Since June 11, Apero Yoruba has treated us to a feast of thoughtful reflections on what has become known as the Golden Era of Yorubaland. We heard about (i) Western Region’s exploits in education, health, and rural development, (ii) how the feats were accomplished then, and (iii) how we can do it now. Since forward movement is the normal course of nature, unless a greater force impedes it, we were eager to know what caused retrogression.
This past Saturday, we got an answer to that painful question: “We were doing great. Then the locusts invaded.” Apero Planning Committee had thought as much. Our retrogression isn’t natural. Human locusts invaded and ravaged the land, making rubbish of the ripened fruits from the labors of our heroes past. This much was reiterated by Professors Remi Sonaiya and Ropo Sekoni in Apero Session 4. Both distinguished professors, session chairman, Professor Adeniran Adeboye, and moderator/rapporteur, Dr. Akin Fapohunda, came well prepared. And despite the technical hiccups caused by erratic internet connections, a reflection of the heavy toll of years of human locust on the pace-setting region, their resilience and persistence paid off.
Professor Sonaiya X-rayed the culpability of successive Federal Governments in entrenching bad governance in Nigeria, and she reflected on the reforms needed to reverse the unacceptable situation and reset Nigeria for progress and development. With a nod to her disciplinary background, Prof. Sonaiya reminded her audience of the historic “Cahier de Doléances”, the list of grievances drawn up by the Three Estates against Louis XVI in 1789.
Sonaiya argued that Nigerians have a longstanding documented list of grievances against their government, including, Justice Oputa Panel Report, and the 2005 and 2014 Constitutional Conferences reports. Sadly, nothing came out of these documented grievances.
One of the documented grievances is about the structure of the country, which hasn’t worked since 1966 when the federal constitution was unilaterally axed by the military in favor of a unitary system. As almost all our previous presenters made clear, with this singular show of military impudence, the country was set back at least half a century, broken and divided almost beyond repair as the various agitations clearly show.
In addition to their ruining the structural foundation that the founding fathers had contracted, emerging leadership since 1966 has been characterized by lack of competence, lack of capacity, and lack of character. As Sonaiya put it, they are clueless, arrogant, nepotistic, bigoted and visionless. The result is our experience of insecurity, poor social services, lack of health care, collapse of public education, with multiple millions of out-of-school children, high unemployment and generalized poverty, disregard for justice and the rule of law, and institutionalized corruption.
Professor Sonaiya observed sadly that the country has wasted significant moments of opportunities to install “a visionary, transformational leadership” at the end of the civil war, upon return to civilian era in 1979 after years of military rule, or in 1999, when the military imposed another constitution and a leadership of its choosing. Now, we have a protracted state of insecurity, with former military generals unable to deliver a country under siege by bandits and terrorists in various garbs.
Sonaiya also had useful suggestions for a reset if Nigeria must bear the burden she has to carry for herself and for Africa. She, therefore, counseled Nigerians to take the “rising tide” at the flood and secure the fortune that it portends. Emphasizing the importance of “strong and trustworthy leadership”, she declared that Nigerians are demanding for inclusion of youths, women, and people with disabilities.
For Sonaiya, needed reforms include political restructuring, enhanced security and attentiveness to citizens’ welfare, and electing incorruptible leaders who have integrity and are ethically balanced. Detesting the common resort to party structure and monetization of elections, she argued for a new constitution and electoral reform that reduces cost of governance.
Finally, Sonaiya argued that a reset button would require drawing inspiration from the Awolowo era to sell the vision of national leadership in education, health, and rural development to willing and able Nigerians. And for corrupt and clueless leaders, she advocated for a “Committee of Calabash Openers”, akin to traditional Yoruba governance system which did not suffer fools gladly.
Professor Ropo Sekoni was no less detailed in his analysis of the devastation caused by the human locusts, and in the solutions he proffered. Sekoni’s thesis was that “there has been a growing decline in good governance in the Southwest since 1966 which has arisen from internal and external missteps.”
Following the World Bank and United Nations, Sekoni defines good governance as “the proper utilisation of economic and social resources of the state for its citizens, in order to guarantee sustainable development with efficiency and accountability along with constant participation of citizens in decision-making in respect of state-related policies and implementation.” He then demonstrated how the elected government from 1952 to 1966 established good governance in the old Western Region.
On the other hand, the military administrations from 1966 to 1979 and from 1984 to 1998 drew back the hands of the clock of good governance in various ways, from canceling the federal constitution, to posting of governors to Western Region, jettisoning the principle of derivation, taking over extractive industries, and centralization of law enforcement and security. Zeroing in on Agriculture/Forestry, Education, Citizen’s participation in governance beyond elections, and Security, Sekoni described the Southwest since the “Years of the Locust” as one where civilian governors and military administrators share a vision of governance “devoid of transparency and openness required of democratic governance” and one in which governors see the center as their benefactor rather than as co-equals in a federal arrangement.
This unfortunate vision of governance is antithetical to the progress and development of the Southwest, and indeed, of the nation. This misunderstanding of governance, which is poles apart from the founding vision of the region in the First Republic, has caused retrogression in agriculture, education, security, and citizen participation.
While Western Region was #2 cocoa producer in the world in the 1960s, it is now in the 4th position, with 0.35% decrease in output behind Ghana, Ivory Coast, and Indonesia. This decline is due to government neglect. Cross River State now produces almost half the total Nigerian cocoa output. Military governors abolished Cocoa Boards and civilian governors haven’t seen the need to restore them. Governors choose rent collection from the federal government over production. How did all these happen? Sekoni asked.
By the same token, it is pertinent to ask why we have left our forests for kidnappers, bandits and terrorists to hibernate. Forest Management was a priority of our founding fathers. Now we don’t have State Forest Guards. The result is what we are experiencing from terrorists, itinerant herdsmen, and kidnappers.
A lot has been heard in Apero about education. Sekoni gave us more data to back up the claim of neglect. Whereas in the 1950s, Western Region gave the highest budgetary allocation in the world to education, ranging from 40% to 42%, now a paltry 6% to 8% is our budgetary allocation. And the outcome cannot be more depressing. Out-of-school children in Oyo State is 463,000, making it #10 in the country and the highest in the south. A pace-setter state indeed! WAEC result is not any better in the region as Southeast students are outperforming Southwest students.
Sekoni, like other presenters, recommended fiscal federalism and a new federal governance structure, together with leaders that are dedicated to progress and democratic norms.
Along the lines of Sekoni’s recommendation, the Moderator, Dr. Akin Fapohunda, offered the analogy of a building with an original design of separate apartments, each tenant minding her business. That was Nigeria before 1966. After 1966, the walls of each apartment were knocked down, and it was turned into a dormitory with all the headaches and inconveniences that meant. Restructuring, according to him, means restoring the walls so each tenant can live in privacy and as she deems fit.
A lively chat and verbal discussion followed the presentations. It was another fulfilling experience.
We are all going to enjoy Eid Al Adha this Saturday. The next Apero is July 16.
Eid Mubarak!