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Tag: restructuring

  • Restructuring without stampede (1)

    But none of those at the conference could swear on the Bible or the Quaran that such position papers were cleared with citizens in their respective regions

    In the last two or three weeks, restructuring has become a buzz word in many parts of the country. Some would argue this is so because many of those who created the design to which citizens from many parts of the country are demanding restructuring are now not only listening to those they once labeled iconoclastic are also leading the song of change of the architecture of governance in the country. Such new choristers include former heads of state, General Ibrahim Babangida and APC governors who had largely ignored calls for restructuring for fear of being labeled hostile to the constitution under which they came to power in a federation where most of the revenue to run subnational governments came from transfers from the federation account, made robust by revenue from petroleum. As is common with the Nigeria Factor of everything in the country, many people are already acting as if a new (post-restructuring) constitution is about to go to the printer.

    It is realistic for enthusiasts of restructuring not to get carried away as many of us are already doing. Some are already suggesting that needed restructuring have been done by the 2014 National Conference while others are calling for collation of amendments to the 1999 Constitution that the National Assembly have come up with in the last six or so years of interminable amendment. Others are calling for retrieval from the archives of all reports since 1963 of meetings related to what kind of federal union Nigerians desire while a few have called for wholesale revival of the Independence constitution, which to date is believed to be the Union Charter with the most elaborate consultation between the founding fathers and founding children of the federation, now considered by many citizens as already too ripe for change.

    Some specific suggestions are already coming out from several quarters. Such recommendations include calls for state police while others are preparing to establish a specially fortified community police system. There are also those who are intensifying the call for full resource control, not only in respect of petroleum and gas, but for all forms of mineral resources. Worse or better still, some of the veterans of the 2014 National Conference are asking that the government adopt the over 600 recommendations made by the conference. Makers of blueprints for the new architecture of governance base their arguments on the principle that there is no need to re-invent the wheel. Also unforgettable is the group that is studying calls for restructuring with the hope of taking a position on the matter soon. Such group includes the Acting President whose promise to make the views of the government known later should be understood in the context of his acting for the substantive president. There are even APC governors who after announcement of support for restructuring by APC governors have also indicated withdrawn their support of restructuring. This group includes governor of Kogi State.

    Without blaming those who are already constructing what the final document on restructuring should contain, this column wants to plead for caution as citizens make prescriptions on the way to restructure the country.  Restructuring refers to process rather than to product. Apart from the restructuring done in Nigeria unilaterally by military dictators between 1970 and the release of the 1999 Constitution, this country has not done any citizen-driven restructuring since 1963, when a light retouching of the Independence federal constitution declared the country a Federal Republic and added three items, hitherto on the Concurrent list, to the Exclusive List. None of the conferences held since 1963 had involved any manner of restructuring.  The 1979 Constitution that was promulgated to replace the suspended 1963 Constitution was largely a capturing of details of the status quo created by military dictators into a document that became the 1979 Constitution.

    It is, therefore, presumptuous for anyone or group to refer to any document from previous conferences (including the 2014 national conference convened by former President Goodluck Jonathan) as having done the work needed to restructure the polity and the economy. It is on record that the only constitution that enjoyed due pre-constitution deliberations and consultations involving rulers and citizens is the 1954 Constitution. History tells those who were not around then that citizens voted for delegates to the constitutional conference and received feedbacks from delegates as the conference progressed. No such robust consultation had taken place ever since, not even during the writing of what became the 1979 Constitution. As we all know, the 1999 Constitution was a top secret until after the election of General Olusegun Obasanjo as the first post-military president in 1998.

    Admittedly, over 400 delegates attended the 2014 national conference, and all of them were people with national or regional recognition in their own rights. But none of them could say that he or she was sent to the conference as the choice of members of community or that he or she sat with duly elected representatives of citizens to exchange ideas on how citizens wanted the relations between central and regional or community governments to be structured or restructured. Although there were so-called regional position papers: a paper by a northern group titled Arewa: the Strength and Pillar of Nigeria; another by the Yoruba that called for Regionalism, etc. But none of those at the conference could swear on the Bible or the Quaran that such position papers were cleared with citizens in their respective regions. It is, therefore, a misrepresentation of facts for anyone to say the recommendations of the 2014 conference is already a very good work that has become inevitable.

    As we all know, restructuring as a process does not have to lead to administrative federalism that results from mere devolution (donation or delegation of power) from a commanding central government to subnational governments. It does not even have to result automatically in mutual sharing of power between partners or coordinates engaged in governing a country characterised by central and subnational governments. It could even result in more unitarisation of a country if that is the wish of the country’s citizens.

    Apart from the 1954 Constitution which grew into the Independence Constitution in 1960, there had never been a situation in which citizens were allowed to participate in the process of choosing those who participated in providing ideas to describe and capture in a constitution what citizens desire as contours or features of the way they want the country of many nations to be structured for governance. The argument for not pushing the 2014 conference report as an inevitable template to be put before negotiators for a new federal Nigeria has nothing to do with some political pundits’ view that it is not fair to put pressure on President Buhari to adopt policy guidelines bequeathed to him by a government he defeated in an election. The real point to note is that citizens should be given the right to have a voice in the process of restructuring so that they can have a sense of belonging to the product that grows out of such process.

    We have been victims of military organisation of our polity for long enough to have internalised major political decisions being crafted out of our view and handed to us as citizens to run with. We need not almost two decades after the exit of the military to allow a handful of self-appointed leaders to imitate the same process as we embark on finding out what type of united federal republic our citizens desire. Citizens deserve to have an opportunity to generate for their delegates ideas garnered from their political and economic experience in the country since the suspension of the country’s Independence Constitution in 1966. It is ironical that of the three constitutions: 1960, 1979, and 1999, it is the oldest one that is the most democratic. This late in the day for our country’s constitution (a summary of the rules and regulations that govern our relations) to be prepared behind the back of citizens as all conferences towards a new structure of governance (including the 2014 National Conference) had been. We had gone through such process in 1998 when we rushed with euphoria into transition from military to civil rule, without a constitution, all in the name of finding a quick-fix to a complex problem, the way military rule had deformed Nigeria structurally and handed a unitary structure to citizens as a federal one.

    To be continued

    Roposek@msn.com

  • Restructuring: Community leaders in Rivers sue for peace

    Some community leaders and politicians in Rivers State have pleaded for caution over the call for the restructuring of Nigeria even as they impressed on the different tiers of government to do everything humanly possible to deliver the dividends of democracy.

    In separate reactions yesterday in Port Harcourt, Rivers State capital, they said if Nigerians are comfortable with enough food on their tables, there would be no need for the call to restructure the country.

    They agreed that there are some of the section of the 2014 National Conference that can be accepted but said definitely the implementation of 2014 conference report is not the solution to Nigeria’s problem.

    Chief Michael Ngeneba, a community leader believes that the call for restructuring Nigeria and the need to implement 2014 National Conference cannot solve the problem that Nigeria and Nigerians are facing in this generation.

    Ngeneba said: “The only solution is for our leaders to be conscious of good governance and not the looting of Nigeria resources. If every leader will perform his or her responsibility and deliver good governance to his or her constituencies I don’t think that anybody will be talking about restructuring.

    “The man representing me at the National Assembly, State level, the governor and the local government level are the one that need restructuring not Nigeria. The leaders should restructure themselves and deliver good governance, provide for their constituency and get closer to those who elected them.”

    Hon Azubuike Wanjoku, lawmaker, Rivers State House of Assembly, said Nigeria has already being restructured   from the first time we started having constitutional dialogue.

    The President, Alice Worluh Widow’s Foundation, Sir Lucky Worluh,  said, “Before now some people said they are fighting for resource control, people like Asari Dukibo were at the forefront and when he got what he wanted he disappeared”.

  • Nigeria needs mindset change, not restructuring – Obasanjo

    Nigeria needs mindset change, not restructuring – Obasanjo

    Former President Olusegun Obasanjo on Friday disagreed with those calling for the restructuring of Nigeria, saying the same social crises bedeviling the country would persist in a restructured country associated with injustice, impunity and bad governance.

    Obasanjo, who was guest of the Chairman of Lee Engineering and Construction Company Limited, Chief Leemon Ikpea, spoke at the palace of the Olu of Warri, Ogiame Ikenwoli, in Warri.

    The ex- President said he sees nothing wrong with a united Nigeria.

    Reacting to a speech delivered on behalf of the monarch by Chief Brown Mene, during the reception organized in his honour, Obasanjo commended the Itsekiri people for their perseverance and decision to stand against any divisive agitation, despite their complaints against marginalisation and demand for better treatment and equity.

    He restated his believe that the country’s problems could be resolved through dialogue and negotiations and not through secession.

    Obasanjo said: “I believe that we can solve all our problems through dialogue, engagement, discussion and conversation. As you rightly remarked, I participated in the civil war and I said never again will I participate in any civil war again in my life.

    “It was gruesome, it was destructive and it was deadly. The people who are now clamouring for whatever they are clamouring for don’t even know what war means. They don’t. Anybody who has seen the devastation of war, the destruction of war and the mindlessness of war will never want to see a war again and may we never have another war again.

    “The answer to most of our problems is mindset change and change of mentally. If we need any restructuring, it is the restructuring of our mindset and mentality. How will anybody in his right senses believe separation is the way out?

    “We have passed that stage. We have problems, there are many ways we can solve them. It is our diversity that makes us a great country. I won’t want a Nigeria where we dance same juju, or wear same attire. Our strength is in our diversity.

    “Some progress is being made in spite of our difficulties and problems, we need to make greater progress than we have made before. If we do that we’ll have good governance, there’ll be no impunity, everybody will have a sense of belonging and a stake in this project called Nigeria. Nothing is wrong with Nigeria, rather a lot is wrong with Nigerians. We need to correct what is wrong with Nigerians. Some of us have to speak up because if things are wrong and you don’t speak up, then you have become an accomplice.

    “Dismemberment of Nigeria is not good enough. Harmony and cohesion in Nigeria is what we should substitute for dismemberment. Inequity, injustice or unfairness are not good enough, we should substitute them with equity, fairness, good government and lack of impunity.”

     

     

  • Restructuring lyrics and dance on the street

    SIR: When dancers demands for a change of music, it is obvious that the old music is no longer satisfactory. Restructuring is the latest music and if you are just entering Nigerian shore for the first time, you don’t need a magician to tell you that the political atmosphere, religious houses, mechanic shops and even street corners are wearing a dolorous looks.

    From the four cardinal points in the country, it is the same music and very loud indeed. Why have the agitations suddenly become louder and are now championed by the deconstructionists who were in power before? Could it be a conspiracy of the elites for 2019 election? We must sincerely answer these questions if the marriage called Nigeria must survive the testy moment.

    If the foundation of a building is faulty, it sinks and casualties become inevitable!  October 1, 1960 as we all know is our independence year, but as things stands, October 1 is singing a different song. It is no longer breaking news that Arewa youths gave October 1 as quick notice to the Igbo; East gave same October 1 to actualize their Biafrexit; some Niger Delta militants set same October 1 to bomb oil installations if their demands are not met; the South –west, not left out of the wired atmosphere spearheaded by Afenifere and OPC, asked for implementation of Jonathan’s 2014 National Conference report. The Middle Belt, also not comfortable with their brothers in the core north perceived to be marginalising them in power sharing and the murmuring is on. What a special October!

    What exactly are we restructuring? What is wrong with our system? Nigerians from all indications are calling for true federalism, where the federating states are allowed to compete favourably well with their individual resources and contribute their quotas to the government at the centre. But instead, we are operating a unitary system and that is why states have become parasite to the federal government. If manna stopped falling from Abuja as it is today, some states would go into extinction.

    Nigeria remains an unanswered question, more than a century after the amalgamation of 1914. Before and after the independence, virtually every government has had to deal with same national issue. In 1977, Nigeria’s Constituent Assembly that gave birth to 1979 constitution almost ended in kerfuffle.  In 2005, National political reforms conference hit a brick wall when Niger Delta representatives staged a walk-out for not being carried along fairly. Same situation replicated in 2014 National Conference conducted by Jonathan. The government of the day says they were not being carried along, therefore, resolutions should be dumped and President Buhari never open the documents until his medical trip.

    Again, Nigerians are calling for the same conference or a referendum. Isn’t it glaring that Nigerian government should take a decision? Should we wait until second civil war is fully declared?

    The war drums all over the country shouldn’t be taken for granted. Yes, the marriage called Nigeria is indissoluble, but we must prevent it by listening to the music of agitations and of course, the need to return Nigeria to the federating units as it were in the 60s before

    it was tinkered by the military.  So, the agitators shouldn’t be seen as opportunists or political gangsters as one governor from the North averred.

    The debate about restructuring and renegotiation is important and urgent to hold the union of different tribes, ethnic groups and characters together.

     

    • Alifia Sunday,

    Ilorin, Kwara State.

  • ABC of restructuring

    ABC of restructuring

    THESE are exciting times. It all looks so surreal; the dizzying rate at which events occur.

    After a long while in detention, Nnamdi Kanu, the enigmatic separatist, was let off on bail. He defied the bail conditions and carried on like an outlaw. Some youths in the North took a cue from him and issued an October deadline for the Igbo to leave the North. Ever since, nobody has rested.

    From the extremist secession campaign and hate speeches, the row was scaled down to referendum. Now it is restructuring, which has elbowed off the front page kidnapping – the six Lagos pupils remain in captivity and Evans “The Fearsome” has gone to court to assert his fundamental rights –and terrorism (Boko Haram chiefs are said to be turning themselves in). Cultism makes occasional appearances. And, as has just been discovered, Internally Displaced Persons (IDPs) camps have changed from being workshops for officials with itchy palms to veritable baby making factories. Talk of the wonders of adversity (apologies to the bard).

    How do we make sense of all this? To the barber shop I returned the other day to have a feel of how an average Nigerian sees the drama.

    It was alive, as usual. The conviviality and the camaraderie were easily noticeable. Two men, surrounded by a small crowd of youths, were slugging it out on the draught board. Then a rotund old man with a glittering Hitler-style moustache walked in, dragging his ageing feet like a drunken reveller.

    “Papi D is here,’’ a young man screamed excitedly. “It’s time for national issues,” he said.

    The old fellow smiled, his mouth betraying a set of thick, brownish teeth. They looked starved of a good tooth paste. He must have had more than his share of kolanuts. He lit a cigarette and turned his face up to let the huge smoke billow into the air.

    Papi D sank into an old arm chair, which one of the youths yielded to him as a mark of respect. “I won’t stay long today. I need to see a doctor,” he announced he to the crowd of anxious youths, who began to fire questions at him.

    “Sir, what is this diversification the Buhari administration has been shouting?”

    “What a question. When you explore one path for so long and you’re making no progress, you quit that line and start anew. The other day I was reading how that wicked boy Evans spoke about his beginning as a spare parts dealer. Customs seized his goods and he lost everything. He then diversified into drug. His South African partner got angry one day and trained his gun on him. He fled to Nigeria and then tried his hands on armed robbery. Evans dumped that. Again, he diversified – to kidnapping. He was reaping bountifully from that until he was captured. Now he has sued the police, demanding N300m damages and people are asking: ‘Did he kidnap the IG?’ “

    “Nigeria has just exported its first consignment of yams. Oil is under threat. That is diversification, my dear. Instead of praising Audu Ogbeh’s ingenuity, some are scorning him. On the internet, those hailing the move to earn more forex through yam export and critics of the idea, who are crying that it would spark a huge shortage, are tearing at one another.

    “Know why they are angry? GEJ converted dollars to yam. PMB is converting yam to dollars,’ one of the gladiators wrote. Must we shred every idea?”

    All was quiet as the man spoke. He cleared his throat and coughed violently. Gbaa!Gbaa!Hmmm.

    “I apologise for that brief interruption, gentlemen.”

    One of the youths said: “Thank you sir. What is quit notice?”

    “Now you’re going technical. That is what you get when a landlord wants to assert his land lordship. I guess you are referring to the one issued by some youths in the North to the Igbo. An eviction notice is sent by a lawyer, not necessarily an ogbologbo lawyer. It is either a seven-day notice or a 30-day notice, depending on how much the landlord’s mood has been fouled. This one from the youths is more than five months. That is why we scholars see it as a comical relief in a tragic situation.

    “Usually, the lawyer will write: ‘I, Chief Adewale Ajantala of Gbotikuyo Chambers, Advocate and Notary Public, write on behalf of Mr Oley Intashua, hereinafter referred to as our client. The same Mr Intashua, aforementioned, being your landlord and owner of the four-room bungalow which you currently occupy as a tenant on 2, Lampai Crescent, Kano, has instructed us and we have instructions from him to ask you to deliver up and surrender to him possession of the said four-bedroom bungalow that lies and situate at the said 2, Lampai Crescent, Kano and all its appurtenances on or before the 30th day of July 2017.

    “The landlord, our client, aforementioned, needs the said bungalow, which your good self occupy, for his private and personal use. We have been informed and we have verified and confirmed that you have done so much damage to the premises by your indecent activities of noisy parties and excessive smoking and drinking.

    “You are required to settle and pay all outstanding electricity and water bills and keep the bungalow in a tenantable condition.

    “Take notice that should you ignore this notice or fail to comply with the above demands, an action will be instituted against you in a competent court of law to recover our client’s property and all payment arrears accordingly. A word is enough for the wise.”

    “Now tell me, who are these youths issuing the Igbo an ultimatum? Are they lawyers? Are they learned? How much are the Igbo owing? From where did they acquire the right to issue such deadlines? Please, give me a break.”

    A  brief bout of laughter. Applause. The audience seemed mesmerized by the old lawyer’s wisdom. He smiled with a sense of satisfaction.

    “Thank you, Papi D. One more; what is this restructuring cry all over the place? How do we restructure?”

    “Simple. You see, when a building is distressed, you issue an advertorial in a national newspaper, calling for an Expression of Interest from chartered structural engineers, structural designers, structural architects, structural builders and structural dredgers. These are the experts who will advise if you need to knock down the building or patch it and dress it up with new paints and accoutrements. Is a new foundation required? Do we pile the site with more sand to strengthen the building?

    “What is the opinion of the residents who occupy this building? How do we get them to agree that we need to restructure in a particular way that will accommodate them all?”

    Another coughing bout.Gbau!Gbauuu! Hmmm.Apologies.Papi D dipped his hand into his jacket’s pocket, brought out a small bottle, which he opened gently, apparently in respect of the contents. He poured it all into his mouth and frowned like a whipped kid, his mouth firmly shut. The smell of gin hit the air. More cough. Apologies.

    “You see, these are spiritual matters. One needs to be in the spirit to ventilate them. Why the restructuring and secession cry now when Nigerians are making waves all over the world? Our students are breaking records. Our soccer stars are teaching the world how to play. Some of our Chibok girls were at the White House. We have a world boxing champion. At home, we ramble, fumble and tumble.

    “Let’s face the fact: all we need is good leadership that will tackle corruption, nepotism and ethnicism.  There should be equity, justice and the fear of God. And a robust sense of humour.”

    Applause. Applause.

     

     

    And the Senate got it ALL wrong

    MANY Nigerians were disappointed on Tuesday when senators drew a line in the sand and resolved to shun nominations from the executive. They have been called names and accused of plotting to derail our democracy with their legislative pomposity.

    The distinguished senators brought this upon themselves. Against all expectations, they shunned a serious matter concerning a fellow senator and plunged headlong into a needless test of strength with the Executive.

    I speak of the matter involving Senator Bukar Abba Ibrahim, the distinguished senator representing the good people of Yobe East and a former governor. A video purported to be that of His Excellency in a romp with two women has been making the rounds. I have refused to watch it so as not to be charged with willful intrusion of the integrity of a distinguished senator for which one could be summoned.

    Why has the Senate overlooked this matter of grave security implications? Where is Senator Dino Melaye? Shouldn’t he have taken a few minutes off his battle against recall to raise this “urgent matter of national security”?

    Who decides how many women should warm a senator’s bed at a time? Isn’t this a private matter? Have matters  of concupiscence ever resulted in any legislative laxity? Was anybody’s daughter missing?

    Ibrahim’s traducers, who we all know are politically motivated anyway, are shouting shame. Pray, whatever is shameful in a senator having a test of his manliness? Must we take the anger –and envy – against our senators to this ridiculous level of regulating their copulatory  activities? How many of these biased critics can perform the senator’s feat?

    Not one to run away from a fight, Ibrahim has told his disparagers to go to hell. He said it was all between consenting adults.

    The other time when Senator Sani Ahmed Yerima married the love of his life, those envious fellows who will never mind their own business, said the bride was a child. They even attempted to charge the former Zamfara governor and chief advocate of the Sharia with child abuse. He was called a pedophiliac.

    If the Senate had moved then to check that abuse of a member’s right, Ibrahim wouldn’t have suffered this wanton damage to his glittering reputation.

    Now a point of order. I hereby move that the Senate pass a resolution not to consider any public bill until all those watching this salacious video have appeared before the Ethics Committee to purge themselves of this egregious intrusion.

    Any seconder?

     

  • Controversy over agitation for restructuring

    Controversy over agitation for restructuring

    Nigerians are yet to agree on how to restructure the country. The disagreement is overheating the polity. Assistant Editor LEKE SALAUDEEN examines why some Nigerians are kicking against restructuring.

    The clamour for restructuring has polarised the country. Regions in the south believe in it, but they have different views of what it is all about. To the Ibos in the Southeast, restructuring will guarantee confederation in the constitution; the Yorubas in the Southwest want a restructuring that would take the country back to regionalism; while the Southsouth is pushing for resource control. While the positions of regions in the south are not irreconcilable, that of the three regions in the north is a different ballgame. The debate has pitched the south against the north, which is indifferent to restructuring in any form.

    Eminent leaders from the south believe what can save the country from disintegration is restructuring. They are of the view that the unity of Nigeria and harmonious co-existence of the various ethnic nationalities will be strengthened by fiscal federalism and restructuring of the polity.

    In making a case for restructuring, Ijaw leader Chief Edwin Clark said: “Nigeria is very sick today, because the Nigeria which our founding fathers like Chief Obafemi Awolowo, Dr Nnamdi Azikiwe and Sir Ahmadu Bello bequeathed to us is no longer what we have. At independence, we had a constitution that said there would be three regions; no one is superior to the other.”

    To the former Secretary-General of Commonwealth, Chief Emeka Anyaoku, the disintegration of Nigeria is imminent and the immediate solution is restructuring. Similarly, Afenifere chieftain Ayo Adebanjo is spitting fire that Nigeria will break up, unless zones are allowed to control their resources.

    But, the pan-northern socio-cultural group, the Arewa Consultative Forum (ACF), has rejected the call for restructuring, saying what the country needs at the moment is competent leadership at all levels. The ACF spokesman, Alhaji Mohammed Ibrahim, said heeding the call for restructuring would weaken the centre. He said Nigerians fought for the unity and that it is not possible for the north to support anything that would cause disunity.

    Vocal northern politician Dr Junaid Muhammed said eminent citizens pushing for restructuring are trying to blackmail Nigerians into an unclear and bogus system of government. The Second Republic lawmaker posited that none of those calling for the restructuring of Nigeria had been able to give a clear cut definition of what they meant.

    He added: “Until somebody can tell me what this restructuring is all about, I won’t be convinced about the call. These agitators of restructuring like Clark, Ayo Adebanjo, John Nwodo and others have not actually told us what will be restructured and how it will be done. That was how we were told that without Sovereign National Conference (SNC) Nigeria will collapse.”

    However, Anyaoku insists on restructuring, saying there is need for true federalism, with the existing six geo-political zones as the federating units. He criticised the present structure of federalism “where virtually all the component states are not self-sustaining and are dependent on hand-outs from the Federal Government, because they are unable to pay the salaries of their civil servants and the agreed minimum wage”.

    He said: “Its dependence on the Federal Government and the fierce struggle between its diverse groups to capture power at the centre in order to control the national resources that have been responsible for the country’s present instability and the emergence of centrifugal forces.

    “I believe that our country cannot wait much longer to reclaim the halcyon days of the First Republic, when it witnessed faster national development through a substantial viability and self-sustaining economic activities in the existing four regions at the time.”

    It is the view of analysts that different ethnic groups should agree on how to go about restructuring the country. They argued that different positions taken by the protagonists of restructuring have brought confusion into the polity. They also cautioned against hard stance position and violent posturing of those calling for restructuring, because it is capable of sending wrong signals to the opposing side.

    Legal luminary Malam Yusuf Ali (SAN), said the call for restructuring has brought more confusion into polity. He said Nigerians must agree on what they want to restructure, rather than different zones or ethnic groups defining restructuring the way it suits them.

    Ali said restructuring meants different things to different ethnic groups or zones. For instance, the Yoruba definition of restructuring is regionalism and fiscal federalism and that the perception of Igbos on restructuring is confederation, while the Southsouth is gunning for economic self-determination through restructuring. He added: “Until there is agreement among the ethnic groups in the country on how to restructure Nigeria, we will not make progress; we will be over heating the polity. Let’s agree on basic issues and stop creating confusion.”

    The senior lawyer admitted that there are problems that must be addressed, if Nigerians must live together as subjects of one nation. He said: “If we abolished the settler and indigene dichotomy and ensure equitable distribution of amenities, Nigeria will not mind if the father is president and the son is vice president. An Ibo man won’t care if a Yoruba man is president for life, provided he is not denied of basic things of life. He added that it is lack of faith that is causing suspicion among the ethnic groups.

    Civil right activist Comrade Mashood Erubami agreed that restructuring has been misconstrued by some interest groups. He said the current clamour for restructuring is timely, but not good in context. He said: “It is good that it is coming at a time the National Assembly is embarking on constitutional amendments. It is however not good in context, because it is being mistaken for secession which is not the same as restructuring.”

    Erubami explained that the objective of restructuring is change, because the brand of federalism being practised by Nigeria has not been favourable to the federating units. He said to restructure the obvious unitary system being currently practised, instead of federalism, is a step in the right direction.

    He said: “There are subjective and objective material reasons for the increasing clamour in recent times for genuine restructuring, which may continue unless justice, which is the basis for the call, is demonstrated in the management and distribution of national resources among the component parts of the country.

    “However, those who are making the call in recent times are unserious and self centred. They are just waking up to the call as a means to achieving self-determination and secession, not necessarily because they are interested in truly restructuring Nigeria.”

    A political scientist, Dr Friday Ibok, argued that without restructuring, there will be no peace. He said the 2014 National Conference has set the template for restructuring and that its resolutions, if implemented, will douse the various agitations that is threatening the peace and unity of the country.

    Ibok noted that the conference recommended devolution of powers to the states; establishment of state police, rotational presidency between the north and the south and among the six geo-political zones; the creation of 19 additional states with the Southeast getting four more states

    He regretted that the conference failed to address the issue of derivation and resource control, which is one of the issues fuelling the agitation for restructuring. He said the contentious issue had been settled by the 1960 Independence and 1963 Republican constitutions, because the two constitutions specifically provided that the federating units should control their economic activities and finances, by keeping 50 per cent of all revenues and contributing the remaining 50 per cent to the Federation Account.

    He said: “The constitutions stated that 30 per cent should be shared among the regions, leaving 20 per cent to the Federal Government.

    “But, the law was changed in 1969 by the military administration when the crude oil from the Niger Delta became the mainstay of the economy. The change was effected by military fiat. The Southsouth is clamouring for a return to a true fiscal federalism as was the case when cocoa, rubber, groundnut and cotton were the mainstay of the economy. Their demand is based on principle of equity, justice and fairness.”

    A Kaduna-based lawyer, Mahmoud Haroun, believes those behind the campaign for restructuring are those who lost out in the last general elections. He said they are seeking political relevance ahead of 2019. He said restructuring is the buzz word of a section of the elite that feels that it has been shut out of government, particularly at the federal level.

    Haroun said, to the frustrated politicians, restructuring means regional autonomy or resource control. He added: “The driving force is that if they cannot be accommodated at the federal level, they should be in-charge at the regional level. They say the centre or Federal Government is too powerful and that the way out is to return the ownership of the resources to states or geo-political zones, which may then pay taxes to run the government at the centre.

    “Former Vice President Atiku Abubakar has latched on to the so-called restructuring debate; he has positioned himself as the lead discussant. Apparently, the ongoing debate on restructuring needs a strong advocate in the north and Atiku fits the bill. Atiku needs the restructuring debate, to keep himself busy on the way to another shot at the Nigerian Presidency. Too much politics has crept into the restructuring debate such that it has now become a tool in the hands of those who have lost in the current order and want to distract President Muhammadu Buhari”

    Erubami is of the view that what binds the poor people in the north, east and west together is hunger and abject poverty. He said what can liberate the poor is for them to identify their common enemies and replace them with compassionate, courageous, committed and responsible leadership. He added: “Right now there is nothing different, the same old, unserious self-centred lots are clamouring for restructuring that cannot be said to represent true mandate of the masses.”

    Anyaoku advised that most of the powers currently concentrated at the centre in the presidential system be devolved to the regions to enable each region develops at its own pace. He blames the problems of Nigeria on military intervention that imposed unitary system of government, as against federalism that allows the regions to control their resources and pay tax to the Federal Government.

    He said: “The leadership of the centre should remain less powerful and less attractive as it was at the beginning of our independence. Nigeria should be restructured into a federation of six regions, based on the existing six geo-political zones. The new structure should retain the existing states as development areas but that the governance paraphernalia of governors, state assemblies, civil service and judiciary should be removed.”

    He observed that one of the main challenges that would come with the new system would be that of revenue allocation and suggested that resources should be divided into man-made resources produced by the citizens and God-given-that is minerals both liquid and solid. He said the revenue from God-given resources should be allocated with the Federal Government receiving something between 20 and 23 per cent.

  • Agitation for restructuring political, says Agbakoba

    Agitation for restructuring political, says Agbakoba

    •Ex-NBA President: Nigeria’s sovereignty not sacrosanct

    Former Nigerian Bar Association (NBA) President Dr. Olisa Agbakoba (SAN) yesterday argued that the agitation for restructuring is a political calculation for 2019.

    At a briefing in Lagos, Agbakoba said most politicians advocating restructuring today will abandon it when they get power.

    He said: “What Nigeria needs is a new deal and the present political elite cannot deliver it because of entrenched personal interest.

    “Going forward, civil society needs to wrest power from this ruling political elite to achieve a new system that is inclusive and works for all and not a few. Nigerians need to determine if they want to stay together and under what arrangement. I believe Nigeria needs federalism.”

    Asked whether he was proposing a conference where the agreement to live together would be reached, he said: “The President is the one to initiate the discussion and pull people together. What Nigeria needs is a political system that we all accept. Right now, we don’t have it.”

    He faulted the Federal Government’s position that Nigeria’s sovereignty was not negotiable.

    “Nigeria’s sovereignty is not sacrosanct. Government needs to adopt a flexible stance. The attitude should be: ‘How do we bring Nigerians together?’” he said.

    According to Agbakoba, in Nigeria’s evolution from colonialism, independence, military rule and “military democracy”, there has been authoritarian governments and “exclusion of the people”.

    Nigeria, he said, was yet to produce a “home-grown constitution”.

    “No serious effort has been made to engage the people and build consensus. The colonial and post-colonial constitutions did not emanate from the full involvement of the Nigerian people. The result is that Nigeria has remained a geographical expression,” he said.

    Agbakoba argued that contrary to the Acting President Yemi Osinbajo’s position, every constituent part of Nigeria has a right to self-determination as guaranteed by Article 1 (2) of the United Nations (UN) Charter and Article 20 (1) of the African Charter on Human and Peoples’ Rights.

    Agbakoba said self-determination has origins in natural law and fundamental rights, which led to the American declaration of independence, the French revolution, the Scottish referendum and Catalan referendum.

    “Aspiration for self-determination is not new or peculiar to Nigeria. The caveat, however, is that self-determination must be carried out peacefully and within the law. Nigeria’s situation can be likened to a failing marriage.  To salvage it, the couple need to make adjustments/changes to make the marriage work,” the former NBA president said.

    Agbakoba believes most of those championing restructuring have ulterior motives.

    On President Muhammadu Buhari’s long absence, Agbakoba said how long the President stays away due to ill-health does not matter much as long as the Acting President exercises full powers.

    He said agitations for secession as championed by Nnamdi Kanu of the Indigenous People of Biafra (IPOB) must be “according to constitutional law”.

    He said the quit notice issued the Igbo by Northern youth groups was “not politically correct”, but he did not “see what law they broke”.

  • Why cry for restructuring is loudest now – Shehu Sani

    Why cry for restructuring is loudest now – Shehu Sani

    Is the call for restructuring the country being fueled by the vocal segments of the political elite who have lost or are losing out in the political power game?

    This is the thinking of the Senator representing Kaduna Central, Shehu Sani, when he summed that it would appear that more often than not, the call for political restructuring is loudest when the strong, vocal segments of the political elite have lost or are losing out in the political power game.

    The vocal Kaduna senator quickly added that what he said should not in any way be construed to mean that he endorsed the present socio-economic and politico-legal framework underpinnings the management of the public space in the country.

    This is contained in a lecture he delivered at the weekend on the “Imperatives of Sustaining One Nigeria” at the 5th Annual Parliamentary Lecture of the National Association of Oyo Students.

    Sani, who is Chairman, Senate Committee on Local and Foreign Debts and Vice Chairman, Senate committee on Foreign Affairs, traced the clamour from a section of the populace in South East calling for the creation of the sovereign state of Biafra, the call by the South-South, especially the oil producing region of the Niger Delta, for greater resource control, fiscal federalism and a northern group, which, after arrogating to themselves the powers and privileges  of Landlords, issued a quit notice to the Nigerian citizens from another ethnic group.

    He also recalled that from some top political elite, former top brass of the military and others came strident calls for a restructuring of the country and declared that it would appear that the indissolubility as well as the sovereignty of the State over the entity and political contraption called Nigeria is being questioned and challenged by some of its own citizens.

    The development, he said, gives the impression that the state is under siege.

    He recognized that strident calls to tinker with the structure of the country will not be the first time that Nigerians are calling for a review of the basis of togetherness in the country.

    He recalled that after the amalgamation of 1914, Nigerians continued to clamour for improvements in the overarching socio-political and legal framework on the basis of which pre-colonial governance was predicated.

    He listed the 1922 Clifford Constitution, the Arthur Richards Constitution of 1946, the John McPherson Constitution of 1951 and the Lyttelton Constitution of 1954 and the Independence and Republican Constitutions of 1960 and 1963 respectfully.

    Clearly, he said, political independence was not accompanied by political and administrative machineries capable of dealing with the diverse concerns of the over 300 ethnic nationalities in the country.

    The Nigerian Civil War, he added, signposted not just inter-ethnic intransigencies but the structural dysfunctions of the socio-economic system.

    Sani noted that from General Yakubu Gowon’s post-Civil War effort of Reconciliation, Reconstruction and Rehabilitation (the 3 Rs) to President Goodluck Ebele Jonathan’s 2014 National Conference there have been several efforts at addressing the discontents within the Nigerian polity.

    On “Imperatives of Sustaining One Nigeria” he noted that without any doubt the agitations across the country is overheating the polity and threatening the basis of the corporate existence of the country as constituted under the extant laws of the Federal Republic of Nigeria.

    He posited that the agitations, particularly the recent calls for restructuring, must be placed in proper context and addressed in a manner that strips the narrative of both primordial sentiments as well as the self-serving interests of the political elite.

    The lawmaker argued that “it would appear that more often than not, the call for political restructuring is loudest when the strong, vocal segments of the political elite have lost or are losing out in the political power game.”

    To underscore his position, Sani added “What I have just said should not in any way be construed to mean that I endorse the present socio-economic and politico-legal framework underpinnings the management of the public space. “

    The hue and cry over marginalization, he maintained, “ is both real and deserving of urgent national attention. “

    But who really are the marginalized, he posed

    “In this auditorium over 90 percent of those here present are the youths. According to the recent census figures this category of our populace is over 70 percent of this nation of over 170 million people. Both economically and politically this massive segment of the population has been marginalised, impoverished and alienated.

    “And rather than a concerted national effort to redress this very debilitating reality, the narrative and contestation over the notion of marginalisation have tended to focus on regional/ethnic preoccupations with power sharing and resource control arrangements.

    The calibre of restructuring that I advocate for shies away from an excessive preoccupation with this arrangement because as our history has shown it has not helped the trickling down of the commonwealth to the masses.

    Sani is not convinced that “the recalibration of the national revenue allocation formula, tinkering with the principle of federal character, etc would necessarily improve the lots of our teaming vibrant, energetic, visionary, industrious young people who are able and ready to take on the critical task of moving our society forward.

    “I advocate for Nigeria’ conspicuous youth bulge to be placed up and centre in our national discuss, and in our pursuit of national growth and development.”

    China, he said, is reputed to graduate over 4 million youths annually from its tertiary institutions and to have in place domestic and foreign policies that backstop these graduates both at home and abroad and across diverse sectors.

    “Today China is an indisputable economic, political, military and industrial power. It is correctly adjudged to be the world’s workshop, pulling millions and millions of its citizens up and above the poverty line every year.

    “I think that we should focus on our youths because the almost 60 year old narrative of the elite is too dysfunctionally fixated on political power and raw material resource sharing. We live in a knowledge driven world where cutting edge Information and Communication Technology is being used to blaze the path to a future that promises to be even more globally competitive than it is now.

    “How can we be talking of a vision 20 2020 (i.e. being among the top 20 economies in the world by the year 2020 – just 3 years away) when all the national energies of our political elites have, in recent years, focused almost solely on amassing rent from raw materials and primary commodities and corruptly gorging themselves with the commonwealth.

    “Again, I submit that youth development and empowerment is the key to resolving Nigeria’s socio-political, economic and legal malaise. Their energies, vision and industry, properly harnessed, is the antidote to the centrifugal forces currently threatening the corporate existence of the country,” he said.

    Following from the above, Sani believed that sustaining a one Nigeria dictates that the mandate of government – at all levels and across all tiers, Executive, Legislative and Judiciary – must be refocused on human capital development and productivity.

    The Executive, he insisted, must declare a National Education Emergency aimed at revamping and repositioning our educational and research institutions.

    “We must, as a matter of critical urgency, deploy the needed human, material and infrastructure support that would help our tertiary institutions make the prestigious list of the league of globally ranked institutions,” he said

    The critical mass of quality manpower that would be produced, he said, must however be complemented by continuous commitment to Research and Development ((R&D) as well as other fiscal and monetary policies to facilitate innovations and entrepreneurship while “the management of almost every facet of our economy is in the hands of the youth. Yet onerous obstacles lie on their paths, effectively excluding their active participation in politics beyond the civic duty to vote.”

    Sani said that all provisions in the annals of our laws and in our body polity must therefore be critically interrogated and progressively revised in favour of youth development and empowerment provisions.

    He highlighted the urgent need for a creative re-engineering of the political space, including an active and progressive de-monetisation of the electoral process through the introduction of such practices as Independent Candidacy in electoral contests.

    He added, ‘Over the past 60 years Nigeria has witnessed a lot of social and cultural integration. Many of our youths are the products of mixed marriages. Many more have been born in metropolitan centres far removed from the states of origin of their parents. It is politically delimiting to make any demand on these youths which borders on the requirements of states of origin. As in the right to vote, the right to contest and be voted for, as well as the right to public resources among other things, should all be predicated on residency requirements only.”

    He called on “all the youths to be actively involved and to resist any attempt at either the balkanization of Nigeria or succumbing to a brand of political restructuring which completely sidelines the critical question of equity, justice and dignity for the Nigerian people irrespective of their ethnic, religious or political affiliations.

    Poverty and marginalization, he postulated is not necessarily a north or south issue.

    “To illustrate this point, may I draw your attention to the fact that people of northern extraction have been in power far more than any other sections of this country. Yet the most debilitating forms of poverty, illiteracy, disease and hopeless continue to stalk millions of the populace. Of what use has the tenacious grip on power by the northern oligarchs and political aristocrats been to the millions of poverty stricken households of the north,” he asked.

    The activist politician challenged the youths here gathered to refuse to be hoodwinked by the political elite. They (the elite) form alliances among themselves and have a common interest in the plundering of the Nigerian commonwealth. You, also, form your own alliances, build bridges and network of friendships from Port Harcourt to Sokoto, Abakaliki to Maiduguri, Lagos to Asaba through to Kano. Believe in One Nigeria!

    “I can see already a very vibrant parliament in this school. So much so that I think you can rightly be called the “Shadow Parliament”. Members of the National Assembly therefore better sit up if they want to keep their jobs come 2019. The government as a whole better begin to think creatively about how to keep Nigeria working well for all Nigerians.”

     

  • The increasing call for restructuring (2)

    Restructuring Nigeria has become something of a divine undertaking, aimed, primarily, at ensuring peace, development, progress and overall sustainability, for our country

    Apart from the deleterious consequences of President Buhari’s illness and the near complete lock down of the presidency by a Hausa/Fulani/Kanuri cabal, as well as the cacophonous and felonious IPOB chants, not to mention the Arewa Youths’ impertinent quit order to Igbos living in the North, all of  which have remorselessly heated up the country, the rather unprecedented chant of restructuring ‘now, now’ by some, otherwise highly regarded, elders, who should ordinarily know that such an important and sobering project cannot be meaningfully undertaken under our current highly impassioned circumstances, has made a revisit of the piece below, first published Friday, June 17, 2016, an utmost desideratum. It contains my honest thoughts on restructuring. Restructuring Nigeria has become something of a divine undertaking, aimed, primarily, at ensuring peace, development, progress and overall sustainability, for our country. The urgency of this is why I have deferred running readers’ comments on last Sunday’s article on Afenifere which, God helping us, should be published next week.

    “Restructuring is the best way to go. It is long overdue and doing it will address many of the problems confronting us. However, you have to structure the country in such a way that every ethnic group, no matter how small, will have a sense of belonging. The proponents of June 12, i.e Afenifere and others, believe very strongly that whichever party got elected at the federal government level should restructure Nigeria. Therefore, fiscal federalism, I think, should be on the agenda of every political party in Nigeria and, ipso facto, the government. Some tribes and people are working while others are eating and this is not the practice anywhere else in the world. Chief Awolowo, in his lifetime, severally advocated federalism as the only basis for national integration. He predicted that South Sudan would one day  break from North Sudan because the two are not one and so exactly it happened” – Quoting Lt Gen Alani Akinrinade, mutatis mutandis.

    It was no surprise then that the dominant theme of this year’s June 12 anniversary revolved around the issue of restructuring Nigeria. Almost everybody who spoke at the various events had something to say about the subject. Restructuring is that important, if Nigeria is ever to get it right, that the Buhari administration must ensure it takes it seriously so as not to commit the mistake of earlier governments. Nigeria needs a new lease of life to be worked out by an impartial body that would proffer  genuine ways to properly reconfigure and rescue it from what it presently is – a totally unworkable and, therefore, not working  ‘geographical expression’ as Awo  described it . The many flashpoints we are confronted with as a nation today irrefutably confirm that description. Apart from the impossibility of wishing restructuring  away, President Buhari’s  unfortunate  claim that the report of the 2014 confab will rot away in the archives, has massively upped the ante of the associated problems with some parts now saying they want out of Nigeria. Although I did not support the conference which I saw as a product of crass political opportunism, I expected that the president should have since sought some briefing on it. Following the trenchant negative reactions to his disclosure on the conference report, I think the time has come for him to empanel a small, but smart, group from amongst his cabinet members who would study and summarise for him, the recommendations, not only of the 2014 conference, but of ALL such national efforts, including even that of Abacha. The recommendations on which all or majority of the reports are agreed, he could immediately actualise through executive action or by executive bills to the national assembly to try to douse the looming danger.

    Historically, some parts of the North have constituted the greatest opposition to restructuring, but that position, happily, is beginning to change. Before the recent  call by  former Vice President, Atiku Abubakar, suggesting that “restructuring and renewal of our federation will make it less centralised and less suffocating,” elder statesman, Ahmed Joda, had  lent  it a ringing support  when he wrote: “Our country has passed through difficult times, including a civil war and has survived. We must, however, not mistake the fact of our survival to anything like military might; rather it was because ordinary Nigerians overwhelmingly desire to live together in one united country, but under some acceptable arrangement.”

    At this year’s June 12 anniversary, Lagos State governor, Akinwumi Ambode, Rear Admiral Ndubuisi Kanu (rtd) and Ayo Opadokun, amongst others, also threw their weight behind restructuring which they described as a must if we want to overcome most of our national challenges. They believe that Nigeria will not get out of the woods until it restructures its skewed federal structure. Also at the 17th Annual Convention of the Igbo Youth Movement, former Vice President Alex Ekwueme, Chief Ayo Adebanjo, Prof. Jerry Gana, amongst others, vigorously canvassed restructuring, concluding that it is the only guarantee for peace in the country.

    A lot has been written on how beneficial restructuring would be that we need not repeat them here. Our various theatres of mini wars, North and South, have turned restructuring to a very urgent matter. However,  given our  current  economic and security challenges – the naira has been  pummelled to submission- and Boko Haram remains a menace, I  sincerely believe  that the immediate problems confronting the  Buhari administration is how to  definitively fix  the economy as well as conclusively rout Boko Haram. The 2014 national conference, we were told, gulped a princely N9Billion. If that was possible when oil was selling for more than 100 dollars per barrel, our current economic circumstances which has rendered 27 states literally comatose, should warn us against any undue haste about convoking another jamboree of a national conference. Elsewhere, I have suggested a Constituent Assembly comprising no more than three elected members (elected on a zero party basis) from each state and one from Abuja, but even that should not start work until the first quarter of the President’s  third  year in office when we expect that the economy should have been sufficiently stabilised  and Boko Haram, hopefully, no longer a  major threat. The reports of all previous national conferences should serve as their working paper.

    In the Ahmed Joda model, the National Assembly would constitute the Assembly but I think Nigerians have seen enough of this 8th Assembly to ever leave such a huge responsibility in its hands.  As suggested by Joda, “there should be no representation in the Assembly for special interests because of the abuses such could engender, and serving members of any legislative body should not be eligible just as interested public servants must resign their posts to contest.” The Assembly should have full powers to comprehensively review the Nigerian Constitution bearing in mind the fact that “there is, in the extant constitution, too much concentration of power and resources at the centre, thus stifling the country’s march towards greatness as well as threatening its unity because of the abuses, corruption and reactive tensions which over-centralisation generates.”

    The Assembly should have about six months to work, and present its report to the president. Rather than take it directly to a national referendum, the conference report should, at a formal national event, be handed over by the president to the political parties to study, and WITHOUT ANY CHANGE, WHATEVER, turn to their party manifesto for the 2019 general election. This should then be regarded as the respective party’s contract with Nigerians on the basis of which each would campaign for the election. This is about the only way to cure the current constitution’s lie about ‘we the people’. It will also eliminate the controversy about whether the current constitution permits a referendum or not. Whichever party wins the general election should, ipso facto, be deemed to have secured the peoples’ mandate to begin restructuring Nigeria with effect from 29 May, 2019.

    1. The suggestions in the original article (2016) have been slightly, but certainly not profoundly, modified.
  • Eastern Consultative Assembly faults Babangida’s version of restructuring

    Eastern Consultative Assembly faults Babangida’s version of restructuring

    Eastern Consultative Assembly (ECA) has faulted former military president Ibrahim Babangida on his position on restructuring.

    In a statement in Enugu signed by its Secretary Elliot Ugochukwu Uko, the group said Babangida’s endorsement of the deafening cries for an early restructuring of our polity seems commendable, but a closer look at his version of restructuring reveals that it is not yet uhuru.

    It said Babangida belonged to the club of elite who bluntly refused to accept that the style, manner and format of the creation of the existing 36 states  were a huge source of grief to millions of Nigerians and therefore, the real bone of contention.

    According to ECA, any restructuring that seeks to sustain the 36 states as federating units, would not serve any useful purpose whatsoever as it would not assuage the agitators; neither would it bring peace to the troubled land.

    The statement reads: “It seems needless arrogance has beclouded the sense of judgment of the designers of the current unworkable structure. They seem too proud to accept the self-evident truth which is: that the unitary structure they created can no longer carry the building.

    Any change of the format they designed while in power as military rulers seem to hurt their pride. They simply desire, that the states and local government councils they created through military fiat remain that way till thy kingdom come, whether the country is failing or not. Even as 70% of the states cannot pay staff salaries.

    “General Babangida’s support for restructuring, therefore, is both jaundiced and belated. Jaundiced, because he is struggling to avoid the reality, which is that only a return to regional autonomy can calm the storm now. No section of Nigeria will lose out, when we revert to six regions.”