Against the background of diversification, with emphasis on agriculture and mining as central elements in the political economy, that all things are available in every state but not exploited till now is the shame of a nation. Governments should step forward and remove obstacles to these resources and the value that would accrue to all citizens therefrom.
“It’s time to RESTRUCTURE NIGERIA before 2023 election and then embrace the PMA ADVANCED RESTRUCTURING AGENDA” –Adesanya-Davies
“Restructure Nigeria before 2023 elections” By Ayo Oyoze Baje, an article published in The Guardian on 7 February 2022, needs to be reviewed as and re-circulatad widely so as reach out to the powers that be, before 2023 general elections for sake of sanity.
We would all recall, “The national debate and calls for restructuring are nothing new, but they continue to grow amid economic stress, political uncertainty and recurrent violent conflicts across the country”
– Tolulope Ola-David, a Political Risk Analyst
The consistent clarion call for the holistic restructuring of the current contraption called Nigeria, before the attention-grabbing 2023 general elections, by die-hard patriots, including the leader of the pan-Yoruba socio-political organisation, Afenifere, Pa Ayo Adebanjo should ring a loud bell to the ears of the powers that be. But it doesn’t. That is unfortunate, given the rising tides of economic crisis, debt burden, insecurity and inter-ethnic disharmony worsened by the clamour by top politicians from each of the six geo-political zones angling for the plum post of the presidency. Perhaps, they should understand that it makes no sense to put the cart before any leadership drive or race.
Alarming too is that the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC) party that used it as an oily bait; with the promise to restructure the country once voted into power back in 2015 and has blatantly refused to honour its pledge to the people. This is 2022, some seven good years after! Talk about the critical element of trust in the leadership-led majority relationship and you can understand exactly why we have found ourselves stewing in the present socio-political abyss. This sad situation throws up some fundamental questions.
What is the meaning of democracy, if the parochial and personal interests and wishes of a few political leaders override that of the good wishes of the large majority of the people? How can an over-bloated federal centre galvanize the competitive spirit inherent in the federating units controlling their resources? How can the crude oil and gas resources, most abundant in the South-South zone belong to the country but that of Zamfara gold does not? In which other country do we have state governors going cap-in-hand to the federal centre every month-end for peanuts called the federal allocation? This brings even more questions.
The next question is, “Would it have been possible for the citizens of the then Western Region to have enjoyed Free Education policy, good access roads, fruitful farm centres, the first television station in Sub-Sahara Africa under the sage, Chief Obafemi Awolowo (of blessed memory) if the revenues from cocoa sales were paid to the federal centre? Would the then Eastern Region under Dr. Michael Okpara, the leader of the National Convention of Nigerian Citizens (NCNC) and an advocate of ‘pragmatic socialism’ have boasted of the fastest evolving economy in the Commonwealth group of nations? Could he have boasted of great institutional achievements that developed agricultural facilities, made huge revenues from oil palms and built modern schools, if such revenues went to the federal centre? The answers should be obvious even to the nay-sayers.
But then the haters of political restructuring go about it as if it takes rocket science to achieve it. They should be enlightened that all it takes is for the lawmakers to amend Section 44 (3) of the 1999 Constitution (as amended). Section 44 (3) states: “Notwithstanding the foregoing provisions of this section, the entire property in and control of all minerals, mineral oils and natural gas in, under or upon any land in Nigeria or in, under or upon the territorial waters and the Exclusive Economic Zone of Nigeria shall vest in the government of the federation and shall be managed in such manner as may be prescribed by the National Assembly.”
The way forward is for them to act with a unity of purpose and initiate a bill to abrogate Section 44 (3) of the constitution. They should make way for a new law that confers ownership and control of mineral resources to the states and local governments. This should be done in addition to the devolution of political power to the federating units, armed with true, fiscal federalism.
According to Tolulope Ola-David writing for OxPol blog of the University of Oxford which aims to promote leading academic research and analysis, Nigeria has a unitary constitutional arrangement despite being a federal republic, in which the federal government wields overarching powers. Though it copied its democracy from the United States of America, unlike it, the central government controls the revenues and nearly all of the country’s resources, especially oil and natural gas. Revenues accrue in the Federation Account, where it is allocated monthly to the states and the LGAs, by a federal executive body, the Revenue Mobilization, Allocation, and Fiscal Commission (RMAFC). This is an aberration that must be retooled.
That explains why the Afenifere group in the United Kingdom and Europe has urged Nigerians to explore the 2023 general election to elect leaders that will restructure the country. Instead of developing a stiff neck or turning deaf ears to the call by Adebanjo, as made available in a state of the nation address titled: ‘Fixing Nigeria before the fall’ held in Lagos in November 2021, concerned Nigerians should join their voices to his voice of reason. Let the states control their God-given resources and pay an agreed tax to the federal centre. Let them decide on the priority areas for their developmental agenda in the areas of infrastructure, education, agriculture, healthcare delivery, transportation, tourism and the minimum wage to pay to their workers.
Further, “Restructuring and its benefits for all” is another Article in The Guardian published by Editorial Board as far back as 01 September 2016, to the same intent. It reads:
“Incredibly, restructuring and federalism have become the most misrepresented words even by those who should understand and work for their actualisation in the interest of peace and progress of Nigeria.
To some political commentators, it is an idea whose time has come. To some others, it is a secret weapon by a section to break up the country so that others would not have access to the oil and gas resources, invariably the mainstay of the economy, available only in one part of the country. This is so very sad.
It must be stated unequivocally, however, that the honest pursuit and enthronement of federalism in its true meaning will be hugely beneficial to all Nigerians from all the geo-political zones.
The first and the most fundamental point is that there is a common denominator, poverty and mass illiteracy, all over Nigeria.
The effects of those decades when the military overthrew the finesse as well as practice of federalism are still being felt nationwide. In other words, the real trouble with Nigeria is not just poverty nurtured by corruption and illiteracy but lack of understanding of the impact of the overthrow of the principles of federalism, a system that once triggered rapid growth of Nigeria.
The first military Head of State, Lt-General Thomas Aguiyi-Ironsi thrashed federalism through a Unification Decree No.34 in 1966 before he too was killed in a counter coup that did not restore federalism.
In fact, successive military governments, beginning from General Yakubu Gowon’s through General Murtala Muhammed’s to General Sani Abacha’s kept creating states that have become mere administrative capitals and peripheral beggars instead of federating units of development. The states have since 1966 been depending on crumbs from the centre.
Since a proper federalism that triggered exponential growth of the Northern, Western, Eastern and Midwestern Regions was destroyed by military politicians, Nigeria has not recorded any tangible growth in any economic or political sense.
The selfless leaders from the North and South of Nigeria in the first republic were arguably the last of the great men this country has had. Since federalism or regionalism that propelled them to greater heights collapsed, crass opportunism and enlightened self interest have given birth to small minds as ‘Big Men’ who have led the country to the nadir of reproach.
Whether anyone likes it or not, it’s time up! And it is, therefore, time to tell all Nigerians, including those who profit from misleading the people about the many benefits of restructuring that, just as there was oil in the South, cocoa in the West, rubber and timber in the Mid-west, the North of Nigeria used to play host to most of the best textile companies in the country and indeed West Africa. The same North used to be the home of the famous groundnut pyramids in Kano and a place where cotton, millet, among numerous other economic crops were grown. It is a shame that Nigerian leaders would not be eager to harness these vast mineral, agriculture and water resources in the area from North central to the North West within the context of a truly federal Nigeria.
Kogi State, for instance, can go to Nasarawa State and invest in some mineral resources and employ the people there. Just as Lagos State is currently doing with Kebbi State in rice production. It is Kebbi’s citizens that will be employed and taxes will be paid to the state, after all. That way, there will be a balance of opportunity to exploit what is available in all states.
Therefore, instead of shooting down and foreclosing discussions of opportunities that abound in fiscal federalism, all Nigerians should encourage their representatives to take another look at the recurrent and exclusive legislative lists. The exclusive list that gives too much power to the Federal Government in exploitation of mineral and water resources should be relaxed and the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC) should begin the process of devolution of powers to the federating units for the rapid development of the country.
Besides, those who wield federal powers now should seek to renew their minds and be persuaded that Nigeria cannot be broken or hampered by the practice of federalism as some have mischievously submitted. Indeed, federalism will even strengthen democracy and make the country grow economically.
If the 36 federating units are not allowed to exploit all the natural endowments in their states and develop state policies based on priorities and then pay their workers according to what they can afford, development even at the centre will be a mirage. At the moment, poverty in the federating units which keep asking for bailouts from the centre before they can pay even basic bills is shameful, and unacceptable.
In the context of competition which used to exist when Nigeria was a really federal entity, Lagos and Kaduna states are now setting some instructive examples. Just as the Western Region did in those days, the Kaduna State government, for instance, has decided to invest heavily in compulsory and quality education as a matter of priority. This is how a good federation should be. And it is hoped that other states will follow this example. Lagos too continues to invest heavily in education and to enhance its status as the economic capital of West Africa. Both states parade the best civil services in the country at the moment and are restructuring their operations according to their vision and resources.
Therefore, the time has come for Nigeria’s leaders at all levels and from all regions to remove politics from discussions of the many benefits of fiscal federalism and focus on how ventures such as cattle rearing, grains, gum Arabic, tomatoes, sweet potatoes, rice production, etc in the North can be exploited for the glory of the region. This does not remove any steam from the efforts at finding oil in the North East, which may just be some added value.
The Eastern Region, comprising the present South South and South East, is already show-casing the gains of self-dependence as Anambra State, for instance, is gradually finding its groove in agriculture and industrialisation.
Against the background of diversification, with emphasis on agriculture and mining as central elements in the political economy, that all things are available in every state but not exploited till now is the shame of a nation. Governments should step forward and remove obstacles to these resources and the value that would accrue to all citizens therefrom.
No doubt, the country is already factionalised over this matter. The elite caused the division which Nigerians do not need. And the country was not always like this. In 1993, this same country organised a presidential election in which a political party fielded a Muslim-Muslim ticket that no one complained about anywhere. It was a pan-Nigeria mandate which Chief MKO Abiola won convincingly before the military cancelled the result. The same obtained in the election that brought President Muhammadu Buhari to power in May, 2015. It was a popular mandate that was not disputed. Now, history beckons on Buhari to see this popular mandate as one to be exploited to listen to what Nigerians are saying and implement true federalism.
Nigerians, especially members of the elite, must show an understanding beyond the dubious position of those who associate true federalism with the balkanisation of the country.
“It’s time to RESTRUCTURE NIGERIA before 2023 election and then embrace the PMA ADVANCED RESTRUCTURING AGENDA.” –Adesanya-Davies
May we all jointly sing: The national Anthem:
ARISE ‘O COMPATRIOTS
Arise, O compatriots, Nigeria’s call obey
To serve our fatherland
With love and strength and faith
The labour of our heroes past
Shall never be in vain
To serve with heart and might
One nation bound in freedom, peace and unity.
Oh God of creation, direct our noble cause
Guide our leader’s right
Help our youth the truth to know
In love and honesty to grow
And living just and true
Great lofty heights attain
To build a nation where peace and justice shall reign.
Audio: National Anthem
And may we again say the National Pledge.
National Pledge
I pledge to Nigeria my Country
To be faithful, loyal and honest
To serve Nigeria with all my strength
To defend her unity
And uphold her honour and glory
So help me God.
Ayo Oyoze Baje
