FEDERALISM, NOT RESTRUCTURING

Nigeria needs to embrace true federalism, writes Nnamdi Ebo

The politics of self-determination, management of economic resources, redrafting the polity and/or creating a new constitution, sustaining the unitary system (masquerading as federalism) by beneficiaries and/or derivation and “restructuring” by losers is now de rigueur. These calls/agitations stalled, somewhat, while the oil boom lasted but the oil boom has vamoosed. Oil revenues are dwindling fast. These cacophonous voices are clamouring for restructuring and/or agitations to breakaway by separatist movements, resurgence of ethnic/tribal skirmishes, rivalries and calls by erstwhile power brokers who lost out in politics and the black gold rush, to ‘restructure Nigeria.’

You can only restructure an undertaking/venture such as the Presidency, ministry/parastatal/government agency/department, firm/company/corporation/conglomerate or trading/enterprise - not a federation of 36 states, a nation-state or a country. To restructure means to reorganise with a view to achieving greater efficiency, or to adapt, or organise differently, or strengthen something. Restructuring is not a long lasting undertaking. Restructuring is continuous and always an ongoing enterprise, and at most seasonal. The seasonality of restructuring can be appreciated more when juxtaposed with governance which is serious business.

The focus on revenue sharing rather than revenue generation is the root cause of political, economic and social decay. This led to the proliferation of unviable state and local governments. The weak political institutions, lack of effective agencies of restraints to demand transparency and accountability on the part of political office holders, failure to translate oil wealth to sustainable growth and a defective property right structure in relation to mineral resource endowment are the justifications for demanding the restructuring of Nigeria. This mono-cultural economy relying heavily on oil as its major income earnings, which have been largely misapplied and stolen is fuelling this sudden ‘restructuring frenzy.’

You cannot restructure a country. Restructuring a country is a metaphor for good governance. As a multicultural/multi-tribal/ multi-ethnic/multi-linguistic/multi-religious country, Nigeria cannot survive without a federal principle or entrenched system of government, within which exists a group of states, which are smaller divisions/entities encompassing these diverse peoples, within the central governmental structure. These states should have a great degree of internal autonomy and independence in internal affairs with limited centralised control - a federation.

Prior to independence in 1960, Nigeria was practicing regionalism. Major Gen. J.T.U. Aguiyi Ironsi took power after the failure of the first coup d’état in 1966. He introduced a unitary government where the powers of the four regions were vested in a central body to be controlled by Ironsi, much to the chagrin of the northern ruling elite. They believed that the Igbo had perfected plans to rule Nigeria forever.

Ironsi paid the price of his ‘folly’ with his life when he was assassinated. However, soon after northern officers retook power, they not only continued with Ironsi’s ‘folly’ but they deepened/ strengthened it, and till this day, Nigeria is a unitary state masquerading as a federation. The creation of 12, 19, 21, 30 to 36 states respectively did not change the unitary structure. Now as a routine, state governors send their commissioners of finance to Abuja to collect monthly allocations.

A situation where one central government controls and/or appropriates approximately 60% of the national wealth/revenue while the combined 36 states and 774 local government areas (LGAs) share 40% is unacceptable. Suffice it to say that out of all the 36 states, only Lagos State is a state. The rest states are glorified LGAs which cannot generate their own revenues, or pay civil servants’ salaries without a fix from Abuja.

Nigeria needs to embed real/true federalism where the power at the centre is greatly diminished, giving the states and LGAs more powers to assume internal control, with responsibility to develop and manage their own resources within their state/local borders, at their own pace. This leaves the federal government to collect federal taxes, adjudicate federal offenses, handle national defense, foreign/external affairs, customs, immigration, border control and mass communication.

What this federating structure entails, for example, is that the crude oil in Bayelsa, tin in Plateau, uranium in Cross River, bitumen in Lagos, salt in Katsina, coal in Enugu, bentonite in Adamawa; trading/business, exploration/refining, textile industry/ enterprises, farming/agribusiness, music/entertainment industry, mining/extraction, manufacturing/factories etc., by all intents and purposes, must belong respectively to each state, as appropriate, to the exclusion of the central or federal government.

The present structure where there is a deliberate order to ensure that the 36 states are equally rich and to share monetary allocations based on their population and/or number of LGAs is a misnomer. Nigeria must jettison this unitary system masquerading as a federation, which belie the present governance structure where some states reap off other states under the system of revenue sharing formula and allocation. Each state should control its own resources, which are not evenly matched. If God wanted it otherwise, the almighty would have created equality in mineral deposits. Nigeria needs to ward off ethnic/tribal/state rivalries, agitations/discontent/grievances and embrace “federalism” not “restructuring”.

It is not rocket science. It requires the will and political sagacity of Nigerian leadership in the executive and legislative branches of government, to actualise federalism and entrench the federation of states in Nigeria. The National Assembly can be taxed to deliberate and pass a “Federation Bill” to be signed by the president, to set a date within which Nigeria must transform into a true “Federal Republic of Nigeria” with the 36 states federating both in de jure and de facto. This presidential system of government must be legislated to guarantee federalism and unity among the 36 federating states of the union, to make Nigeria great - as practiced since 1776 in the United States of America. www.nnamdiebo.com