The Nation Newspaper

Tag: federation

  • Nigerian federation: Gaining strength from a weak position

    Nigerian federation: Gaining strength from a weak position

    Text of Ogun State Governor Ibikunle Amosun’s speech during the nation’s Independence Anniversary

     

    Today, we are celebrating the 52nd Independence Anniversary of our country, Nigeria. While every anniversary of a great nation like Nigeria is worth celebrating, it is an obvious fact that 52 is not a landmark figure. That probably is responsible for the low-key events marking the occasion across the country. Few days ago, as I was ruminating over the obvious declining enthusiasm which the celebration of the Independence Anniversary has witnessed in recent years, my mind flashed to the fact that in two years time, we will be celebrating the Centenary Anniversary of the creation of the territory called Nigeria, following the amalgamation of the Northern and Southern Protectorates by Lord Lugard in 1914.

    Thus, in 2014, there will be need to take a retrospective and introspective look into the last 100 years of the existence of the geographical entity called Nigeria and how well it has served the purpose of its founding fathers. We may also use the opportunity to do a prospective assessment of what we want to make of the future of our country.

    First, there are those who believe that the 98 year-old exercise which led to the creation of a large country out of the merger of seemingly different peoples from the Southern and Northern Protectorates was a mistake, an anomaly and the genesis of our problems as a country. The subscribers to this theory are those who continue to harp on the quote (often out of context) by one of our late nationalists that Nigeria is ‘a mere geographical expression’. However, I beg to disagree with the position that Nigeria is still anything but a country. Ours is a unique country with all potentials to neutralise the imperfections of its creation. In any case, from the experience of other federations, a federal structure is always a work-in-progress, a continuous negotiation among the federating units as well as the centre and the units. So, there is no cause for pessimism about Nigeria’s structural future. Let us look towards brighter days of the workings of the Nigerian federalism.

    It may be true that the colonialists merged two protectorates for administrative convenience and to create a viable, large and strong trade out-post for their companies, but God in His infinite mercies has given us all it takes to achieve greatness from a weak position, to rise from the debilitating design crafted by the colonial masters and to snatch victory from the jaws of defeat. That is why this same God who made imperialism possible has also ensured that more and more wealth creating resources continued to be discovered in our country – Nigeria.

    From what is supposed to be a mistake and selfish, parochial agenda of the colonialists, today we have the most populated black African country, and by inference a large potential market for goods and services. Today, we have a diverse country which allows for plurality of ideas, culture, religion, resources, people and environmental factors. Today, we are one of the biggest world oil producing countries. We have some of Africa’s best managed banks. We have a Nobel laureate and one of the most vibrant arts and entertainment industries. The first television station in Africa and one of the first five in the world was established here in Nigeria. The manpower potentials of this nation are so enormous that we have produced world beaters in so many areas: science, sports, economy, arts, business, diplomacy and others.

    We have successfully pulled through a terrible civil war in which thousands of people died and the thread of unity of the country was strained up to the breaking point. On many occasions, the federating units were aggrieved over certain issues and many thought the country would disintegrate. Yet, on every occasion that our country got close to breaking point, we always find a way of pulling back from the precipice. What all these reflect is the tenacity and determination to survive as a country. It shows that Nigerians – or to put it more poignantly, the various federating units or ethnic groups, have decided to live together as a united nation to take all the advantages derivable from a large country with huge population, extensive land mass and variety of resources.

    From the above, it is therefore noticeable that what is needed at this point is for us to re-examine our federal system (since a federal arrangement is the best for a country with plurality of culture, language and ethnic nationalities) and create a strong arrangement which allows each of the federating units to plan its development in a way that is unique to its socio-cultural peculiarity. The question that should confront all of us as we move into the centenary celebration is: How do we make our federal system work for the benefit of the overwhelming majority of our people? This question is now more pertinent as our National Assembly is going into yet another round of constitutional review process.

    I am inclined to say that our present constitution itself is a bulwark against the emergence of a workable federal system. A constitution which in its exclusive list includes almost all items is definitely not promoting federalism. The present constitutional provisions on creation of local government areas make it impossible for more of these third tier-governments to be created while the present arrangement confers undue advantage on some states and skew the revenue sharing arrangement in favour of such states. This problem is already stoking the debate that creation of local government should be a wholly state affair and that it should be included in the residual list.

    Also, there is need to encourage fiscal federalism in our country. The revenue collection and allocation system needs to be reviewed to address the grievances of the states where revenue generation activities are concentrated. For example, states should be allowed to collect Value Added Tax on goods and services sold in their domains. Such states can then remit certain agreed percentage to the Federal Government. The present arrangement in which all mineral resources found in the states are under the control of the Federal Government does not augur well for the growth of federalism.

    In the same vein, a situation where Trunk A roads designated as federal roads and in various degrees of disrepair dot the landscape of our country will not aid development. Some of these roads have not witnessed any repair or maintenance in the past two decades. Truth is, no state government worth its salt will wait and watch while its residents suffer while using so-called federal roads. That is why in Ogun State our guiding philosophy about such federal roads located in our territory is that there are no federal residents or citizens, those citizens are localised in one state either by residence or origin. Thus, whatever intervention we have to make, we quickly do.

    Another example of the failure of our present federal arrangement becomes evident in the security situation. While governors are called chief security officers of their respective states, the Nigeria Police command structure, deployment of personnel and other operational modalities are centrally controlled by the Federal Government. Yet, state governments bear the burden of equipping the police and other security agencies as well as providing necessary financial support for their daily operations. That is why those canvassing the establishment of state police have a basis for their position. The reality on ground in the states have already forced their governments to have modified forms of state police with the various ‘Operation This and That’ being created and funded by the respective state governments.

    There are many other issues which we need to examine critically towards rejuvenating our federal system. For example, we should redirect our leadership evolutionary process so that it can be based on competition of ideas and quality of candidates, instead of where a person comes from. These are some of the basic issues that I believe we need to start discussing so as to build the much-needed consensus before 2014, the year of our centenary celebration. May God bless our great country – Nigeria.

    •Amosun, a chartered accountant, is Governor of Ogun State.

     

  • Agents of neo-colonialism and historical perfidy-2

    Agents of neo-colonialism and historical perfidy-2

    ‘A State in the grip of neo-colonialism is not master of its own destiny. It is this factor which makes neo-colonialism such a serious threat to world peace.’ ————Kwame Nkrumah (1909-1972)

    On May 5, 2007, Zimbabwe issued currency notes with face values of Z$100million and Z$250 million. On May 15, 2007, a new bank note of Z$500million was issued, followed by the issue on May 20, 2007 of currency notes in denominations of Z$5billion, Z$25 billion, and Z$50 billion. Finally, on 21 July 2007, bank notes with a face value of Z$100 billion were issued. Eventually, Zimbabwe abandoned its own currency and legalised the use of only foreign currencies. Peru had a nasty experience with inflation and in 1986, it made its highest denomination to be 1,000 intis. By 1991, this had increased to 5 million intis. Peru in 1981 created the Neuro sol, a unit of which exchanged for one million intis just to combat the high value currency-induced inflation. Is that what Lamido Sanusi and his cohorts are working to achieve for this country?

    In 1989, Poland’s highest denomination was 200,000 zlotych. Due to reckless financial re-engineering, it was increased to 1,000,000 zlotych in 1991 and 2,000,000 zlotych in 1992. By 1994, a new zlotych was exchanged for 10,000 old zlotych. In 1992, the Russian federation witnessed spiral inflationary trend and by 1998, the government erroneously believed that creating new rubble that exchanged for 1,000 old rubbles would solve its problem. Angola’s original currency called kwanza was replaced in 1990 by the novo kwanza. By 1991 and 1994, the highest denomination had increased to 50,000 and 500,000 novo Kwanzaa respectively. Thence by 1995, a unit of the re-decimated kwanza exchanged for 1,000 novo kwanza. The highest currency note denomination in Zaire in 1988 was 5,000 zaires that later rose in 1992 to 5,000,000 zaires. In 1993, a new currency called the new nouveau Zaire, a unit of which exchanged for 3,000,000 zaires was created. Shamefully, its highest denomination increased in 1996 to 1,000,000 new zaires. When the country was renamed the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) in 1997, its currency was changed to francs while a unit of it was exchanged for 100,000 new zaires. Is Lamido Sanusi gradually moving to use the CBN to turn Nigeriainto an economically unattractive DRC?

    Curiously too, the International Monetary Fund issued a widely reported publication in July that suggested the naira was overvalued by as much as 8.5 percent; an opinion also reportedly rejected by Nigeria’s Central Bank. What then could have informed the latest decision on the N5000 note if not to demonstrate its covert intent of addressing the IMF fallacy on the nation’s currency?

    Even if the problematic countries mentioned above are exceptions to the rule because the CBN referred to countries like Germany, Singapore and Japan as ones with higher powerful currency denominations that do not induce inflation. It must quickly be stated that before the advent of euro, it was wrong for the CBN to assert that Germany had higher denomination. It is on record that Germany officially replaced Deutsch Mark with euro in all cash transactions in February 2002. And the fact that the highest euro note is €500 does not make that to be peculiar to Germany alone but to all European countries that cede their national currency to the euro. With all sense of humility, I state that the CBN’s claim that Germany mint high denomination currency notes is incorrect and an attempt to further confuse an already bemused Nigerian public.

    In the case of Singapore, yes it could be said that it has a higher currency denomination in its SGD 10,000. But this is seldom used in financial transactions. If tradition is anything to go by, the coming N5000 note will soon become a status symbol thing that all households must be seen with. Infact, going by the alacrity with which the policy was officially endorsed by notable guzzlers of our collective economic dividends, it is obvious that the note was designed to meet the needs of that elite class and not to satisfy the needs of Nigerians in general. Back to the issue of Singapore, the CBN needs to be informed that that country has a low inflation rate of 2.8% and also maintained a strong currency that exchanged for SDG1.305545 to one US Dollar. Furthermore, Singapore has US$82.48 billion Stock which is 130% over and above that of Nigeria’s US$34.65 billion. What has the CBN under Sanusi Lamido done to improve the exchange rate of a naira to a dollar in the mould of what obtains in Singapore?

    Additionally, the cited countries (Germany, Singapore and Japan), run clearly acknowledged economy with translucent commercial ambience; prices of goods are stable, and the per-capita GDP are comparable to what obtains in few high-brow countries of the world and with low tax rates. The CBN cited countries boost of well centrally coordinated and efficient free market economy. Above all, exports in them are high. What has Lamido done to increase genuine exports through banks before coming up with this N5000 currency denomination?

    The CBN should note that there is no basis for comparing such countries with large export-oriented economies with that of Nigeria. Moreover, it could be wiser for those countries for strategic economic reasons to deliberately undervalue their currencies against the US Dollar so as to make their exports cheaper in the US and other big markets of the world. So, if they print large currency denominations for ease of financial transaction, no one can begrudge them. Apart from government contract barons, governors collecting monthly allocations, legislators sharing money in Ghana-Must-Go bags and fake oil marketers using fake Letters of Credit from banks that are not properly supervised to fleece the nation, the CBN should come out and tell Nigerians why it has become so important for it to print this higher N5000 denomination.

    The 5,000 currency note will be the fifth time in 13 years that CBN will be printing new costly currency denominations under different guises with no impacting effect in the end. This, sadly, is happening in a nation where majority live on less than $2 a day. Lamido Sanusi is not governor of CBN to serve the interest of Okonjo-Iweala and other bourgeois pretenders milking this nation dry. The low value of the naira or inflation rate will not improve because the country has N5000 denomination; neither will it change the proclivity of economic marauders in big companies nor those in high public places from preferring the dollar to the naira.

    Since Lamido Sanusi came out boldly to defend the removal of fuel subsidy in January this year, I have treated whatever he defends vociferously with contempt. His intellect is solely for the protection of the establishment, otherwise, he should have responded to the financial oddities and frauds uncovered in the fuel subsidy management probe. What has he to say to the $10 billion that the nation is losing to oil theft through subsidy removal that he stoutly defended? Will he still come out to say that there still exists subsidy today? The question is: why defend a policy that will serve the interest of a clique against that of the entire nation? The same thing is what he is doing now regarding the N5000 currency note. Most of the frauds committed against the Nigerian state are done through the banks that he has failed to properly supervise and sanitise. This Lamido Sanusi is a plant in CBN by other neo-colonial agents living within and outside the country. Those parasitic agents refuse to learn from history and this could lead, in the end, to unleashing of the tragedy of history on the nation.