The Nation Newspaper

Tag: restructuring

  • Why agitation for restructuring is mounting, by Amosun

    Why agitation for restructuring is mounting, by Amosun

    Ogun State Governor Ibikunle Amosun yesterday blamed what he termed as lack of fair distribution of the country’s resources and disrespect for laws for the agitation for restructuring.

    Amosun, who addressed participants of Course Nine of the Executive Intelligence Course of the Institute of Security Studies in Abuja, backed the country’s restructuring to allow for equal distribution of projects, dividends of democracy and a review of the revenue allocation formula.

    He said he was not in support of any restructuring that would affect the nation’s unity, saying great nations of the world drew their strength from diversity.

    Amosun said while Ogun State has the highest number of industries in the country, the state is placed 25th in terms of revenue sharing based on indices generated several years ago and not based on what you contribute to the Federation Account.

    His words: “I believe that if our institutions had been strengthened, people will not need to call for restructuring of the country at all because we will abide by our constitution. But you have a scenario where people do what they like, even in project distribution and dividends of democracy, among others.

    “Look at fiscal federalism. If you had followed what is in the constitution, and everybody believes that the institution is greater than all of us, we will not be where we are today. So, for me, any restructuring that will affect the unity of the country, I am not for it.

    “But a restructuring that will say, ‘there are certain things that must be done differently’, I want that to happen. For example, in Nigeria today, Ogun State has the largest number of industries, but when the money is being distributed from the Federation Account, the state is placed about the 25th position.”

    “These are indices that have been taken several years back and probably not in relation with what you contribute to the federal purse.

    “For me, that is restructuring and maybe reforming the revenue allocation formula or people calling for state police. I have said I will support state police. But that does not mean we will not have federal police.

    “It is just about making amends in some areas, but not things that will uproot our existence as a nation and those things that divide us. We should talk more and dwell more on things that unite us as a nation. It is even in diversity that we have our strength.”

    On efforts to improve the state revenue, Amosun said: “When we came on board, we introduced cashless. We realised that anything that will make you come in contact with cash is subject to manipulation and so, we said we want cashless.

    “For example, in one of our institutions, the highest revenue they were collecting was a little over N300 million. We told them this is what we wanted to do. The next time, they were able to generate N1.4 billion and we ask ourselves, where has that money gone into in the past?

    “As a government, we introduced what is now known as Treasury Single Account (TSA) in August 2011, when the present Minister of Finance was our Commissioner for Finance. When we came, we had over 700 different accounts and I ask myself how do we monitor all those accounts?

    “So, I told all the banks that I need one account from them. But if you like, you can have different subheads in your banks and not that the government will have over 700 accounts. We also said we will partner with a maximum of three banks and today, we are happy for it. That is why I can look them in the face and challenge them to tell me the state that has performed like we have done”

    He boasted that he did not owe staff salaries.

    The governor said: “When they were giving out bailout funds, I said we are paying salaries and so we don’t owe salaries. But there are certain things, which workers must enjoy such as pensions and gratuity, which we are owing and have appealed to organised labour to be patient with us since we are paying salaries as at when due.

    “My salary bill is about N9.12 billion and sometimes, our proximity to Lagos comes with its own problems and challenges. Every month, we run round to make sure we pay salaries.”

     

     

  • PMB: Respond to calls for restructuring

    The call for the restructuring of the Nigerian federation is being raised from most directions across Nigeria. Very many informed men and women with strong desires for the success and prosperity of Nigeria, former high public officials of Nigeria’s federal and state governments, other people with the most exalted experiences in the governance and management of Nigeria, some of Nigeria’s most respected intellectuals, professionals and businessmen, and countless civic organizations and youth organizations –all are raising their voices and calling for the restructuring of this federation, out of love for this country. All are warning that if the restructuring of this federation continues to be delayed, Nigeria could soon break up.

    Even the most radical among the youths of our country, the ones who have gone so far as to demand secession for their ethnic nations out of Nigeria, and even the ones who are engaging in blood-cuddling destruction of assets in their part of Nigeria in order to enforce their demands, all nevertheless indicate from time to time that they still have room for compromise and settlement if the Nigerian federation were restructured.

    The call for restructuring never ceases coming these days. And the warning that Nigeria could soon break up if restructuring continues to be delayed never ceases to come these days too. The chance to save Nigeria still exists. But the probability that Nigeria could implode and break up is mounting fearfully.

    And most developments and emerging realities are adding to the awful probability that Nigeria could soon disintegrate. The weakness of the economy is accelerating almost out of hand. Even the national chairman of the ruling party has now told Nigeria that his party is baffled by the depth to which Nigeria’s economy has fallen. Some months ago, there was sudden news that America and India had stepped up to resume buying Nigeria’s oil, thereby saving Nigeria from the crushing circumstance that the world was no longer buying our oil. But now, a reverse news has come that both America and India are again reducing purchases of Nigeria’s oil; that Nigeria is offering deep discounts in order to attract buyers and that buyers are not forthcoming. And, meanwhile, the source of the oil is sinking into deeper and deeper trouble as various Delta militant groups continue to destroy oil platforms and pipelines, and as the major oil-mining companies are forced to relocate their activities and investments to other oil producing countries – especially to Angola. Even if the Nigerian army does invade and overrun the Delta, the military victory is distinctly unlikely to produce a quick revival of the oil industry there, as a full scale war there would certainly result in greater damages to oil producing assets.

    Meanwhile, the attitudes of the international community are tilting against Nigeria. After Buhari was sworn in, and especially when he embarked on war against corruption, the international community felt warm towards him and Nigeria. I was in America when he paid his first visit as president to that country and addressed a gathering of Nigerians in Washington DC. We Nigerians felt good as our president was received with a surge of warmth and optimism by the American ruling class, business class, the media, and the general public. After all the gloom and doom of the last years of the Jonathan presidency, Buhari seemed to be inaugurating a new era of light, hope and growth. As a Nigerian elder resident abroad, I wrote a very optimistic article for this column in those days.

    But most of that optimism and hope has now dissipated, thanks largely to Buhari’s show of lack of understanding of the economy, thanks to his perceptible ineptitude in managing anything (including even his war against corruption), thanks to his tendency towards excessive loyalty and submissiveness to the ethnic and religious wishes and desires of his Hausa-Fulani nationality, thanks to his obvious disrespect for the party that got him into power and for political parties in general, thanks to his apparent spite for democracy – and his obvious spite for the voices of his countrymen. Informed voices in the international community are now more and more talking about fears of inevitable collapse of the Nigerian economy, of mounting poor human rights record, of lack of respect for the lives and rights of citizens, of likely mass reactions to economic distress, and of possible national collapse. Altogether, the Buhari presidency is putting Nigeria into a dark corner – a dark corner where Nigeria would steadily lose goodwill worldwide, where Nigeria would steadily lose the inflow of investment capital, and where Nigeria would find it extremely difficult to get help and support if the feared big trouble were to come.

    President Buhari needs to stop now, take a good look into and around him, seriously consider what Nigerians and foreigners are saying about his presidency and about his country, and begin seriously and resolutely to chart a different path for his presidency. As things stand today, people talking seriously and people joking on the worldwide social media are already wondering whether this man would be the last president of Nigeria, the president who would preside over the dissolution of Nigeria. That fate does not have to befall him or Nigeria. If he so chooses now, he can turn around and yet fulfil the best promises of the beginning of his presidency.

    One step that would very powerfully inaugurate the turn-around would be a new and serious attention for the demands for a restructuring of the Nigerian federation. That is where the true battle for the future of Nigeria now lies. The deciding battle no longer lies in the hands of a powerful military. Rulers tend to be blinded by their possession and control of military power. And President Buhari seems to reside most of his hope these days in the assurance that the Nigerian military can crush all dissidence, all revolts, and all attempts at secession. He is mounting troops in the South-south, South-east, and even South-west – in addition to those already in the North-east. What he does not seem to know is that crushing dissidence, revolts and attempts at secession today is no longer exactly equivalent to preserving Nigeria as one. This is not 1967-70. Nigerians have grown in knowledge and skills – especially in the awareness that they are not really weak in the world of today, and that even if they are vanquished by the army of the country to which they belong, they may still not lose their war for self-determination.

    People belonging to Buhari’s class in Nigerian society and politics, and people belonging to other levels of society, are urging him to lead our country into a restructuring of our federation without further delay. They are warning that our country could soon break up if he continues to ignore their calls. Even from his Fulani nationality where the orthodox belief has been since 1960 that only an all-powerful  and all-controlling Federal Government can serve their interests and take care of their fears in Nigeria, some leading citizens are now conceding that concentrating all power in the centre has hurt all sections of Nigeria very disastrously, and that the only way to save Nigeria now is to review the making of the states of our federation, and give to the new states the power to promote their own socio-economic development and defeat poverty among their own people – and make their own kinds of contribution to the success of Nigeria.

    Mr. President, the true need of any Nigerian people now is no longer about victory in establishing dominance over Nigeria. That has become grossly anachronistic. It has been blown away by the grinding power of poverty and the people’s determination to free themselves from poverty – poverty in the midst of plenty. You can only make yourself truly relevant by responding positively to the true need. Your destiny, Mr. President, your place in history, is in your own hands.

  • Controversy over restructuring

    Controversy over restructuring

    Advocates of restructuring are clamouring for it for different reasons. Many who claim that they are marginalised feel that restructuring will solve that problem. Others are for it because the centre is too powerful; so power should devolve to the regions. As the debate on restructuring catches on, Assistant Editor LEKE SALAUDEEN examines the fundamental issues at stake and suggests what should be done to give every part of the country a sense of belonging.

    THE number of Nigerians interested in the restructuring of the country is growing. The idea is not new, but the rate at which it is now gaining currency suggests that it is a compelling issue that should be confronted frontally, to avoid a damage to the body politicy.

    The proponents believe the challenges facing the country should provide an opportunity to restore true federalism through restructuring. According to them, restructuring will address the allegations of marginalisation and injustice from different ethnic nationalities and groups across the country. It also believed that addressing the issue will dispel the cloud of tension and violence hanging over the country.

    Analysts blame the current agitation on the military intervention that wiped out the federal structure handed down by former colonial overlords and foisted a unitary system of government on the country. Such analysts are of the view that the 1999 Constitution is anything but federal, because it does not allow regions to extract resources within their jurisdiction and pay taxes to the federal government among other things.

    The current revenue allocation formula, experts insist, is skewed in favour of the Federal Government. The analysts recall that “before the advent of the military in 1966, the Federal Government was assigned only 20 per cent of the revenue, as against the 54 per cent it now receives. The Federation Account pays 50 per cent of the proceeds of any royalty received by the federation in respect of any mineral extracted in any region and any mining rents derived by the federation during that year from within that region. The remaining 30 per cent credited to the Distributive Pool is shared among the regions or states. That was the provision as contained in the 1960 Constitution until the military reversed it by decree.”

    Observers say the major problem in the present constitutional arrangement is the over–centralisation of authority in the centre within the context of a political order that emphasises optimum sharing of power between the central government and the federating units. They argue that in a federal constitution there is always a compromise between the need or the desire for union and the rights and the responsibilities of the states forming the union.

    A lawyer and human rights activist, Mr Monday Ubani, is of the view that no restructuring can be done as long as the 1999 Constitution remains in force, because it contains so many flaws. To him, it’s like building a house on a very weak foundation.

    Ubani, who is the Second Vice President, Nigerian Bar Association (NBA), said: “We must first of all agree we want to stay together as a nation and what kind of relationship we desire. This question can only be answered by members of the Constitutional Assembly. It is on the basis of the answer provided that we will determine the type of constitution that will be drafted by members of the Constitutional Assembly elected by the people and not hand-picked by the government.”

    According to him, the clamour for restructuring making waves across the country is a genuine cause, because without restructuring the country cannot make progress. He explained that there is tension all over the country because the country is not running a true federalism that allows resource control by the federating units.

    He added:  “Unless we sit down and agree on the need for devolution of powers to the states and local governments, we can’t have a balanced federalism. It is the over-centralisation that is making the centre too attractive for people to win presidential or National Assembly elections at all cost.

    “We have to restructure our minds. We cannot run a country where people have divisive tendencies; we must have a common goal; we must agree we want to stay together and work together.”

    However, veteran politician, Dr Junaid Muhammed, has taken a swipe on those agitating for restructuring. He said: “Many of them can’t define the concept; rather they are looking for a chance to cause confusion and mislead the people. Is it to redefine the components or give a sense of belonging, they should tell us what they mean by restructuring?”

    Muhammed, a member of the House of Representatives in the Second Republic, recalled that former President Goodluck Jonathan convoked a National Conference towards the end of his tenure to cause distraction. It was an eighth-month talk shop. Not a single one out of the recommendations was implemented before he left office.

    He added: “Those who arm-twisted him to convoke the National Conference could not hold him accountable for refusing to implement the report. Now, they have started again to heat up the polity, by making unnecessary demands. For instance, the Southeast pressed for additional state in their zone to be at par with other zones, which was part of the conference recommendations. They should hold Jonathan responsible for this.

    “I think we should allow the real leaders of each zone to speak for their people. I know the leadership of the mainstream of Yoruba politics were against the last National Conference and they are not buying into the idea of restructuring now.

    “Now, former Vice President Atiku Abubakar has joined the fray of restructuring campaign. I don’t know what his interests are. Can he define the word restructuring? Is he doing this for the sake of popularity? I think political leaders should stop deceiving common people in order to have their way. You cannot say one thing today and say something different tomorrow and you expect people to take you serious.

    “Those criticising the Federal Government for taking lion share of the Federal Allocation should remember that it has bulk expenditure to contend with. For instance, if the Federal Government hands off from primary education today that sector will collapse. How many local or state governments can afford to pay salaries of primary school teachers in addition to their own staff?

    But, Atiku justified his position by saying restructuring is necessary to address injustice and grievances arising from the structure of the country. He premised his argument on the current state of insecurity across the country. Atiku said: “No doubt Nigeria is passing through terrible times. Radical Islam and terrorism plaques the North, there is massive onslaught against oil installations by militants in the Niger Delta and heavy fighting between army and militants in the Southwest. Also pro-Biafran sentiment has reached unprecedented heights since 1970 in the Southeast. These are caused by injustice and grievances, arising from the structure of the country.

    “The agitations and dissenting voices are growing strong. It started with Indigenous People of Biafra (IPOB) and Radio Biafra and now Niger Delta Avenger (NDA). These groups are waxing stronger and more resolute than previous ones and the Federal Government has shown its inability to stop them. Radio Biafra is still blasting despite jamming attempts and Nnamdi Kanu doesn’t look like he is joking, even in prison. Avengers have halved oil production and pledged to step up attacks in the coming months. The Federal Government has to borrow to augment budget deficit. Even if the Federal Government decides to use force, how can it succeed against a faceless militant group using guerrilla methods? Now, if it continues like this, can the country survive one more year?

    “We have over the years responded to these agitations in a variety of ways and with a variety of measures. These include the creation of states from the earlier three and later four regions to the current 36 states; a civil war and other military operations in different parts of the country at different times; federal character principle; changes to revenue allocation formula; National Youth Service Corps (NYSC), federal take-over or establishment and management of schools, universities, hospitals, and huge federal presence in the economy as an investor. Others include the excessive centralisation of power at the federal level and the weakening of the federating states; and amnesty for repentant ex-militants of the Niger Delta.

    “Unfortunately, these measures have not worked adequately to enhance national integration and the sustenance of our democracy. If anything, our unity has been fragile, our democracy unstable, and our people more aggrieved by their stay in the federation. We have always responded with the suspicion of the ‘other’ in trying to deal with these challenges to our integration and democratic survival.”

    Former Chief of Defence Staff, General Julius Alani Akinrinade, blamed the problems Nigeria is confronting today on the military that disrupted democracy shortly after independence and introduced a centralised federal structure as against the regional arrangement.

    Akinriade said: “Before military intervention, the three regions: the North, West and East; then the Mid-West carved out of the West later, were competing among themselves. Some of the infrastructures they created have not been replicated. Most of the roads, you see in Nigeria today were built before the military regime. If there was anything that was added after 1966, it was when we started giving command everywhere, it was during Gowon’s time and a little more thereafter.

    “It was during Murtala’s era that we created the greatest havoc that put paid to development in Nigeria by disorganising the civil service. We didn’t just disorganise them, we also demoralised them. You can trace part of the corruption that we are fighting today to that era. People don’t have security again. What they thought was their future didn’t exist anymore. This must be part of the reasons people started stealing, amassing wealth and keeping it for their future.

    “When the APC put up its manifesto, they said they were going to look very closely at the constitution and they were going to do a restructuring of the country. In the past two weeks, we have heard people trying to retrace their steps, the Presidency saying there is nothing like restructuring. I am not sure whether the last conference answered all questions. If it didn’t, this is another opportunity for us to do something. What I expected from this government is a declaration to say this is the step we are determined to take. And I think people will accept it. But, to tell us there is no restructuring, we are not going to take it. Nigeria is not going anywhere without restructuring.”

    To the Arewa Consultative Forum, a northern socio-cultural organisation, the call for restructuring is unnecessary. The group advised those promoting the idea to have a rethink, because in their view the current federal structure is the best for the country and should be preserved.

    Its spokesman, Alhaji Muhammad Ibrahim, said restructuring a complex, big and diverse country like Nigeria is a serious business that must take account of the view of all citizens, and not just of those that shout the loudest or issue threats, intimidation or blackmail. He said most of the discussions are taking place without regard to decorum or civility, as the issues are often presented as demands by one group or the other.

    Ibrahim noted that groups and individuals should present their agitations through their representatives in the National and State Assemblies.

    But, former Minister of Communications, Chief Cornelius Adebayo, disagrees, saying until Nigeria is restructured, the country will not experience true democracy.

    He said: “There must be devolution, but before that there must be restructuring, so that the oppression of the minority within a unit can be stemmed. I want the restructuring of the Nigerian federation to be a priority of the current administration. My people in Kwara State want to be part of a Yoruba nation within a federation. So long there are such desires, they must be addressed and if it is not addressed, the people will not be happy.

    “It is a matter of choice for each people where they belong and what role they play in government and who rules them. I was the Secretary of the Movement for National Reformation and the National Democratic Coalition (NADECO). These groups were all about the struggle for the restructuring of Nigeria. So, restructuring is crucial.”

    On the way forward, Atiku said: “An honest reappraisal of the motives and principles behind existing solutions to our national integration challenges and their efficacy under current circumstances. Such an appraisal should not be shaped by which political party we belong to or any expected political benefits to individuals.

    “An honest and clear-headed look at better working federal system in the world. Those system will reveal among other things a greater devolution and autonomy for the federating units, less interference of the centre on local matters such as local government administration, including local policing, central governments that depend on taxation of resource extraction and other economic activities rather than rent for their operations.”

    Ubani suggested unicameral legislature for the country. He also wants the number of lawmakers be reduced for effective management and as a cost saving measure.

     

  • Restructuring and the Yoruba agenda

    The submission of the former Vice President Alhaji Atiku Abubakar, GCON on the restructuring of the Nigerian political system is very instructive.

    Likewise are the submissions also of Pastor Tunde Bakare, General Alani Ipoola Akinrinade (Rtd.), Mohammed Haruna, Senator Musa Adede, Bishop Mike Okonkwo, Chief Wole Olanipekun, Chief Chukwuemeka Ezeife, Chief Ayo Adebanjo, Senator Femi Okunronmu and others.

    I have read the four books by Colonel Tony Nyiam (Rtd.) especially his 169-page book on “TRUE FEDERAL DEMOCRACY OR AWAITING IMPLOSION?” I agree with his suggestion on the need for the creation for a National Institute for the strategic management of Nigeria’s Security. And those who know Nigeria well enough don’t joke with the views of Colonel Nyiam.

    During the tenure of General Sani Abacha, leaders and Obas in Lagos, Oyo, Osun, Ondo and Ogun met on April 6, 1994 in Abeokuta. At the end of the meeting a draft memorandum was prepared by a committee. As a follow up of the Abeokuta meeting, a memorandum was prepared and approved at a meeting held on May 11 1994 in Akure. The memorandum was adopted by acclamation at the Akure meeting. That memorandum represented the soul and authoritative views of all the Obas, Chiefs, Leaders of Thought and the entire People of Lagos, Ogun, Ondo, Osun and Oyo states of the Federal Republic of Nigeria.

    To me the views represents till today the authentic views of the Yoruba people on the issue of restructuring.

    They declared” We are convinced that the cause of Nigeria’s federalism will be well and truly advanced if we return to the pre-1996 evolutionary path: a balanced federal structure which recognizes fully the legitimate claims of all ethnic groups for self-determination and where no single entity among the federating units will be strong or powerful enough to hold the others to ransom, but where each of the federating units is large enough, both in terms of size and population as well as of resources, to be viable, self-reliant and dynamic. Other relevant factors include the homogeneity of each federating unit, geographic contiguity among the units of a region and demonstrable willingness to be together. In pursuance of the principle of self-determination and in the interest of the sustainability, any state or community shall have the opportunity to decide, through the democratic process, the region of its choice in the light of these criteria. In the light of the foregoing criteria, we propose the restructuring of Nigeria into six federating units to be known as regions. The six regions shall be Western, Eastern, Southern, North-Western, North-Eastern and Middle Belt Regions. The Western Region will group together the following States: Lagos, Ogun, Ondo, Osun and Oyo and all other Yoruba-speaking communities wherever they may be in the federation. The states that will constitute the other regions will be decided by their people subject to the observation of the principle of self-determination”. With the restructuring into six viable and potentially dynamic and prosperous regions, individually and collectively serving as a countervailing force to the centralizing tendencies of the centre, Nigeria will be constituted a federation of six regions. Each would have the power to prepare its own constitution and determine its political structure, its legislative organs and the structure of its executive, provided that nothing in the constitution of the regions conflicts with the fundamental tenets of federalism and with principles of the federal constitution.

    The function of the federal government must be clearly spelt out. Residual powers must lie with the regions. The federal government shall have no power to interfere in or take over any function of the regional government. Similarly, it shall have no power to interfere with the operations of any regional government. Each region shall determine the number functions and power of its constituent institutions.

    The National Assembly shall be bi-cameral: House of the People and the Upper House. Members shall be elected or designated for a period of four years with the possibility of re-election. Membership of the House of the People shall be by universal suffrage with constituencies delineated on the basis of population, contiguity, homogeneity and territorial expanse. Each region shall send an equal number of representatives to the Upper House, one-quarter of whom must be traditional ruler from within that region. Each region will be free to determine the basis and method of election/selection of its representative to that House.

    The Head of Government shall be the Prime Minister who shall be appointed by the President. The person to be so appointed, shall be the leader of the party or of a coalition of parties which has the support of the majority of the members of the House of the People. Whenever he loses such support, he shall resign or be dismissed. The Prime Minister shall be free to form his government which must receive the immediate endorsement of the House of the people through a vote of confidence. The Prime Minister shall resign or be dismissed whenever the majority of the House of the People withdraws its support.

    There shall be provision for power-sharing in the constitution. Power configuration shall be accorded a zoning status on rotational basis. For this purpose, five key portfolios (such as Internal Affairs and Petroleum) in addition to the office of the Prime Minister, shall be identified in the constitution and be assigned to five Deputy Prime Ministers drawn from the five regions, other than region from which the Prime Minster hails. For avoidance of doubt, the Prime Minister, the Deputy Prime Ministers and all members of government shall be elected members of the House of the People.”

    “The principle of derivation in which each region will retain an overwhelming share, if not all, of the revenue accruing from the tax imposed on the natural resources within its territory, shall apply. Revenue from the exploitation and custom duties shall be put in distributable pool account to be shared between the federal and the regional governments in accordance with an agreed formula, but with special consideration being given to the region(s) where the facilities for their collection are located. Every effort must be made to achieve self-reliance in mobilizing resources by all the regions and the federation. In particular, no region must take proportionally more than what it contributes to the federation financially. There shall be no direct federal allocation to state local governments. With regard to the power of personal and direct taxation, such as personal income tax, capital-gains tax, sales tax and property tax, governments shall have the right to levy them that provided that, in order to ensure efficiency, a uniform tax base should be applied and tax rate split between the federal and regional governments. The rate of tax can differ from region to region so that regional revenue can be enhanced to respond to the special needs of a particular region and in accordance with the ability and willingness if the citizens to pay higher taxes”.

    These were the views expressed 22 years ago. These views are still being re-echoed today because they are important and vital to our co-existence as a nation. The question is no longer whether restructuring is desired or not; we have passed that stage. The issue is when and how it will be implemented without amending the present presidential constitution that is in use. Will the present legislators and the executives allow for such an amendment knowing fully well that the present system benefits them?

     

    • Teniola, a former director at the presidency, stays in Lagos.

  • Why restructuring is a must

    SIR: Nigeria is not the only country with divisive linguistic, religious and political schisms. Other countries use these schisms to cement their diversity. If they are unable to, they discuss the way forward. It happened in the Kingdom of the Netherlands. In that Kingdom, there were actually two countries, the Dutch and the Belgians. The Dutch were Northerners and Protestants. They occupied nearly every organ of government. They even made Dutch the official language of official communication.  But for several years before the independence of Belgium in 1830, there were rumblings in the South who were mostly French-Speaking, and who owned most of the instruments of the wealth of the Kingdom of the Netherlands. But the status quo did not survive the deep rumblings which reverberated every once in a while. And so one night, all of Belgium rose up like a man and demanded independence. Of course independence for Belgium was not gotten on a platter. There was a fight but it was nothing serious. The Netherlands eventually allowed the Belgians to have their independence. What was significant about the new relationship between The Netherlands and Belgium is the need for a people who have different interests and aspirations to sit down to resolve these differences.

    Nigerians will not be asking for restructuring if the state does not seem to be aiding and abetting the use of these economic, religious disparities to goad us to a precipice. We would not be asking for this discussion on restructuring if the alienation of Nigerians does not seem to favour only one section. But more importantly is that institutions of governance that should address these infractions become involved in the promotion of these disparities and alienation.

    Just very recently, police officers in the United States killed a couple of Africans. And just about when Africa-Americans were beginning to take the laws into their own hands, we heard the president, an African American speak up and denounce the reprisal. That does not happen here. Several Christians have been murdered in the name of religion but what is our president saying? When he came in initially, there was talk of his ‘body language’, to the extent that policy matters waited on his body language. Governance must not be reduced to mood, and certainly not to anybody.

    Let me offer government a suggestion which hopefully will nip calls for restructuring in the bud. Last year, there were reports that the Nigerian Navy Logistics Command, Oghara, Delta State, had illegally acquired lands belonging to the local people. We found this an old wives tale – the Nigerian Navy is a very responsible institution founded on protecting our maritime territorial integrity. What was it doing with land and within a local community? The purported land was supposed to be for a barrack, but aren’t barracks usually built far away from civilians most of whom claim that the lands in question are ancestral and income-yielding lands taken without compensation? So in October 2015, I went with another journalist to investigate. Thrice, the Navy rebuffed us. The only response we got was that the Flag Officer Commanding was too busy to see us, even when we hinted that the community was restive and tempers were rising to boiling point.

    But it was not until last week when the community took to the streets and blocked a federal highway with thousands of youth, old men and women, demanding their land back that the Navy began to scamper here and there. First, it brought out a suspicious looking Certificate of Occupancy dated May 2015. Then they went on a media bombardment to address the very issue we had patiently and persistently asked them to discuss with us.  Now, if this does not give an inkling of the mindset of governance at all levels, nothing would. It seems that the system wants to test your resolve at self-help before it responds very negatively. Restructuring Nigeria must begin with the restructuring of the mindset of the actors who occupy any office related to governance in Nigeria.

     

    • Bob MajiriOgheneEtemiku,

    Benin City.

  • ‘Nigeria is overdue for restructuring’

    ‘Nigeria is overdue for restructuring’

    Presiding Pastor of Living spring Chapel International Lagos, Pastor Femi Emmanuel spoke with Sunday Oguntola on why restructuring has become too important for the nation to ignore. Excerpts: 

    What’s your reading of the state of the nation?

    It’s pathetic and we are retrogressing. We are losing grip; everything is in abeyance. The uncertainty is not what we desired and voted for. The government of the day seems to have lost grip of what governance is all about and the citizens are suffering.

    The economy is down; naira is in a free fall and nothing is moving. The whole states are in redundancy mode; states cannot pay salaries; business men are crying; naira value is dead and its falling. Nobody knows where it would stop and of course when you have problem with the currency of a nation, it affects everybody.

    So you support restructuring?

    I support it seriously.

    What type of restructuring do you support because restructuring means different thing to different people?

    The restructuring we are talking about is that Nigeria with over 250 ethnic nationalities forge together in a marriage of convenience cannot continue like there. There are cries from different zones with different tribes calling for self-actualisation.

    If we are going to have federalism, let it be true federalism and I think the national conference of 2014 will help us. It is amazing to me that the president is saying he has not even touched it and the document will gather dust on the shelves.

    That is unfortunate because it is so clear that this nation cannot continue this way. So the restructuring I have in mind is the national conference’s blue print. We may not be able to accept all the recommendations there but there are good recommendations we cannot overlook.

    We can’t accept recommendations like 18 additional states when the existing states can’t even survive but there are good ones. Community policing, state police and each state generating their resources, weaker central and more powers to the federating units are necessary to embrace. We can’t continue like this. The last administration ended up using 80 percent of the resources to pay salaries. How do you survive with that?

    But people say we have the National Assembly there to determine these issues. Why do we need a special conference to decide on these?

    The truth is democracy especially, the presidential system, if I want to be very frank with you, is not meant for us. We can’t run it. It’s meant for the mature minds; itsmeant for people who are humane; its meant for people who value integrity and their names.

    It’s not for these corrupt thieving leaders we have. Everybody wants what he can steal. Look at the huge money stolen from the system. It’s surprising that Nigeria could be sustained till today. You remember was it not President Ibrahim Babangida that said he was surprised our economy hasn’t collapsed?

     He’s an insider. He saw the looting that was going on. How could you could be stealing from the store and you are not replacing the goods? It will soon finish. I had expected that we would come to this point if corruption is not checked; corruption cannot be checked with the kind of system we are playing so to my mind, presidential system of government is not for us.

    So what is for us?

    We have to go to parliamentary and regional. That’s the truth. Let’s reduce the size of the government so we can have money to develop infrastructure and give people decent lives. President Goodluck Jonathan’s administration ended up borrowing to pay salaries. They bought out money and shared it. How canany system survive that?

    When I was Oyo Deputy Speaker, I moved the motion that we should return to regional government and people laughed. You see the truth is our political leaders are feeding us with tribal sentiments. One of the issues I had with former Senate President David Mark was that deception of creating more states when those we have are not even viable.

    He played on people’s emotions because we are over 250 tribes and we are suspicious of each other. We just want state for state’s sake so that it could be our own son, our own daughter there. We are not thinking of the resources to sustain the states and he was encouraging it big time.

    You remember there was this unending visit to all tribes and he was saying ‘we would give you states; we would give you states’ when he knew he was deceiving the people. I mean leaders don’t do that. Leaders don’t play on people’s intelligence, play on their ignorance, play on their sentiments to just sustain their seats and keep sucking the money. Where would it end?

    So this democracy presidential system of governance is not sustainable. There is the Nigeria factor. There is this tribal, religious card we play once we get into public office.

    But when would we ever get over the sentiment?

    We would never get over it

    Why can’t we get over it?

    We are not wired that way. Remember what is called Nigeria is a contraption. It is a lie. We are never the same people. This nation is never one. It was Lord Lugard’s creation. The British people saw we were never one but forcefully merged us. Remember the north was having indirect rule.

    They studied us and they knew we are not of the same people and how do you merge people that don’t see thing the same way with different values, orientations and mindsets? There’s no way it has never worked.

    It’s not working and it would not work because we are never the same people. We don’t have the same values. We are not seeing things the same way.

    So we cannot eliminate that system?

    If we are not careful and if we didn’t restructure the way we have explained it, we are heading for Dooms Day because we are not of the same people. So, let people who have the same history,background and orientation be together. I mean let us have a United State of Nigeria like we have in USA.

    But the fear is that we go for a referendum, people will choose to go their different ways

    It’s not possible because the military will still be federal. We would have stronger federating units with weaker centre. That is the only way we can handle these agitations for self- determination.

    Niger Delta Avengers and IPOB for instance can have their resources to themselves and use it for their regional development. They then send a percentage to the centre. Let’s have aweaker centre and stronger constituents.

    The southwest can generate agriculture. We are good in education and you sell what you have. What does Great Britain produce? For instance, Sweden has nothing to produce but they are living. They are catering for their people. Intellectual product is there. Agriculture is there.

    The present system has made everyone lazy. How can a country have a mono product? A product whose price you can’t control?look at the oil price, the oil price is fallen and that is what we all depend on. It’s unfortunate.

    So, Nigeria must restructure?

    We have to. If we don’t do it peacefully, we would do it by force. The government has lost grip. Do you see the government in control of anything? It’s all fire-fighting approach. We can’t stop kidnapping. We can’t stop pipe bursting every day. The oil is down. We can’t fix electricity; we can’t fix road. Do you think we can continue like this for the next 10 years?

    Can you imagine it? Except something definite is done, except something is done to reverse this negative trend, where do you think we would be in the next 10 years? Would there be anything call Nigeria again?

    That is why the earlier the government of the day swallows their pride, the earlier they face reality and say we can’t continue like this. Let us agree on certain issues and go for referendum because that is the most peaceful way.

    So, we must get out of the logjam?

    We must get out of it because we are heading for the rock.

    Are you optimistic that we would get out of this?

     I am optimistic if the government of the day would listen. They should return to the 2014 National Conference documents to move forward. I believe that conference was divine though Jonathan might have had hidden agenda too. But look at the huge money we spent.

    Whether Jonathan had a hidden agenda or not, we were fairly represented; what we have in the National Assembly is not a representation of the people. An average member of the National Assembly is a stooge. An average member of the National Assembly bought his way there. So, they cannot make laws that will benefit us but there paymasters.

  • What’s it about restructuring?

    After June 12, 1993 I became a rabid agitator for restructuring of the entity called Nigeria. This stemmed from my belief that the South West once again was dealt an unkind blow by the annulment of the June 12 election. With the killing of Kudirat Abiola, Alfred Rewane and eventual death of MKO Abiola, I believed the Northern oligarchs and their collaborators from other parts and ethnic enclaves glaringly showed us in the South West that we are not part of the Nigeria. I was all up for Oduduwa Republic if that was what it would take.

    That was where my belief and support for the likes of Bola Tinubu, Bola Ige, Abraham Adesanya, Alani Akinrinnade et al in the now defunct NADECO started from. Their doggedness in the face of tyranny is worthy of emulation. They spent and they were spent. That is why at present even with some of their shortcomings it’s always easy for me to overlook it because I feel they genuinely love their race and ultimately their country.

    Over the years, my anger has been tempered. Thanks to the eventual enthronement of democracy, my faith and belief in the Nigerian project was once again rekindled. Also, having done a lot of research and extensive reading, I came to the conclusion that I will NEVER be in support of any move to balkanise this nation. I can’t imagine myself being a citizen of a pocketsize country. Size and population confer power and influence. The only reason why developed nations still continually reckon with Nigeria in spite of our not getting it right is because of our size. You don’t joke with a country of over 200 million people! Small nations of the world like Singapore are stable and getting it right economically but they don’t wield our kind of influence. Give me a nation that is great and influential, and you can rest assured that USA, China, India, Russia, etc, will come to mind. If possible I even want us to annex Benin and Togo and make them part of Nigeria. Already, our present bad economy is affecting both nations. Their Presidents ran to Nigeria on the same day last week to plead with Buhari to please quickly fix Nigerian economy because it’s already affecting their own economy. Their survival and that of other countries in West Africa lies with the prosperity of Nigeria.

    For some time now, the issue of restructuring has taken over the political space in Nigeria. In fact, it’s coming from the mouths of unlikely people like former Vice President, Atiku Abubakar. True to nature, this voice is loudest in the South West but as in our character in the SW, the approach is intellectual. We believe in intellectual discourse by bringing about superior arguments to reinforce our agitation, thereby swaying others to believe in our ideas. A young man called Nnamdi Kanu is leading a revolt in the South East for the resurgence of Biafra. He just wants out! The South South militants have started to register their agitation again by doing what they know best to do: bombing of oil and gas pipelines. With all these agitations coming from major zones of the country, it is pertinent to note that we need a radical approach to sorting out this nation once and for all and we must be fast about it.

    Be that as it may, I have a lot of questions on my mind. Yes, we need to restructure but how and in what form? Do we have to go back to the old regional government? Is it not ironical that the same SW asking that we go back to regional system of government are the same people asking the National Assembly to create more states for them? As at the last count, there are 5 proposals from different parts of SW at the NA for state creation, chief among them Ijebu people from the present Ogun State and Oke Ogun people from the present Oyo state. The South East justifiably is also asking for at least one more state to be created for them to balance the numbers in other geo political zones. Now, what do we do?

    Is it restructuring that this nation really needs or good governance? There is a school of thought that believes that if we can get governance right, all the sectional agitations will vaporise and become a thing of the past. Also, another school of thought is of the opinion that what we need is a true fiscal federalism. They believe once we can get the revenue sharing formula right, then we are good to go. They believe states should get more allocation than FG because states deal directly with the people and that’s where development and infrastructure is needed most. It is a fact that revenue and how it should be shared is the primary reasons why we have agitations from most parts of the country for restructuring. Some like the SW feel that the “Nigeria Project” is slowing them down. They believe given the same scenario as we had in the first republic regional government, the SW would have gone far ahead of other regions in terms of developmental strides.

    I have heard so many stories of how in the First Republic each region handled her own resources and got revenue from such and, based on agreed terms, contributed to the centre to maintain the FG. They tell stories of how Awolowo used revenue from Cocoa and agriculture to fund free education and develop the Western region while the South East was getting revenue from palm oil, cotton and rubber. The North was known for their groundnut pyramid which Ahmadu Bello used in developing the whole Northern region.

    As good as it was then, I don’t believe this can work as it worked at that time…times are different. I stand to be corrected on that. Also, folks who tell these stories forgot to tell us that in spite of the fact that regions were getting higher revenues the proceeds from every resource from the regions were still going to the centre. The regional governments were not the one issuing receipts for the revenues but the FG. It was just as it is today: all monies go to the consolidated revenue account of the federation. The difference at that time was the revenue sharing formula. Regions were allocated 50 percent of revenue that comes from them. That was the difference!

    I am so much persuaded that revenue sharing formula is at the centre of the whole issue of agitation for restructuring. That for me is about fiscal federalism! We have so much moved away from the regional government years that I sometimes wonder how you want to now start merging states to form a region in 2016. Rather, what should be seriously worked on is the sharing formula for allocation while states should begin what I call integrated development of their regions. I am glad that Lagos State has finally been admitted into the Odua Investment Corporation framework. Let each State House of Assembly come up with a law stipulating that a percentage of their monthly allocation go into a regional purse. Each state would have a representative on the board of this corporation and their mandate should purely be aggressive infrastructural development of that region especially as it concerns structures that link them together like roads, railways, airports, education, commerce etc. I still can’t get my head around the fact that in 2016 AD there is no fast train interconnectivity between the two largest cities in SW, Lagos and Ibadan. The sovereignty of Nigeria as a nation is tied to that joint purse called Consolidated Revenue Account. That is why even in the first republic it existed and from that common purse revenues were shared. The moment you remove that common purse, you take away Nigeria.

    Once allocation is made to reflect revenue from each state and the FG is made less attractive by repealing all those archaic stuff in the exclusive list of the FG, and are transferred to the states, we would have solved one of our major problems. Let the FG take care of the Armed Forces, Internal Affairs, Border controls etc. With this, states will get to work and only leaders who have something tangible to offer will vie for elective positions. There is no state in this country that does not have what it takes to be self sufficient. Any idiot can be a Governor in the present day Nigeria. It’s a no brainer to wait for allocation every month and share it the way you want after paying salaries, if you even bother to pay salary at all. It’s like free money. How can you spend money you did not work for? That’s why the likes of Fayose would continue to be Governor in Nigeria. Governance is about management and ability to judiciously allocate resources for the greater good of the greater number. The likes of Awo were not just sitting down waiting for manna from heaven. They had to develop what’s called the Cocoa board in each local district, cooperative association were formed which made it easy for farmers to access loans as a group. This enabled Cocoa farmers to sell their Cocoa beans to the Cocoa boards for export at a profit. Farm settlements were created all over the region and tax was utilised efficiently. Western Region was so rich she lent the FG £2 million at a time. The day my father showed me a newspaper clip to that effect, I was wowed!

    Leadership is not for rabble rousers. It’s not for people who can’t think deeply nor engage and utilise both human and material resources. Governance is a serious business that must not be left for the mediocre and political jobbers. Governance affects lives therefore those who aspire to leadership must be people who have the ability to make things happen. I am from Ekiti and I will continually disagree with people that it’s just a civil service state. For a leader who knows his onions, Ekiti is a virgin land waiting for a leader that would deflower her and harness her potential for development and positive impact. The name Ekiti is derived from the word “Okiti”, that is, a mound. Our name is synonymous with what surrounds us, miles and miles of rocks “okiti.” Yet we import marbles and granite to construct roads and to build luxury homes and hotels in Nigeria. Ekiti can supply all the granite for road construction in Nigeria, while Ondo State has the 3rd largest deposit of bitumen in the world, yet all these are lying fallow untapped. These are the two major components for road construction. Is it not a curse that we import marble and polished stones while Ekiti has it in abundance? The whole of Ijero/Aramoko Ekiti environ is littered with precious stones. I know few friends who travel to Ijero Ekiti to buy precious stones from local miners for export to Europe and US. What of logging? Ekiti has hundreds of kilometres of wood forest of different species from Iroko, Obeche etc which we can harness as the bedrock for the furniture industry and earn foreign exchange from. Ilesha in Osun State is filled with gold but who’s mining it? Yet, I know some so called Yoruba nation agitators that invested millions of dollars in a goldmine in Ghana. What a shame!

    • Kayode Adebiyi is a Lagos-based PR/perception management executive.

  • Restructuring and its misconception

    Sir: I don’t understand the cause of the misconception about former Vice President Atiku Abuabakar’s call for restructuring. Could it be just politicking or lack of understanding? He clearly said let the power at the centre be reduced so that more powers and responsibilities are devolved to federating units.

    Atiku in his call for restructuring, stressed the need for the devolution of power, that too much power at the centre hurts the country and the north in at least three critical ways: destroying our economy and values as it does elsewhere; putting too much premium on the struggle for power at the centre; creating the false perception that the north benefits from the status quo, thus presenting the north as being responsible for the country’s development challenges.

    It is no news that before the discovery of crude oil, Nigeria’s economy flourished on cash crops production. There are many deposits of minerals in the northern part of the country and what the federal government ought to do is to promote diverse economic activities; tax the proceeds of those activities and use the proceeds to provide public goods and services for Nigerians.

    We are all witnesses to what too much premium on the struggle for power at the centre has left us with. Politicians have often been successful in exploiting our ethnic and religious diversity to their advantage as we journey through the path of democratic governance.

    The former Vice President didn’t just stop at his suggestions on the way out of our present dwindling economy and insecurity; he also said that restructuring will provide solution to many of our seeming intractable problems.

    His words: “For a start, we need an honest reappraisal of the motives and principles behind existing solutions to our national integration challenges and their efficacy under current circumstances. Such an appraisal should not be shaped by which political party we belong to or any expected political benefits to individuals. It can be done with the help of a body of independent experts.”

    So you can understand my confusion, when Governor of Bauchi State, Alhaji Mohammed Abubakar came out to say that we do not need restructuring, that what we need is power devolution. He further went ahead to say Nigerians are prone to using very strong words when we feel strong about an issue. Can you beat that? I would rather say Nigerians like Governor Abubakar are prone to politicizing every issue before dissecting it. Obviously, Governor Abubakar didn’t realize that he was repeating what Atiku Abubakar has been calling for except that calling it restructuring is too much a strong word for him. I want to believe that the reason the governor of Bauchi State did not realize he was saying exactly what Atiku has been advocating is probably because he didn’t want to be seen disloyal to the power house.

    So instead of politicking with this issue while waiting for the catastrophe which if Nigeria continues on this path will surely happen, let’s all get on board with it and work on how it will best suit our system and stop acting like we are still in shackles. Nigeria is not working right now; let get back to the drawing board and restructure.

     

    • Irene Yakubu,

    Kaduna.

  • On the matter of the timing, process and content of restructuring

    The immediate challenge before us as a country is our economic survival and that is what should concentrate our attention.

    Son of his father, the inimitable Professor Sam Aluko, Bolaji ,  a  Professor of Chemical Engineering and  former  Vice –Chancellor of the Federal University, Otueke, Bayelsa state, is a delight on the many e-for a where he intervenes with seminal contributions on subjects  ranging, metaphorically, from sand to steel, complete with a bewildering  array of  data to validate his viewpoint.

     One such subject is Restructuring, about which there are now almost daily conferences in Nigeria. It is about it that a phalange of the Southwest political elite has needlessly been excoriating the Vice President, claiming, wrongly, that he had disavowed of it.

    We benefited on Ekitipanupo this past week, from Bolaji’s intense fecundity. Unfortunately, his views are not the subject of this article sans including his short response to Goke Omidiran, who raised some issues with his position. Wrote Aluko in response: “Multi-tasking is already ongoing. For instance, anti-corruption, security and economic re-construction (the last in terms of diversification, local content encouragement and job empowerment) are going on simultaneously.

    It just appears that the “economic development” you write about is not as fast as you and I want made difficult, as it is, by the international situation that impacts heavily on our monocultural economy and the disenfranchised corrupt past-actors or ancien regime politicians (or their proxies) who have opened another flank of security concerns that impact even more heavily on the economy”.  I chose, instead, to concentrate on Tope Ojo’s rebuttal of Aluko’s position and my own reaction to the latter.  Restructuring, Ojo says, “is not an end in itself. It is bringing innovation to some fundamentals in a system. It is a change of structure and a reshaping of the entity for the survival of an organization or nation. It could be done when there are problems or when there is need to take an organization or nation to a higher level. APC and the President made it a key campaign promise. We will hold them to that. Buhari has a 4-year, first term and a second term is certainly not automatic.

    So, if he does not commence now, when?  ”The northern cabal and all rent seekers, nationwide, he says, are not interested in restructuring and as Professor  Ladipo Adamolekun said, Nigeria must restructure or die. The Country RISK Index for Nigeria is very high. There are insurgencies here and there just as there are agitations that are valid. The economy is in recession and Restructuring will take us out of the valley.

    The modality for True Federalism, or Confederation, could be worked out. It is a concept that is hugely misunderstood but that is what will bring the changes we seek. The current unitary system has not taken us far as issues bordering on the exclusive and concurrent lists need urgent action. Restructuring is unlike building a house; it is about rebuilding a nation on the basis of equity and justice.”

    I reacted as follows. Restructuring may be all you called it – unfortunately overstated what it is – in the process, conflating restructuring a country like Nigeria, with its size and complexities, with reorganising a company, however big. These are two different things and, almost, incomparable. Rather than dwell on that error, however, I will try to discuss issues concerning what I regard as the appropriate time for restructuring in a country you agreed is in recession. Unlike the 2014 Jonathan talk show, Restructuring is no tea party especially in a country as culturally variegated as Nigeria. Regional/ethnic diversities and perspectives in our country are such that I am surprised you could so casually invite a government plagued by a massive economic disequilibrium on top of other intimidating challenges to jump into the daunting task of restructuring now, important as it is. Indeed, given the level of animosities, the anger and the hunger pervading Nigeria today, it will require a modern day Solomon to preside over what will surely be a disoriented assembly of antagonistic entities.

    Let me now proceed to take one single example of the consequences of our current economic circumstances.  I have a friend, a big pharmaceuticals manufacturer whose company employs hundreds of Nigerians. According to him, several months ago, some Nigerian manufacturers got approved Form M’s to import raw materials.

    Of course, these were, as expected, fully cash backed with the exchange rate officially around N197/$1.  Many months later, just as they were expecting to start taking delivery of these items, the CBN which, incidentally, had not remitted the funds, comes back asking them to now pay well over 250 naira to the dollar. It got worse.  Only last week, my friend got me to sit on a meeting where he discussed with his bankers about a fresh order for bottle caps. It was such a thoroughly agonising session with figures ranging between a band of N300 – 315 to the dollar that I won’t be surprised if, very soon, industries in Nigeria begin to lay off workers since this is a general problem, not just to pharmaceuticals manufacturers. Or is there anybody out there wanting to see a deluge of retrenched factory workers so restructuring can begin now, now? Obviously, about the only way to stave off this looming de-industrialisation of the country will be for President Buhari to urgently instruct the Central Bank to come up with an intervention fund for the affected companies if they are not to close down.

    This intervention fund should enable them access forex at no more than what is on their approved Form M and it should not be treated as a loan since it was no fault of theirs. It must be appreciated that banks are now extremely reticent about granting new loans, knowing very well that manufacturers cannot easily pass any additional costs to their dwindling customers.I digress.

    What is described above may very well be the least of President Buhari’s economic, not to mention, security and other headaches.  Is that the government our people would like to see launch into restructuring right now?  I have written tomes about the advantages of restructuring on these very pages. But those were during  the relatively ’problem-free’ days of President Obasanjo when  Boko Haram was light  years away and he could even afford to toy with a Third Term Project as well as during President Jonathan’s  days when you knew that not to do anything was to  let  him drag the country down with himself.  God knows, I still believe very much in restructuring but this, certainly is not the right time when Obas are being seized from their palaces and, but for the strong determination and gargantuan efforts of a Governor Ambode, not only Ikorodu and its environs, but the high streets of Lagos, would have become staging grounds for Niger-Delta militants as we once saw OPC demonstrate in their campaign for President Jonathan.

      Security challenges apart, there is the huge financial resources required to have even an encore of the 2014 jamboree which we were told gulped N9 Billion. It has been suggested that government could work with the recommendations of previous national conferences, even Abacha’s, and I say, yes, why not? But this obviously is not the right time.For me, come 2018, the country should treat Restructuring like Brexit; have a National Conference for about six months starting during the Second Quarter of the penultimate year of President Buhari’s first term and get the recommendations approved at a national referendum ahead of the 2019 general elections during which the political parties should treat the document as part of their respective manifesto.

    This is slightly different from my earlier suggestion on the issue but it looks much neater since political parties do not become the sole driver of the process. Whichever party wins that election should be presumed to have the peoples’ mandate to restructure the country, beginning, 29 May, 2019.

    That way, we would have cured the timing problem as well as effectively involve the citizenry in the decision making process. The immediate challenge before us as a country today is our economic survival and that is what should concentrate our attention. Murders have so spiked in Venezuela, on top of hunger, and general insecurity, that we should do everything to avoid their fate. Their problems arose, we should remember, strictly from non-diversification of their economy.

  • Restructuring from below

    Restructuring from below

    He is a wily political tactician and a deft power strategist. It is thus not fortuitous that, despite his often fluctuating and floundering political fortunes, former Vice President Atiku Abubakar remains a recurrent and resilient actor on Nigeria’s ever so fluid political terrain. In recent times, Atiku has been effectively capitalizing on the seeming ideological schizophrenia and organizational frigidity that appears to have significantly  immobilized the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC) to project himself as an agent of reform, modernization and structural change in Nigeria.

    Speaking in Kaduna recently at a memorial conference in honor of the late Major-General Hassan Usman Katsina, former military governor of the former Northern region, Atiku strongly reiterated his new advocacy for restructuring in Nigeria. Advancing his previous much discussed thesis on the same issue earlier in the year further, Atiku contended rather courageously that the North should no longer be content to be seen as an obstacle to the sustained clamor in diverse quarters for the re-compacting of the Nigerian federation.

    Challenging the prevalent conventional wisdom particularly among the hegemonic factions of the northern political class, Atiku declared: “The North and Nigeria have not been well served by the status quo and there is need for change…Did the Northern regional government wait to collect monthly revenue from allocations from Lagos (then National Capital) before paying salaries to its civil servants and teachers or fixing its bridges and roads?” The former Vice President argues that the North must be a prime mover of and active participant in the urgent and ultimately inevitable imperative of reconfiguring Nigeria’s political structure.

    As persuasive and seductive as Atiku’s rhetoric may be, the Turaki Adamawa is a most unlikely and hardly credible apostle of radical structural change in Nigeria. In sharp contrast to Atiku’s penchant for political vagrancy as well as Machiavellian opportunism devoid of enduring principles, Buhari exhibited rare ideological consistency in the wilderness of political opposition for several years. Atiku’s stupendous wealth is widely perceived, rightly or wrongly, as a function of his astuteness in manipulating and exploiting the loopholes of the extant structure he now rails against to feather his pecuniary nest and those of his close associates.

    Buhari is the exact opposite. Here is a man who, given the key military and political positions he has occupied in the past, ought to be a multi-billionaire in diverse currencies but is a symbol of moral integrity and ethical rectitude. Yet, he is unfortunately allowing himself to be cast in the mould of a stalwart defender of the continuity and maintenance of an entrenched structure he has scantly personally benefitted from. This is particularly annoying for some because Buhari triumphed in the last general elections after several failed attempts on the basis of APC’s platform of change. Consequently, Atiku is gradually being allowed to become the most prominent and vocal face of a reform minded, forward looking and progressive North with growing appeal in the South-East, South-South as well as parts of the South-West.

    Of course, this column does not subscribe to the rather romantic notion that all Nigeria needs is to seek first the kingdom of political restructuring and everything else will be added unto us. The inherited moral rot and systemic dysfunction being vigorously combatted by the Buhari administration are due to a combination of institutional and attitudinal anomalies. Positive change that can engender progress will thus be dependent on carefully calibrated adjustments in both structures and values.

    All too often, advocates of restructuring, whether they desire the outright dismemberment of the country or fundamental devolution of powers, resources and responsibilities to the lower levels of government, see excessive centralization and bureaucratization as the key impediment to realizing the country’s potentials. However, in an address he delivered to commemorate the 50th anniversary of the death of Colonel Adekunle Fajuyi, military governor of the former Western Region, in the July 29, 1966, counter coup, foremost human rights lawyer, Mr Femi Falana (SAN), argued persuasively that restructuring is as imperative at the lower levels -states and local governments- as it is at the centre.

    Falana, who was a participant in the National Conference organized by the President Goodluck Jonathan administration, pointed out that “Contrary to the misleading impression of certain highly placed Nigerians, the 2014 National Conference did not recommend the restructuring of the country. In fact, the most reactionary recommendation of the confab was that Nigeria be split into 54 states!”. But as the legal luminary also notes, the conference made several positive and necessary recommendations which, contrary to President Buhari’s position, can help strengthen the institutional and ethical fabric of the Nigerian federation.

    These recommendations include the reduction of the Federal Government’s share of revenue allocation from 52 to 48% and concomitantly increasing that of states and local governments , creation and funding of local governments by states, transfer of more responsibilities from the exclusive to the concurrent list of the federation, establishment of special courts to fight corruption, removal of immunity from prosecution for corruption and other criminal charges as well as making the fundamental objectives of state enshrined in chapter two of the constitution justiciable.

    None of these recommendations require any radical structural upheavals to achieve. All that a serious and committed change-oriented government needs to effect these highly desirable reforms are the political will and strategic acumen to forge a broad national consensus around  a progressive change agenda. President Buhari may mean well in his sincere belief that Nigeria’s prevailing institutional and constitutional order best guarantee her unity and stability, which he considers non-negotiable. However, getting him to see that greater decentralization of the polity and strengthening her fiscal federalism are necessary conditions for enduring national cohesion and progress should not be an insurmountable task. This should be the prime responsibility of the APC leadership.

    An interesting point that emerges from Falana’s paper is that some degree of restructuring has indeed been going on subtly and largely unnoticed since

    1. For instance, he notes that state governments, through several legal victories in the courts, have diachronically strengthened their autonomy in diverse areas including control and funding of local governments, authority over physical planning, responsibility for land use as well as collection of hotel and hospitality taxes within their territorial jurisdiction among others. Furthermore, he demonstrates how many states have been exercising functions and undertaking responsibilities with no opposition from the Federal government in areas such as airports, railways, waterways as well as funding and equipping of the police, that are all constitutionally on the exclusive list.

    Against this background, he asks rhetorically and justifiably:”By the way, do we need the fiat of Abuja to have regional or zonal economic integration in the face of the current economic crisis? What have the state governors done with the powers which have devolved to them since 1999? Have such powers not been deployed to enrich many governors, intimidate political opponents and oppress the people?…Unlike the President whose budgets are scrutinized by the federal legislators, the budgets presented by state governors to the state houses of assembly are passed by state legislators without debates”.

    While there are some exemplary exceptions in states that have made significant developmental progress since 1999,  it is difficult to fault the general scenario of authoritarianism, impunity and lack of transparency at the lower rungs of governance as depicted by Falana.

    The the over concentration of powers, arbitrariness and venality that have stunted meaningful governance at the centre tends to be reproduced in a more pronounced manner at the lower levels blunting local government efficacy, shackling state legislatures from effectively playing their checking and balancing role and rendering state electoral commissions ineffectual and redundant. Thus, Falana rightly submits that “…the campaign for true federalism is meaningless if it is not anchored on democratization, popular participation, accountability and transparency. Otherwise, powers are going to be transferred from Abuja to the emperors manning the state governments if the status quo remains”. It can certainly not be better articulated.