A former Deputy Governor of Rivers State, Sir Gabriel Toby, in this interview with our Bureau Chief in Port Harcourt, Bisi Olaniyi, speaks on the need to restructure Nigeria now. The South-East, he says deserves one more state to correct the structural imbalance. Excerpts:
What is your view on restructuring of Nigeria? The general opinion now, which is accepted, is that we need to restructure Nigeria. Members of the National Assembly, on resumption, are reconsidering the bill on restructuring. Nigeria must be restructured, as a basis of our existence.
Restructuring of Nigeria should go in two ways: devolution of powers and resource control. We need to decide on the powers that the centre must retain and what powers must go to the states and possibly the local governments. That will be the beginning of determining what level of resources should be retained at the centre and what should go to the states. We in the South-South zone have always talked about resource control, as a basis of helping us to develop our areas.
The people who live in the upland areas and administer are not likely to know the feel or problems of those in the deltaic/swamp/mangrove areas, with terrain that is difficult to develop. As God will have it, the Niger Delta region, especially the South-South zone, is blessed with crude oil and gas. As of now, the main revenue of Nigeria is coming from the oil and gas in the Niger Delta.
You will find that the areas where the crude oil and gas are coming from are undeveloped. If they are allowed to control their resources, they will be able to develop their areas better. That is in principle. I must accept that our experience so far has not given us that kind of hope.
We have seen states that plunder their resources. We have seen local governments where chairmen and councillors stay in the state capital and share whatever resources they get, without being at the headquarters of the local governments to ensure development of their areas. The whole idea of creating local governments is to have them as centres of development and so also the states.
On resource control, are Niger Deltans still insisting on increase in the 13 per cent derivation fund from to 50 per cent?
It must be negotiated. Once we agree on what will be the responsibilities of the centre (Federal Government), then, we should be in a position to know how to fund the centre. The centre will be funded from the resources of this country, which come from all the states. The 13 per cent is not enough. That is part of the agitations.
From 1954, the regions were controlling whatever they produced and paid tax to the centre, which was used to develop. The derivation percentage must be increased, whether it is 50 percent, 60 percent or whatever, will be determined by the responsibilities that devolve from the federal to the states and local government.
Do you want the powers to devolve to both the states and local governments?
It is a constitutional matter. We must bear in mind that the states are the federating components of the Federal Government. We are aiming at happiness of all Nigerians, who should be in positions to manage their environment and themselves. Local governments are the centres of development and they must have some responsibilities in developing their areas.
In having true federalism, are you in support of having state police?
This is a knotty question. To an extent, I am in support of state police. When you talk of state and community policing, you will find that the policemen and women will be in the best position to know the flashpoints and to quickly tackle issues, but the state police, when created, must be supervised and have overall authority still residing with the Federal Government. So that there will be the same policies and control, when it comes to excesses and arbitrariness.
We currently have bicameral legislature with the Senate and the House of Representatives, but some Nigerians are calling for unicameral legislature to reduce cost. Which of the two do you want scrapped?
We have tried the unicameral and we are now on the bicameral legislature. When you are talking of scrapping, you must bear in mind that people are already there.
What of if the scrapping is effected at the end of the tenure of the present members of the National Assembly in 2019, in order to have unicameral legislature?
I agree that having unicameral legislature will cut cost. We will be better off in Nigeria with one legislative body. The bicameral legislature is becoming rather too expensive. The legislators also have retinue of aides.
There are two opinions on this matter: having part-time legislature or having just a single legislative body, as we have in the United States of America. It will cut cost and make us to move faster, in terms of development.
Do you support the return to the 1963 Constitution, and for Nigeria to adopt six geopolitical zones?
With the 1963 Constitution, we had three regions (Western, Eastern and Northern) and we later had the Mid-Western Region. You cannot turn back the hands of the clock. Going back to the 1963 Constitution will be a complicated issue. We now have 36 states and six geopolitical zones in Nigeria, no longer regions.
The best way to have peace in Nigeria is to restructure on the basis of states and devolve more powers and resources to the states. We should also let the states have their own ways of creating resources, if they want to survive. Then, we will have a federation of 36 states, not six zones.
On fiscal federalism, are you in support of the 40:40:20 revenue sharing formula being proposed; that is 40 per cent each for Federal Government and states, while the local governments would get 20 percent of the total revenue?
It is not a matter of Mathematics. If we agree on devolution of powers, especially the things that the federal government, states and local governments would do, then the question of how to share the resources will later come up.