on the part of the lawmakers and the high incidence of corruption in the country. He said: “Members of the constitution review committee see the assignment merely as a means of economic empowerment. They go around the country, merely to collect a fat allowance, with no serious intention of introducing any meaningful reform that will rock the boat. They usually assign the deputy Senate president and the deputy speaker of the House of Representatives to head the committees in their respective chambers. They see it as a way of compensating members of the committee and nothing concrete is expected in the form of constitutional amendments.”
On the issue of adjusting the security architecture to accommodate community and state police, he said there are fears that it would be hijacked by state governors to intimidate political opponents.
His words: “Coming to state police, there are fears and apprehension that it will be hijacked by governors for political reasons. Beyond that, the police as it is currently constituted is inadequate to police Nigeria, in terms of numerical strength, attitude and operations. So, there is a need for reforms to meet up with the current demands of society. The fear of their manipulation by governors is the reason why I am not 100 per cent in support of the idea of state police. If we imbibe the idea of periodic review that I suggested, Nigerians can come together and proffer an appropriate solution to this and other challenges.”
The call for restructuring began in the mid-1990s. One of its prominent proponents then was the late Alao Aka-Basorun of blessed memory. Today, more Nigerians, including some stakeholders in the North, are coming to the realisation that some sort of restructuring is inevitable.
