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Tag: restructuring

  • Atiku: restructuring should be in phases

    Former Vice-President Atiku Abubakar has said the All Progressives Congress (APC) is ignorant of his plan to restructure Nigeria.

    Atiku, a presidential aspirant in the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), who spoke yesterday in Kano, said: “What  l am advocating is that restructuring should be carried out in phases, rather than being total, because power at the centre is too heavy. It should be reduced.

    “I think APC must be very ignorant, because my position on the issue of restructuring dates back to the report of constitutional restructuring of 1994. If you check the report, you will find my contributions, as far as restructuring is concerned.”

    He described his idea about restructuring as slimming down the Federal Government, while the bulk of responsibilities are shouldered by the geopolitical zones or the states closer to the people.

    “By restructuring, I mean devolving power to the states or geopolitical zones as the case may be, so that they can assume greater responsibilities in their respective states or zones.

    “At the moment, the Federal Government has too much on its plate and it is not able to pay attention to all parts of the country. My belief is that by devolving more power to those states or regions, they are closer to the people, particularly in areas such as education, health, infrastructure and so on. I want to see a lean Federal Government, a small Federal Government,” Atiku said.

    He explained that by restructuring, the functions of the Federal Government would be limited to defence, immigration, currency and the Central Bank of Nigeria.

    “A small Federal Government will deal with matters such as defence, foreign affairs, currency, Central Bank of Nigeria and immigration.

    “On why l’m advocating restructuring, it will deal with a lot of problems, including insecurity. It will solve the problems affecting economic development, which every part of the country is complaining of.

    “So, if we give you more power and resources to develop your states, then you should hold your states responsible, not the Federal Government. This is what I mean by restructuring,” the aspirant said.

    On the issue of PDP having 12 aspirants, he said there is a process, which will culminate in the emergence of one person.

    “One thing we have agreed on is that we will support whoever wins. We did that in the APC and it worked. We will do the same thing in the PDP,” Atiku said.

    He was received by his supporters led by the Chairman of the party in the state, Senator Musa’d El-Jibrin Doguwa.

     

     

  • Restructuring: Of message and the messenger

    Of late, former Vice-President, Alhaji Abubakar Atiku, has been in the news crusading for the restructuring of the country’s political system. Though many had commended him for this new passion, one would want to take the genuineness of the former vice-president’s current clamour for restructuring with a pinch of salt. Like every typical Nigerian politician, Atiku has his eyes on something else. How come he is seeing the necessity for restructuring at this very point in time? Did I hear you say he has a right to the timing of his new found political conviction? Alright, others equally have a right to scrutinize the timing as well as the accuracy of such conviction.

    Atiku Abubakar was vice –president of the country for eight years. He has always been a ‘powerful’ political figure since the early 1990s. But, I stand to be corrected; all this while he has never been as convinced as he currently is on the need to restructure the Nigerian federation. Curiously, it is not that we have not been having serious socio-economic and political issues as we currently have in the country. There have always been various kinds of agitations among the various nationalities bordering on struggle for political and economic relevance in the country.

    My perception of Atiku is that of a calculating, shrewd and self-seeking politician who cannot really be trusted. His political antecedent, especially, since the current democratic dispensation does not show him as a man of deep conviction. He seems more of a man in tune with Machiavelli’s political thought. In the wake of his political travails under the Obasanjo presidency, a few people rightly or wrongly sympathize with him as a victim of political persecution.

    The defunct Action Congress, AC, probably, made him the party’s presidential candidate based on such sentiment. A relatively newcomer to the party, Atiku, was offered an unbelievable lifeline by the defunct AC to redeem his political image. He contested the 2007 presidential election on the stable of the party but lost to late Umar Yar’adua of the PDP. The manner in which Atiku eventually dumped the AC (later ACN) speaks volume of his penchant for political opportunism.

    As soon as it became obvious to him that he was not going to fulfil his aspiration of contesting for the 2015 presidential election in the PDP, Atiku jumped ship again. This time around, the newly formed APC, an offshoot of the ACN which he had earlier dumped became Atiku’s preferred party. Presently, the former VP has once again jumped ship as he is back to the PDP.

    In one of his restructuring advocacies, Atiku said that a close observation of the present administration’s policies, especially on the issue of the Niger Delta militancy and power sector crisis, would reveal that there was little or no lesson learnt. Hope someone is reading in between the line? I bet we have not heard the last from this foxy Adamawa born politician. There will certainly be more to come from him in the days ahead. Atiku certainly has more aces up his sleeves!

    However, it is not right that one should discard the message because of the messenger. You don’t throw away the baby with the bath-water is a popular African saying. In as much as one firmly believes that Atiku has some ulterior motives in his call for the restructuring of the federation, it is, nevertheless, crucial to state that our federal system is long overdue for restructuring.

    The distinctive feature of a federation is the constitutional diffusing of powers between the central government and the federating units. In a unitary system, total powers flow from the centre while in a federation, powers are shared between the centre and states. Federalism is supposed to be a mutually evolved system where none of the federating units is inferior to the other but each deriving its powers and exercising them within the framework of the constitution. Federalism is normally considered a better political option in view of certain factors.

    For instance, it is politically expedient for a country with a huge land mass, big and heterogeneous population, cultural and language diversities to operate a federal system of government as a way of accommodating the diverse ethnic, religious, cultural and linguistic interests in the country. In other words, federalism becomes the viable option for a nation, like Nigeria, with diverse interests, as previously mentioned, to exist in a mutually binding framework. It is not an avenue for one federating unit to bully the other. It is not an avenue for a president or a governor or even a local government chairman to become reckless. It is not a system for states governors to become school children while presidents act as their headmasters. No! Rather, it is a system that calls for mutual respect and fairness among the federating units.

    Unfortunately, because over the years, Nigeria has practiced the wrong version of federalism, individuals and institutions that advocate the practice of true federalism are often labelled as rascals, rebels or in some cases secessionists. It is pleasing to note that eminent individuals and organisations in the country have, in the past and in recent time, been canvassing for the enthronement of true federalism in the country.

    The way forward is for us to evolve a new constitution that will truly reflect the principles and sprit of true federalism. The present constitution is lopsided in its power sharing at the expense of the states. For instance, Part one of the Second Schedule of the Constitution listed 68 items in the Exclusive Legislative List on which only the central government has control, while in Part two, it listed 30 items in the Concurrent Legislative List on which both the central and states could exercise control.

    In a true federal arrangement, there should be no need for local government creation to require consequential provision of the National Assembly. The inclusion of Police, Mines and Minerals, Railways, Stamp Duties, Taxation of Incomes, and Value Added Tax (VAT) in the Exclusive list is also uneven. Similarly, a situation where states wait endlessly for the federal government to fix so called federal roads in their domains should be discouraged.

    Equally, it is imperative that a new revenue sharing formula, that will be fair to all federating units, is put in place. It is only in a unitary system that such an uneven arrangement in which the federal government takes 52 per cent of the total revenue while the federating units –states and local governments-share the rest. In a proper federation, what the central government does is to focus on central federal matters like foreign affairs, currency, maritime shipping, and defence.

     

    • Ogunbiyi is of the Ministry of Information & Strategy, Alausa, Ikeja, Lagos.

  • Between Restructuring and Resource Management

    Despite the seeming hopelessness of a nation in distress, hope yet springs eternal provided we don’t give up. Why am I now hopeful when in the last two weeks, I described a bottomless pit into which we have fallen? Only the dead is hopeless; and we are not dead yet as a people.

    Indeed, our liveliness is unparalleled. We are imbued with a boundless energy that we expend in talking, sometimes pass each other, but always on the issues that matter to our survival and prosperity as a people. Of course, we sometimes also question the very idea of our people-hood. Which is fine because, again, if we jaw-jaw, we will not war-war.

    This brings me to the very recent subjects of discourse in high places. The presidency initiated the discourse on restructuring and national interest while PDP initiated a discussion on good governance. But we all have a responsibility to join in to raise the discussions above partisan frays to the realm of rationality. This is not to suggest that partisan discourse is something but rational. Rather, the point is that it is perceived to be naturally motivated by the scoring of political points against the other party.

    Yet the discourse on restructuring, national interest, and good governance can benefit from an objective approach which does not fail to expose unstated assumptions, misrepresentations, downright distortion of issues or egregious deception on either side of the discourse. In short, we have a moral obligation to keep them all honest. Today, I focus on restructuring.

    As I remarked a few weeks ago, Vice President Osinbajo is an accidental politician. A lawyer by profession and a servant of God by calling, he straddles two worlds with different requirements and expectations.  In the competitive world of politics, where electoral victory is a driving force, there is a notoriety for aversion to those values that, while sounding highfalutin, are obstacles to electoral success.

    In the world of religion, however, values matter and every citizen of that world is required to uphold those values that are divinely ordained. These include, among others, truthfulness, fidelity to promises, modesty, kindness, selflessness, integrity, honesty, and humility.

    How does one navigate these seemingly contrasting oceans and stay afloat? Does one give up on religious ethics once one accepts the call to serve in the secular world of politics? Going by how he has conducted himself thus far, Osinbajo doesn’t think so. The latest example was his outrage over the illegal and unethical invasion of the National Assembly by SSS few weeks ago. He has also demonstrated his compassion and empathy in various forums and under difficult circumstances in the unfortunate cases of violent attacks by criminal elements.

    Therefore, if the Vice President makes a submission that conflicts with our perspective on an issue, we owe it to our mutual belief in rational discourse to interrogate the issues. For the umpteenth time, the issue is restructuring. The VP refers to it as geographical restructuring. Many who have discussed the same matter have preferred the term political restructuring. I think we are talking about the same thing.

    From several media reports on a town hall meeting in Minnesota, USA, we are informed that the VP rejected restructuring and opted for prudent management of resources. Without a transcript of his presentation, we must rely on the statement circulated by his Media Aide, which may be summarized as follows:

    1. Each of the previous administrations earned more revenue from oil between 1999 and 2015 than the Buhari administration has earned in three years.
    2. Despite the huge resources available to them, none of these previous administrations focused on infrastructure. The money they earned went down the drain.
    3. With a laser beam focus on fighting corruption and through TSA initiative and others, the Buhari administration has closed leakages that fuel corruption.
    4. With revenues accruing from return of stolen funds, and with just a fraction of what each of the previous administrations earned from oil, the Buhari administration has done more on infrastructure than any of those administrations. It is also doing a lot on agriculture with a target of attaining self-sufficiency in the production of rice, tomato and other cash crops.
    5. Therefore the Buhari administration has succeeded in a prudent management of the meager resources and the provision of essential needs.
    6. Therefore, resource management is a better way to address the development challenges of Nigeria.
    7. Therefore, the problem with Nigeria is not a matter of restructuring. It is about managing resources properly and providing for the people properly.

    Note that if we accept for discussion, the Vice President’s submissions from 1 to 4 above, what we are entitled to conclude is that the Buhari administration has succeeded in prudent management of resources of the country, which is the inference in 5.

    However, the Vice President appears to take a liberty which he is not entitled to in 6 and 7. To infer that management of resources and provision of essential needs are better ways of addressing the development challenges of Nigeria begs an important question: “better than what?” As far as we can see, at the point he drew that inference, the Buhari administration approach has only been compared with the previous administrations. But none of those previous administrations also embraced restructuring.

    It is even more stunning that the VP makes the further inference in 7 that “the problem of Nigeria is not a matter of restructuring. It is about managing resources properly and providing for people properly.” It is stunning because we have not been told what restructuring is and might do, including its potential to add value to the prudent management of resources. The VP did not bother to explain what he understands by restructuring before he makes the inference at 7.

    Shortly after, however, he alluded to the struggle of the Lagos State government of which he was an integral part as Attorney General. The struggle was for fiscal federalism, which is an aspect of restructuring. Note that it was a time when Lagos State was leading every state in terms of development efforts. It was also a time when the Obasanjo administration flexed its muscle to strangle Lagos State, by withholding its local government revenue even after the Supreme Court had ruled that move unconstitutional.

    Lagos State was an exemplar of good resource management during that period and ever since. Even when its resources were withheld, it paid workers’ salary regularly. It improved the welfare of judicial workers, something that the VP must take pride in as the Attorney General. It equipped its health clinics and hospitals. It improved access to quality education. And with the Local Council Development Areas that it created, it made government more accessible to residents.

    Imagine, then, if Lagos State had access to its local government funds withheld by Obasanjo administration, what more feat it would have performed in terms of development and providing for the needs of the people.

    But it did not have its funds because the structure of our federalism makes the federal government an overbearing Leviathan, which, in the hands of a benevolent President as master, might dole out resources to states under him. However, since, human nature is unpredictable, strong institutions are much more reliable to do what they are created to do so that, in the absence of a benevolent master, a structure is in place that respects the co-equal status of sub-national units, be it region or state.

    It is not as if we were not at such a place before. And what is bothersome is that in the difficult task they have of defending the status quo, no one seems to have taken to trouble to tell us what was wrong with the structure of relationship that regions had with the center in the first republic. That relationship was changed by human beings who were not even elected. They had the power of the gun and they used it to impose their will.

    Are we now being told that since the military did it with the power of the gun, it is good for eternity?

     

     

  • ‘There is no alternative to restructuring’

    General Overseer of Guiding Light Assembly Lagos Pastor Wale Adefarasin spoke with Sunday Oguntola on how to build a new Nigeria through constitutionalism and adherence to rule of law. Excerpts:

    Nigerians agree the nation must be restructured but disagree on how. How, in your opinion, is the best way to restructure Nigeria?

    We cannot restructure the nation without changing the 1999 Constitution substantially. What do we mean by restructuring? To some people, restructuring means going back to the 1960 geographical arrangements. To others, it means going back to the six geopolitical zones; some say we need to create eight.

    To some, it should be the going back to the three regions we had before the military took over in 1966. We haven’t really gotten a unified position of what we mean by restructuring. Another thing is that to pass a constitutional amendment, we need the Senate and House of Representatives to pass a vote with two third.

    Equally too, we need two thirds of the State House of Assembly to vote for the amendments, which is difficult. This was made so, so that constitutional changes can’t be done by a simple majority as it was before.

    The other thing is that the country is already divided. We have the North East, the North West and North Central. We also have the East, South South and the West. The zones in the North are against restructuring the way the South is looking at it and want it to be.

    I don’t see anything on ground that can make restructuring possible at the moment. We have an elected National Assembly. They are the ones to take a decision on this. Remember power devolution to the states was mooted but was voted down sometimes ago by the assembly…

    …So, restructuring might not be possible?

    …Well, it can. The other vehicle that can bring about a restructuring is a Sovereign National Conference. I don’t see any sitting government that can put this in place. You were elected into power and suddenly a body is put in place that has more power than you.

    The word sovereign means all powers. Personally, I believe in true federalism which was what we had before the military came. It was a true federation though. It wasn’t perfect. We had the parliamentary system, which was less expensive.

    Yes, people were crossing carpets and all that but it was not enough reason to throw the system away. I believe in whatever system would give us true federalism. The regions then were doing quite well. They competed favorably with each other.

    The West had cocoa, which was used to educate many of her people. When the East saw what the West was doing, they activated their coal and palm oil resources. The North was strong in the production of hides and skins, groundnuts and others.

    We shouldn’t allow oil to distract our attention from our other minerals. Even now many European nations, France and Great Britain in particular are saying that by 2040, they won’t be running petrol engine vehicles anymore. 2040 is not too far away! There are electric powered cars already on the road in these developed nations.

    But not yet in Nigeria

    Yes not in Nigeria. As far as i know, our power output and distribution cannot support this yet. These are cars you park by the road side where electric charging points are. You plug in your vehicle, recharge, pay and drive off. Just as you do when buying fuel.

    When we had regional governments, the regions were able to take care of themselves…

    …That was when we had a true federation at work. When the military came they cancelled it. It favoured the military as their chain of command is to have one Commander- In-Chief. It won’t work out well for them by their tradition to have a Commander-In-Chief and still have almost independent regional leaders under the C-In-C.

    Thus, the military cancelled that system and brought in a unitary system which was what began to destroy Nigeria.

    What precisely would be your opinion on what to do or system to adopt to stabilize the nation?

    I have no precise idea. If anyone has an idea, let that person come out with it.

    You said the nation was strong and prosperous under the regional government, don’t you agree then that we should go back to it?

    The fear of some people on the issue of restructuring as the South is asking for is some parts of Nigeria would suffer. They fear that power would no longer be at the centre to them and would have lost out.

    The truth however is that if we want Nigeria to still remain one, be great and progressive, we cannot do without this restructuring. How to get there is what is not known to me

    Is the presidential system not too expensive and over bearing for us?

    The presidential system was copied from the United States. The US is bigger than Nigeria. Every state in the US has its own constitution. They run almost independent of the federal body. Each state has its separate tax laws etc.

    Some tax regimes are lower than others. Judgment on same offences equally differs. Some have capital punishments while with others, it is life imprisonment for the same offence.

    The US is truly a federation. There are certain powers at the centre and some powers in the state. We have a similar thing here but only on paper. We have the Executive Lists which only the federal government can legislate on. The states also have Concurrent List. As much as I believe more power should be given to the states, I have my doubt for some states in the North that are not viable enough to stand on their own without the monthly allocations from the centre. We should go back to the six geographical zones or we go back to the regional system of government.

    When a region has to depend on her resources, it forces that region to be creative at working on their resources. The Niger Delta for instance has more than oil as mineral resources. Now everyone focuses on oil and Nigeria has become a mono product economic nation.

    We should diversify. Malaysians came here some years ago and took our palm seedling. Today they have left us far behind in palm oil production. Our people left agriculture and focused on petroleum.

    Lack of integrity is said to be the bane of our nation. This goes across the tribes and religion. Is there any solution to this?

    Corruption is not a religious matter. It is a cancer that has to be dealt with. It is holding our country down. Let me start from the family. Those who have the chance and capacity to sit down their children and teach them values are not teaching them.

    There are other due to economic pressures don’t even think at all on values they focus on feeding the family. As long as values are not taught to children who eventually grow to be adult, we shall still be in the same situation.

    Churches have been accused of placing emphasis on prosperity than teachings that can positively impact life and make of believers good Christians. What’s your reaction to this?

    The church should focus more on character development than prosperity messages. We need to let people know that when they give their lives to Christ, they are principally entering a relationship with the Lord.

    It is wrong to tell new converts that as soon as they give their lives to Christ, their problems are over. This is where people are getting it wrong.

    The answer to godly life is to disciple converts first. This is the only way you can build a Christ-like life style strong enough to make you live above board.

  • Ohaneze: Nigeria may not survive without restructuring

    Pan-Igbo group Ohaneze has again warned that Nigeria may not endure as an entity if political restructuring of the country is not carried out.

    The Coordinator of Ohaneze Youth Wing in the South South, Chief Arthur Ugwa, gave the warning yesterday when the group visited the Ijaw Youth Council (IYC) in Yenagoa.

    He argued that restructuring the nation would foster even development and ensure peaceful co-existence in all parts of the country.

    “Restructuring is the only thing that will save this nation from going into extinction. Different regions must be able to manage their resources for accelerated development.

    “Our leaders have been crying for restructuring over the years.  It’s incumbent on the leadership of this country to consider this option for a united Nigeria.”

    Ugwa noted that the visit to Ijaw youth leaders was imperative for the South South and South East geo-political zones to continue to build stronger relationships and ensure safety of each other.

    The Ohaneze youth leader warned that Nigeria could no longer tolerate divisive tendencies and that restructuring was the way out for peace and togetherness.

    The President of the Central Zone of the IYC, Mr Tare Porri, said that with current challenges in the country, the way out was for the country to embrace restructuring.

    He disclosed that the group would carry out a referendum on restructuring, ahead of the upcoming general elections and that only people who supported restructuring would be voted into office.

     

  • ‘Restructuring will address lopsidedness in varsities’

    RESTRUCTURING will correct the lopsidedness in employ

    ment and admission into universities, a Professor of History and Director, Centre for Black Culture and International Understanding, Osogbo, Osun State, Siyan Oyeweso, has said.

    Oyeweso, who delivered the 20th convocation lecture of the Nigerian Academy of Letters (NAL) at the University of Lagos, said ethnic leaning had created a scenario where mediocrity was sacrificed for merit.

    Speaking on the theme: “Plural loyalties and multiple identities in post-independence Nigeria’’ Oyeweso lamented that be it a state or federal university, it is an uphill task for a non-indigene to aspire for the top office however brilliant he or she is.

    He said: “In any state university today, it is difficult for any non-indigene to aspire to the positing of a vice chancellor or registrar if he is not from that state. What we have done in Nigeria is to indigenise or ‘villagise’ the appointment of top principal officers.

    “Even in federal universities, the scenario is the same. If you are not from a geo-political zone where the university is located, you cannot become a VC; and that began since 1979.”

    Oyeweso did not buy the argument that appointing a ‘son of the soil’ would engender peace in the institution since the person is from a particular state, can speak the language of the natives, and relate well with his kinsmen.

    “You see,” he said, “universities are international in concept and scope.  Management of a university can decide to hire their vice chancellor from the United Kingdom or the United States of America. They can even advertise using the best journal. But today, the national or international standard has been betrayed. Even the appointment process is already skewed against non-indigenes.

    “I know of a university in Nigeria where 90 per cent of the workers and 95 per cent of students are from that state. Appointments and admissions are allocated on the basis of local governments. They call it ‘state character’ or ‘federal character’ if its federal place, or use other nomenclatures like catchment areas and so on.

    “That means a candidate may score 270 and yet be denied admission if he or she is not from the state, while another candidate who scored let’s say 230, would be consider for admission.

    Oyeweso, therefore, joined in the call for restructuring as well as the revisiting and implementation of the 2014 National Confab.

    “We must renegotiate and redefine the structure of governance in Nigeria. Call restructuring, call it dialogue. Truth is, we must sit down and talk because Nigeria is a renegotiated concept since 1914 (when Southern Nigeria was joined with Northern Nigeria Protectorate to form the single colony of Nigeria), through to 1999,” he added.

    The high point of the event was NAL’s investiture of five new fellows, including Prof Olutayo Charles Adesina, brother to Mr Femi Adesina, Special Adviser to the President on Media, Mr Femi Adesina.

    Earlier, NIL President, Prof Olu Obafemi, said the title of the lecture was drawn against Nigeria  socio-political upheavals.

    He said: “At no time in Nigeria history has the nation suffered this kind of political, ethnic and economic challenge. The level of insecurity is also frightening. Therefore, this lecture was conceptualists to look into some of these challenges and proffer solutions as Nigeria moves into another general election next year.”

  • Restructuring a must, says Makarfi

    Former Kaduna State Governor Senator Ahmed Maikarfi has declared restructuring of the nation as a must.

    The Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) presidential aspirant said restructuring is in the manifesto of the opposition party.

    He spoke in Enugu during a consultation with members of the party after attending the reunion of the Federal Government College, Enugu, his alma mater.

    Makarfi stated anybody against restructuring has no business with PDP.

    “When we come back to power in 2019 we will come together to discuss and implement it,” he assured.

    He said former Presidents Olusegun Obasanjo and Goodluck Jonathan should be given credit for convening constitutional conferences to that effect.

    He debunked insinuations the PDP condones corruption, saying the graft in the current administration would be fully unearthed when it is kicked out in 2019.

    “They keep saying that PDP is corrupt, yet we established EFCC, ICPC etc, which showed our readiness to fight corruption from the beginning.

    “By the time APC is kicked out in 2019, you will know that the corruption in the system now is even worse than in PDP’s 16 years. It’s usually difficult to investigate a government in power,” he stated.

     

  • Beyond party promises on restructuring

    In 2015, All Progressives Congress (APC) received a massive support throughout the country, especially in the Southwest because it promised to devolve power to the states.

    To be sure, this was not the party’s only attraction. After 16 years in power, PDP had become a spent force, an epitome of corruption and weak leadership. Voters were tired of the arrogance of the largest party in Africa. Therefore, they voted in a new leader who was promoted as a man of integrity and stern discipline. Many of us believed, as we still do, that change from a centralized pseudo federalism to a true federal structure was desperately needed. Nigerians championed the cause of change with their votes.

    The change we envisioned in 2015 was from a structure that suppresses innovative thinking because, like its military precursor, it micromanages the states and treats them as appendages. Nigerians voted for a change to a structure that respects diversity and encourages state-centric development. APC received the goodwill of voters, so it could carry out the necessary changes to boost the economy and promote peaceful relation among states and geopolitical zones. Oh, how hopeful we were!

    Patriotic Nigerians, including those who abhor partisan politics but are committed to the project of a better Nigeria, offered unsolicited advice to the incoming ruling party and the administration on the way forward. Much of those advice was consistent with the declared policy goals and objectives of the party. Based on the routing of those items of advice, there is reason to believe that the intended target received them. Due diligence done, the waiting time for result was tortuously unending. The promise remained unfulfilled. And since an unfulfilled promise is a broken promise, and since promise-breaking is tantamount to taking human beings for a ride, the animus that is being expressed now is not out of place.

    Of course, there are other issues, and different groups can point to any number of issues that give them pause about the ruling party and its administration. And it will certainly be unfair to treat all complaints with equal emphasis or to even acknowledge their legitimacy. The promise to fight corruption has been discharged creditably despite some hiccups which are not unexpected. Corruption has a way of fighting back. Also, the effort to fight terrorism in the North East has been largely successful and the administration deserves credit on this score. Unfortunately, the same zeal that forced Boko Haram to flee has not been seen in the matter of killer herdsmen. This matter will continue to be one of the greatest embarrassments for an administration that has a former military general at its head.

    As important as these other issues are, however, the foundational issue, which APC also recognized in its manifesto in view of the priority it gave it in the document, is devolution of power, its own nomenclature for restructuring. The failure of that promise is the most unfortunate in the record of the party, despite any other success.

    The effort failed partly because once the administration got power, it failed to give it the attention it deserved until very late. When the drumbeat of restructuring became loud and unrelenting, we were told that restructuring was not a priority of the party because it inherited a battered economy which needed immediate attention. No doubt, the new administration inherited a depleted foreign reserve, collapsing businesses, severe crisis of oil revenue shortage, militancy in the oil producing areas, and rising unemployment.

    Yet, as terrible as the economy was, it was not an excuse for not initiating discussions in the legislature on how best to redeem the promise of devolution of powers. The linkage between the economy and political structure is unassailable. Besides, what is wrong with multitasking in matters as important as these two? An early focus on restructuring would have also discouraged militancy in the Niger Delta and this would have sent a message of hope to foreign investors.

    The party eventually set up its committee on restructuring to the delight of many. The committee worked hard and submitted a report which many from opposing political parties hailed. Even Governor Dickson jettisoned partisanship to heap praises on the report and advised the party and government to implement the recommendations. The party accepted the report and set up another committee to examine it. Many believed that this was the beginning of delay tactics. Since then, we have not heard much about the status of the report.

    Then came the crisis within, and an imminent threat to promise-keeping became a reality. APC brought together diverse elements in a marriage of convenience. Try as much as they could, the founding fathers of the party have not been able to stem the tide of divisive politicking within, and now the center no longer holds. From the beginning, the National Assembly is the epicenter of the rebellion with its anti-establishment choice of leaders. With the party leadership pitted against NASS leadership, it is unrealistic to expect an effective coordination of party and administration priorities. Thus, a bill for amending the constitution on devolution of power went down in the NASS. To be sure, beside the executive-legislature debacle, this bill was also a victim of geopolitical mistrust.

    Suspicion between the administration and the National Assembly escalated with the failed prosecution of the Senate President over irregularities in asset declaration. Believing that his trial was political motivated, many NASS members rallied and stood by him, putting into jeopardy a good working relationship between NASS and the Executive.

    It got worse. The leadership of NASS belongs to nPDP, the breakaway faction of PDP that gave APC a boost in its change campaign in 2015. But with its increasing resentment of APC leadership, the nPDP bloc has been reluctant to do much in terms of passing any substantive bill that might make APC look effective in governance. With the inauguration of rAPC, the vicious circle is unbroken. Passing a devolution of power bill is therefore out of the question. And the prospect of breaking a promise is all but certain.

    Which leads us invariably to the next election and new beginning on the fundamental issue of restructuring. The challenge of APC now is to get people to believe it in case it decides to bring back a promise to restructure or devolve power. How believable is that going to be? It would have been a smart move to get somewhere now with partial implementation and then ask for another term to complete it. Therefore, restructuring or devolution of power cannot, unfortunately, be a winning strategy that it was for APC in 2015. Our people are not dumb.

    Once beaten, twice shy. There must now be a scrutiny of every promise from every political party on restructuring. What is the party’s track record? How committed are its leaders to restructuring? Can a coalition of political parties as in CUPP deliver what a merger of parties like APC cannot deliver?

    As a way out of this depressing record of unfulfilled promises, the electorate should demand to be in the driver’s seat of the issue. We need a ballot initiative in 2019 with three options.

    1. Do you want a change in the political structure of Nigeria? Yes/No
    2. If yes, do you want a change that returns Nigeria to the pre-1966 parliamentary system with modification to the number of regions? Yes/No
    3. If no, do you want a presidential system of governance and strong regional governments with control over their resources and payment of tax and royalty to the federal government? Yes/No

    If a majority answer yes on the first question, whichever party wins the election has an obligation to execute the will of the electorate. Majority answers on either question 2 or 3 will determine the form the new structure will take.

    What about the logistic of a ballot initiative with a population that is largely illiterate? Where there is a will there is a way. If we get them to vote their preferences on candidates, we can get them to vote their preferences on the ballot initiative.

  • Bayelsa governor at OAU, backs calls for restructuring

    Gov. Seriake  Dickson of Bayelsa on Thursday backed calls for restructuring  in the country.

    He spoke at the Distinguished Guest Lecture of  the Faculty Arts, Obafemi Awolowo University, Ile-Ife, which had as  theme: “ Restructuring and the Search for a productive Nigeria.’’

    ” If we were to conduct a referendum, majority of Nigerians will vote for the unity of Nigeria  because the unity of Nigeria is desirable in the best interest of all,’’ he said.

    The Bayelsa governor, however,  admonished Nigerian  leaders to return to true federalism which was agreed on by the founding fathers of the country.

    “For this nation to be positively restructured, the issue of constitutional amendment should be addressed.

    ” Political leaders are more militant than the military and more intolerant of adverse opinions or criticisms.

    “ Nigeria’s unity cannot be sustained merely by constitutional provisions that we know are ineffective,’’ he said.

    Earlier, Dickson had  visited the Ooni of Ife, Oba Adeyeye Ogunwusi, where he lauded him for upholding the tradition and culture of  the Yoruba.

    In his remarks, Ogunwusi sued for  unity across the country, saying  he was optimistic of a   day party leaders would  shun politics of  bitterness.

    He also warned youths across the country against acts of violence. (NAN)

  • June 12: Activist extols President, advocates restructuring

    Chief Sunbo Onitiri, an accomplished estate surveyor/valuer and a political activist who sponsored the late Chief M.K.O Abiola’s Epetedo Presidential Declaration, has extolled President Muhammadu Buhari for bestowing the late Abiola, the presumed winner of June 12, 1993 presidential election with the highest honour of the land.

    In a statement in Lagos, Onitiri said Buhari had rekindled Nigerians’ hope and faith on the sustainability of democracy in Nigeria with the singular act to honour our martyr of democracy.

    “This has shown that our efforts and struggles for democracy in Nigeria were not in vain”, Onitiri said.

    Onitiri and the late Barrister Tunde Adejumo obtained the historic landmark judgment that enabled Nigerians vote on June 12, 1993.

    Onitiri, who was in Abuja to witness the conferment of the honour on Abiola, called on the Federal Government to commence the process of restructuring Nigerian state without delay.

    Onitiri commended Buhari for giving Nigerians hope in democracy.

    “On behalf of other leading patriotic democrats both living and dead, I wish to commend President Muhammadu Buhari for rekindling our hope and faith on the sustainability of democracy in Nigeria with the singular act of bestowing the highest honour on our martyr of democracy Late chief M.K.O Abiola.

    “This has shown that our efforts and struggles for democracy in Nigeria were not  in vain. Most of us that laid down our lives and blood for the enthronement of democracy in Nigeria have been sidelined from the governance of Nigeria. Sadly, opportunists and anti-democratic forces have been on the prowl, feeding fat on our democracy. They have distorted our democracy and struggle.”

    Onitiri, who is the Lagos Elders’ Council’s scribe, commended the efforts of other patriotic Nigerians in the struggle like Mr. Frank Kokori, Olisa Agbakoba, Wale Oshun, Mr. Opadokun and Prof Henry Nwosu, and the late Tunde Adejumo.