The Benefits Of True Federalism And Why Nigeria Must Be Restructured By Dr. Adetokunbo Pearse

At every point in time since the 1967 – 1970 Civil War, Public opinion in Nigeria has been United over its condemnation of government. Politics is too violent, government officials have no respect for the rule of law and virtually all of them, rightly or wrongly are viewed as crooks whose sole purpose is self aggrandizement, and personal enrichment. Service in order to improve the quality of life for the electorate is never part of their plan.

Consider the several, attempts that have been made to change this deploratale state of affairs; General Murtala Mohammed’s Coup which ousted General Yakubu Gowon (1976), General Obasanjo’s Administration which organized democratic elections that brought in Alhaji Shehu Shagari (1979), General Muhammadu Buhari’s Coup which ousted Shagari (1983), General Ibrahim Babangida’s Coup which ousted Buhari (1985), the military Coup of General Sani Abacha which ended Babangida’s rule and Shonekan’s one month surrogate assignment (1993), the democratic governments of General Olusegun Obasanjo (1999 – 2007), Shehu Yar’adua (2007 – 2009), and Goodluck Jonathan (2009 – 2015), were all laudable attempts at good governance. Each one of them pledged to bring about a higher level of Peace, Security, and Prosperity to Nigeria. Unfortunately for Nigerians they have all failed in varying degrees.

The current administration of Muhammadu Buhari unfortunately has only depended the debacle. Since Buhari took office in May 2015, the country’s Gross Domestic Product has dropped, the Stock Market is down, Direct Foreign, Investment has fallen, and the naira, at 400 to the dollar is at its weakest in living memory. Social and political life fare no better than the economy. Our National Assembly is a virtual war zone. And with the agitation of the various pro-Biafra groups, the marauding Fulani herdsmen’s, the Niger Delta militants and the ongoing war against Boko Haram it can be said that the country is on the verge of becoming a failed state.  In the opinion of Federalists and other social analysts, the fundamental reason for the inept social, political and economic performance of the country so far is the failure of Central government to actualize the tenets of federalism.

A Federalist state is one in which several states unite under a central authority while maintaining a large degree of independence. Ironically the 1953 proposal by Sir Ahmadu Bello, the Premier of Northern Nigeria, would have achieved that autonomy.  Consider the Sardauna’s proposal as follows:

1. That each region shall have complete Legislative and Executive Autonomy with respect to all matters except the following External Affairs Defence, Customs and West African Research Institutions;
2. That there should be no Central legislative body and no Central Executive or Policy making body for the whole of Nigeria;
3. That there shall be Central Agency for all regions which will be responsible for matters mentioned in paragraph (1) and other matters delegated to it by a Region;
4. That the Central agency shall be a neutral place preferably Lagos.
5. That the composition and responsibility of the Central Agency shall be defined by the order in council establishing the constitutional arrangement. The agency shall be a non-political body;
6. That the services of railway, air, posts and telegraphs, electricity and coal mining, shall be organized on an inter-regional basis and shall be administered by public corporations. These corporations shall be independent and covered by the statutes under which they are created by the board of experts with a minority representation of the regional governments;
7. All the revenues shall be levied and collected by the regional government except revenue at the port of discharge by the Central Agency and paid to its treasury;
8. The administration of the Customs shall be so organized so as to assume that goods consigned to the region are separately cleared and charged to duty. Each region shall have a separate public service.

 

The closest the Nation got to this progressive type of system was during the period immediately following independence. Unfortunately the relative autonomy enjoyed under the Regional Government Structure was truncated by the Civil war military administration of General Aguiyi Ironsi. The Unitary System of Government instituted by General Ironsi was adapted and intensified by his successor, General Yakubu Gowon. That overt centralization of power damaged the nation’s economy significantly. Nigeria’s infatuation with crude oil which destroyed our work ethic began then. Dependence on oil revenue wiped out the Groundnut and Hyde and Skin industries in the North. Coal and palm oil production in the East ceased. Rubber no longer came from the Mid-West. People lost interest in mining tin and coal in North central, and the cocoa farms of the Western region became veritable waste lands. The adverse effect of over centralization was not limited to the economy. It also can be felt in our social life, in safety and security, in political stability, and in electoral integrity.

The north’s request that each region should have “complete legislative and executive autonomy with respect to all matters except, External Affair, Defence, Customs and West African Research institutions” sums it up adequately. This is identical to the structure that works well for the United States of America; a country which like Nigeria is composed of states with differing levels of development. A similar Federalist System is operated in India which has a high level of ethnic diversity, and a high poverty rate like Nigeria. In India, only 15% of state, internally Generated Revenue (IGR) is paid to the center. It is this strength accorded the units which accounts for the remarkable growth of India’s economy in the last two decades. It also accounts for the political stability and economic strength of a country like the United States of America. Real federalism enables a country to enjoy the most positive dividends of democracy.

The underlining purpose of the 2014 National Convention is to make Nigeria a better nation, with an efficient and more equitable governmental structure. At the core of the convention’s recommendation is that the Nigerian nation must be decentralized in order to make governance easier to manage. Consider some of the convention’s ideas on how to achieve this purpose; (culled from Main Report of the March 2014 National Conference):

1. Eighteen (18) more states should be created bringing the total number of states to fifty four (54).
2. The number of geo-political zones will remain at six (6), but for the purpose of fairness each of the zones should have, an equal number of nine states. At the present time, the North – Central, North – West, South–West, and South – East each have six states, the North – East has seven states, and the South–South only five).
3. Local Government areas shall access the federation account directly, and the political and financial independence of Local Government Areas shall be guaranteed by law.
4. The office of President shall be rotated between the North and the South, and amongst the six (6) geo-political zones.
5. The office of the Governor shall rotate among the three (3) Senatorial Districts in that state.
6. The office of a Chairman of a Local Government Council shall rotate within the Local Government Areas.
7. Public Funds should no longer be made available to political parties. Consequently, it is recommended that section 228 (C) of the 1999 constitution be deleted.
8. The percentage of revenue allocation to states producing oil (and other resources), should be reviewed upwards.
9. The revenue to states for the exploration and development of natural resources should be increased.
10. A state police force and a Local Government Police Force should be established.

Recommendations (ix) and (x) above which deal with state financing and revenue generation will enable states to be economically empowered as never before. Their ability to utilize the natural resources within their domain unabated is arguably the most significant characteristic of true federalism. Consider the following statistics which indicate that virtually every state in all the six (6) geo-political zones of the country has natural resources which if appropriately exploited will upgrade the quality of life of its citizens to the level of that of developed countries.

The following table illustrates the mineral resources and the cash crops available within each state of the federation.

S/N	State	Mineral Resources	Cash Crops
1.	Abia	Petroleum, lead, zince, limestone	Palm produce, maize, yam, rice, cassava, fruits, vegetables
2.	Adamawa	Iron, lead, zinc, limestone, baryles	Cotton, groundnut, guinea corn, millet, maize
3.	Akwa Ibom	Crude oil, limestone, clay, coal	Palm produce, rubber, cocoa, rice, yam
4.	Anambra	Sandstones, Natural gas, lignite, tungstem	Yam, cassave, maize, rice, végétales
5.	Bauchi	Gold, columbium, coal, limestone	Maize, rice, millet, guinea corn, groundnut
6.	Bayelsa	Crude oil	Palm produce, cassava, rice, timber, fish
7.	Benue	Limestone, marble, tin, columbite	Yam, soya beans, cassava, oil palm
8.	Borno	Uranium, clay, potagium, limestone, diatomite	Groundnut, sorghum, sugar case, wheat, sweet potatoes
9.	Cross River	Limestone, tin ore, cranite, calcium	Yam, cassava, coconut, palm oil, maize
10.	Delta	Crude oil, limestone	Palm oil, yam, cassava, maize
11.	Eboinyi	Marble, lead	Rice, maize, cassava
12.	Edo	Marble, crude oil	Yam, cassava, fruits, vegetables
13.	Ekiti	Kaolin, bauxite, limestone, calcium	Plantain, yam, pepper
14.	Enugu	Coal, natural gas	Rice, maize, cassava
15.	Gombe	Limestone, gypsum, cushion	Maize, sorghum, millet, beans, groundnut
16.	Imo	Zinc, petroleum, salt, limestone	Yam, cassava, cocoa yam, maize
17.	Jigawa	Kaolin, tourmaline, potash, iron, oil, copper	Groundnut, millet, guinea corn
18.	Kaduna	Serpentine, asbestos, gold, clay, graphite	Yam, cotton, groundnut, maize beans, ginger
19.	Katsina	Kaolin, asbestos	Cotton, groundnut maize, wheat
20.	Kano	Niubolin, kaolin, tantalum, columbite	Groundnut, cotton, livestock, wheat
21.	Kebbi	Kaolin, bauxite, potassium, silica, sand	Wheat, millet, guinea corn, sugar case, beans, groundnut
22.	Kogi	Tantalite, marble	Yam, cassava, maize
23.	Kwara	Quartz, granite rocks, marble, clay, gold	Cotton, coffee, cocoa, tobacco, beam seed, palm produce
24.	Lagos	Clay, Kaolin, silica sand, crude oil	Cassava, maize, rice, fish, yam
25.	Nasarawa	Salt, bauxite	Yam, cassava, maize, rice
26.	Niger	Clay, gold, silica, Granite, marble, copper	Guinea corn, rice, yam, millet groundnut, cotton
27.	Ogun	Limestone, phosphate, clay, chalk, stone	Kolanute, cocoa, oil palm, cassava, yam, maize
28.	Ondo	Crude oil, limestone, calcium, bauxite (coal tar)	Yam, coffee, timber, palm oil, rice, kolanut
29.	Osun	Gold, clay, limestone, granite, kaolin	Cassava, maize, cocoyam, cashew, yam
30.	Oyo	Aquamarine, clay, tin, columbite, Gold, Tourmaline	Yam, cassava, millet, maize, cocoa, beans, platina
31.	Plateau	Cussiterite, Barytes	Cowpeas, yam, cassava, guinea corn, maize, irish potatoes, millet
32.	River	Crude oil	Plantain, cassava, oil palm, coconut, raffia
33.	Sokoto	Gypsum, phosphate, limestone, clay, silica	Wheat, maize, groundnut, beans
34.	Taraba	Uranium	Maize, yam, millet, sorghum, groundnut
35.	Yobe	Potash, Gypsum	Groundnut, millet, guinea corn
36.	Zamfara	Phosphate, Limestone, Gold	Cotton, groundnut, wheat

 

With such an abundance of mineral resources, it is impossible to justify the country’s reliance on only crude oil as a mineral resource. Exploration for oil began in the Niger Delta sub-region during the last decade of colonial rule, and its extraction began in earnest between 1958 and 1960. This means that in essence no administration in Nigeria since independence has invested in the exploitation of any other mineral resource. Here is a shameful example of lack of leadership, foresight, and initiative. Oil is a wasting asset. The more of it is extracted, the less of it is left underground. Its operations, the gas flares, construction of over land, or underground pipelines, the digging and fitting of oil wells are all detrimental to human health, plant life, marine life, and the environment. Some countries such as Iran, Saudi Arabia and Russia have deposits of oil in such huge quantities that they can at any given time, for economic or political expediency destabilize the world price. It is in order to avert these negatives of the oil industry that forward looking governments all over the world have been engaged in active search for alternative sources of energy, and they are finding them in crops like sugar cane, and maize.

Beside the fluctuations in the production and price of oil, there is the commonsense argument that depending on it or any one product as a sole source of revenue is bad economics. Over eighty percent (80%) of Nigeria’s reserve is oil dependent. This policy has led to a self-imposed poverty. Diversification from oil does not mean that the country will earn less from oil, it simply means that the other products will provide additional sources of income. Nigeria is blessed with natural resources which include gold, coal, tin ore, granite, calcium, lime stone, lead, zinc, sand stones, marble, columbine, bauxite, uranium, natural gas, kaolin, asbestos, silica and iron are. The addition of their cash crops which include palm oil, rubber, cocoa, cassava, ground nut, rice, cotton, sorghum, soya beans, yam, maize, timber and wheat confirms the economic viability of every single state of the federation. All that is needed to unleash the potential of the people of Nigeria to thrive like never before is for the National Assembly to repeal the retrogressive item No. 39 of the Second Schedule of the Exclusive legislative List in the 1999 constitution. The economic independence of states will set the foundation for material prosperity as well as for good governance. This new structure will impact positively the lives of citizens at all levels, particularly at the local level from where the vast majority of citizens operate.

 

 

Dr. Adetokunbo Pearse is a Public Affairs Analyst, and a Senior Lecturer in the department of English at the University of Lagos. From 1986 to 2006, Dr. Pearse worked as a political consultant in the USA, where he also taught in Universities including Chicago State University, IL, Brooklyn College, N.Y., Mercy College, Dobbss Ferry, N.Y., and Hunter College N.Y.

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