The origin of states creation in Nigeria: Confronting the future at 50
In present day Nigeria supporters of state formation as the basic formula for national unity now propose the strengthening of the institutions of local government, and self-determinate economic empowerment at the state level as solutions for deficiencies that continue to trail the existential profile of the Nigerian State. At the same time there are those who believe that the proliferation of state administrations and polities has created an untenable and expensive form of government that is becoming increasingly difficult to sustain. The main objective of states creation since the end of the civil war has been to enhance the delivery of service and good governance to the local populace and to develop improved infrastructure and administrative apparatus at the grassroots. While military fiat has served as the most effective instrument for the creation of states right from the initial exercise it can hardly be denied that the greatest beneficiaries of the devolution of regional control into the hands of state governments have been the local political classes. As a consequence the process of administering the states has been hijacked to a large extent by privileged local elites who claim to represent the masses but who are all too often exploiters rather than representatives of the people. This circumstance has led to growing disenchantment with some aspects of statehood as the source of deficiencies in governance but the real benefits of the creation of new states that were achieved as a consequence of the original exercise have not been effectively disproven. What Nigeria needs today is improvement of the principles of state government rather than the jettisoning of the entire process. In seeking to achieve this Nigerians might be well advised to revive the sense of patriotic need and nationalistic zeal with which the leadership headed by Yakubu Gowon implemented the exercise that created the original twelve states.
At the time that the first states creation exercise was implemented, as we have said before, the most prescient concern in Nigeria was how to prevent the inevitable conflict from resulting in the disintegration of the young nation. The transformation of the system of regional compartmentalization was indeed carried out as part of a strategy for granting autonomy to some groups who had been agitating for separation from their regional overlords for decades. However while the focus appeared to be on those elements in the Eastern Region where the threat of war loomed it should not be overlooked that similar agitations in the Northern Region also gained triumphant relief for years of agitation against what they defined as ethnic oppression. So while the creation of states in the Eastern Region might be attributed to the imminence of war the transformation in other parts of the nation was no less attributable to the presence of the dangers of division and the need to defend the integrity of new states and thus preserve the unity of a new Nigerian entity. The overall impact of the state creation at that time was to lead to more fundamental considerations of the wider implications of independent nationhood in the aftermath of war, especially as the first attacks on Nigerian territory by the secessionist forces were actually incursions into Benue State on the northern border of the East Central State. In an irony of circumstances those who later overthrew General Gowon were the very people who rendered his most controversial decision historically acceptable when they created seven new states out of the original twelve, a decision which was actually based on plans that had been put in place by General Gowon’s administration before it was overthrown. In later years agitation for more states to be created became a preoccupation of local communities in response to the perception that development and resources were being monopolized by particular groups or that territorial potential was being neglected. The response to these crucial expressions of dissatisfaction with the national status quo continually found restitution in the establishment of new states in increasing proliferation until today Nigeria has thirty six federating units of varying viability.
The inequality of economic status and perceived viability that exists among Nigeria’s states is the source of much of the disenchantment being expressed by some critics of the present system. However the fact that this system has existed for fifty years and has been consolidated by the implementation of additional acts of state creation has generated conventional acceptance of the formula among the average Nigerian populace, and this would be disrupted if reversed. In spite of this, change and transformation is an integral necessity in nationbuilding and the existence of states as the federating units of the nation does not preclude reform of the processes of governance even though some observers argue that Nigeria’s states might have reached numerical sufficiency at present. A much more stable process of change for the future should consist of the strengthening of the autonomous viability and economic resilience of the existing states. In that light the recognition of the profound commitment to national unity that served as the motivation for the Gowon initiative should be commemorated and celebrated.
It is with this in mind that we urge those who are in charge of The overall impact of the state creation at that time was to lead to more fundamental considerations of the wider implications of independent nationhood in the aftermath of war, especially as the first attacks on Nigerian territory by the secessionist forces were actually incursions into Benue State on the northern border of the East Central State the states that carry the original names to regard their legacy as sacrosanct. They should see themselves as custodians of an important and symbolic act of public empowerment that supersedes the original purpose of the initiative and has become the bellwether of communal integration and harmony in the national polity. Over the five decades since the primary creation of the state structure Nigeria has relinquished the inheritance of the colonial administrative structure and installed a homegrown conglomerate of units that are supposed to reflect the aspirational identity and diversity of the populace more accurately. If this form of national co-existence survives for another fifty years history will absolve and justify the 1967 decision. Although the states that still carry the names that they were given in 1967 are only four, by some curious coincidence three out of the four are locations of the urban economic powerhouses of the nation. Lagos is still regarded as the commercial capital of the entire nation, Port Harcourt in Rivers State is the capital of the hydrocarbon industry, and Kano is the hub of trade and industry for the entire Northern axis of Nigerian economic activity, while Kwara State has quietly developed into a focal point for the transformation of Nigeria’s agricultural development. It would be particularly propitious if in celebrating the 50th Anniversary of states creation the leaders of these states were able to unveil strategies and plans that will increase the economic viability as well as consolidate the political stability of their states over the future decades. At the same time it is imperative that leaders of all Nigerian states should remember that their entities originated with the birth of the twelve original states. In this light the commemoration of the 50th Anniversary of state’s creation should be a celebration for all of the nation and not just for those entities that still carry the original names, If the motivation behind the creation of states is allied to genuine representation of the interests and aspirations of the ordinary citizens of these states the probability that the existing format of nationhood that was initiated in May 1967 can survive and prosper for the next fifty years and beyond will be enhanced.
It is for the above reason more than any other that some observers who are concerned about the issue advocate the convening of a major event in the month of May not to celebrate the founding of the states but in order to reflect on the relevance and viability of the process to the strengthening of Nigeria’s unity and development in the future. The rationale behind such an event would include the need to analyse and comment on the record of Federal governance under the state-based system and how this can be improved and consolidated. While the clamour for the restructuring of the Nigerian state has gained currency in recent times, and some anomalies of the current order have been blamed on the mismanagement of the affairs of individual states, the key sources of discontent within the national order are often attributed to imbalance and inequality between the dominant power of the centre and the dependent status of the states. This is a major factor of political disenchantment that must be corrected as an integral element of the ongoing nation-building that has been, and continues to be the central objective of Nigeria’s postcolonial growth. General Gowon’s initiative of fifty years ago proved to be the beginning rather than the culmination of a movement and the consequences that it generated are still resonating in the socio-political psyche of the nation. State’s creation proved to be not only a successful tactic for justifying the use of military intervention in the fight for the survival of a unified Nigeria but also an enduring implement for extending administrative self-determination to the diverse communities of the nation. The economic, political and sociocultural consequences of this initiative have grown increasingly complex over the last fifty years. If care is not taken the positive benefits of the transformation could be obliterated by the elements of mismanagement and political dishonesty that have thrived under successive administrations in the last five decades. The best way to commemorate and celebrate Nigeria’s seminal transformation from the system of colonial control to a system that is supposed to enshrine true national selfdetermination will be for all the beneficiaries of the change (i.e. all the states) to discuss and examine the process and proffer solutions to the problems that still face them in the task of living together in peace harmony and progress.