Atiku
ENUGU—THERE
was excitement across the South East geopolitical zone last week, following the
declaration of
support for restructuring of the country by the former Vice
President and Waziri of Adamawa, Alhaji Atiku Abubakar.
Atiku said
that some people misunderstand the “issue of Resource Control” to mean
restructuring saying that resource control was “the big elephant in the room
but,” which most proponents and opponents of restructuring prefer to dance
around and often throw insults at each other.
President
General of Ohanaeze Ndigbo and other Igbo leaders led some of the Igbo leaders
to Atiku’s lecture where he berated both the ruling All Progressives Congress,
APC, and other Nigerian progressives for opposing restructuring, clapped
ceaselessly as the former number two citizen diagnosed the countries problems,
blaming the unending political crises on injustice, lack of equity and poor
funding of education.
Among those
who attended the lecture at the Princess Alexandre Hall, University of Nigeria,
Nsukka, UNN, included two former governors of Akwa Ibom and Enugu States, Obong
Victor Attah and Dr Okwesilieze Nwodo respectively, former Minister of State
for External Affairs, Chief Dubem Onyia, former Minister of Labour, Musa
Gwadabe, and his counterpart in the Education Ministry, Esther Obaji as
well as the representative of the Deputy Senate President and Chairman of
Ohanaeze Ndigbo in Enugu State, Chief Alex Ogbonna, the Deputy Vice
Chancellor of the UNN, Prof Charles Igwe, who represented his boss, Prof
Benjamin Ozumba as well as Atiku who introduced himself as a businessman and
politician said that he was not “an intellectual,” however, cautioned that
restructuring was not a magic bullet that would solve all the needs of the
country, but would instead reduce them and create a new atmosphere of
development and growth in economic and political spheres.
Economic and
political spheres
Apparently
referring to separatist groups like the Indigenous People of Biafra, IPOB and
the Movement for the Actualisation of the Sovereign State of Biafra, MASSOB,
Atiku said that “Listening to some people, even those who seek to dismember the
country, you would think that once their dream is achieved their part of the
country or the country as a whole will become paradise,” adding that “as we all
know, life is not that simple.”
He further
spoke of the need to revisit the suggestion by the Second Republic Vice
President, Dr Alex Ekwueme that the existing six geopolitical zones in the
country be used as the federating units in a restructured Nigeria, following
the realisation “that our federation, as presently constituted, impedes optimal
development and the improvement of our peoples’ aspirations.”
According to
Atiku, “restructuring means making changes to our current federal structure so
it comes closer to what our founding fathers established, in response to the
very issues and challenges that led them to opt for a less centralised system.
Cross
sections of Atiku and other officials at the occasion
“It means
devolving more powers to the federating units with the accompanying resources.
It means greater control by the federating units of the resources in their
areas. It would mean, by implication, the reduction of the powers and roles of
the federal government so that it would concentrate only on those matters best
handled by the centre like defence, foreign policy, monetary and fiscal
policies, immigration, customs and excise, aviation as well as setting and
enforcing national standards on such matters as education, health and safety.
“One option
that I have suggested is a means-test requiring states to generate a specified
percentage of their share of federal allocations internally or be absolved into
another state. Or we may revisit Chief Alex Ekwueme’s suggestion that we use
the existing geopolitical zones as federating units rather than the current
states.
“Using the
zones would ensure immediate financial viability and scale and also address the
concerns of minorities about domination by our three major ethnic groups.
“As you all
know, virtually every segment of this country has at one point or the other
complained of marginalisation by one or more segments, and agitated for change.
“We have made
tremendous strides in our advocacy as more and more of key stakeholders have
come to realise the critical importance of restructuring for our country’s
health, unity, and its future.
“The
proponents of what we now call restructuring do not necessarily mean the same
thing, and do not necessarily have the same expectations in terms of outcome.
That is normal. The agitations and propositions are fuelled by feelings of
historical wrongs, of marginalisation, of being short-changed, of resentment
and envy and of fear of domination.
“But one
thing they all agree on is that our country, as presently constituted, does not
work well and will work significantly better with changes in the structure of
the relationships among its component units.
“Those
opposed to restructuring capitalise on the differences of opinion dismiss the
agitations pointing to what they regard as the imprecise nature of the
definition of restructuring or they claim that the proponents want to dismember
the country…
Respectful coexistence
“It is
important as I can see an emerging consensus on that, even as disagreements
remain on what it should look like and who gets what when actualised. Different
ideas have been floated including resource control, fiscal federalism, true
federalism, restructuring,” but “eventually we shall sit down and discuss,
negotiate and arrive at a model that will be suitable for our country and which
will help ensure rapid development and mutual and respectful coexistence.
“Let me
caution us all that restructuring, by whatever name, is not a magic bullet that
will resolve all of Nigeria’s challenges or those of any section, region or
zone of the country. Listening to some people, even those who seek to dismember
the country, you would think that once their dream is achieved their part of
the country or the country as a whole will become paradise.
“We need
restructuring in order to address the challenges that restructuring can help us
address, and which will remain unaddressed unless we restructure. Period. This
also answer the cynics who question whether restructuring is even important
since it won’t solve all our problems. No system would.
“Some of
what my ideas of restructuring involve requires constitutional amendment; some
do not. Take education and roads for instance. The federal government can
immediately start the process of transferring federal roads to the state
governments along with the resources it expends on them. In the future if the
federal government identifies the need for a new road that would serve the
national interest, it can support the affected states to construct such roads,
and thereafter leave the maintenance to the states, which can collect tolls from
road users for that purpose. The federal government does not need a
constitutional amendment to start that process.
“The same
goes for education and health care. We must reverse the epidemic of
federal take-over of state and voluntary organizations’ schools and hospitals
which began in the 1970s, and also transfer those established by the federal
government to the states…
The federal
government, awash in oil revenues took them over, rapidly expanded them, and
began to build more federal universities in response to the inevitable demand
from states that did not have any located within their jurisdictions. The
result is what we have today: universities, including the first generation ones
that are no longer taken seriously anywhere in the world.
“Local control
makes for quicker decision-making; makes for adaptation to local needs; makes
the adoption of new technologies and methods of teaching and
learning quicker.
“At the
American University of Nigeria, which I founded in Yola, we are currently building
the largest solar farm in the North East to provide power to the University and
reduce our reliance on the national grid and also reduce our carbon footprint.
We have since established an E-Library, which gives our students access to tens
of millions of library materials from around the world.
“Can you
imagine if we were part of the federal system of universities and were to wait
on the federal government for these investments?
“Take
another example. When the current security crisis in the North East began to
grow, we quickly decided to recruit a large number of security personnel,
trained and equipped them to provide security within and around the AUN campus
to complement the efforts of the already over-stretched national security
forces. We did not have to wait for a distant organ in Abuja to
come around to a decision on what should be done to protect our students and
staff. These kinds of decisions and investments are not just easier
with private organisations.
“They are
easier within a decentralised system where decisions are made by local
authorities closer to the relevant organizations. If you at the UNN have to
deal with a government at Enugu that has a clearer understanding of the local
conditions, needs and aspirations, you are likely to accomplish more and return
the UNN to its past glory.
“These are
possible first steps and would be easy wins for the Federal Government and the
country. They will in part show the goodwill of the federal authorities in
dealing with this very serious issue, and complement the important
consultations, which the Acting President has undertaken in recent times to
douse tensions in the country.
“Indeed the
federal government can voluntarily withdraw from most of the items listed in
the very thin Concurrent Legislative List of our Constitution. I believe that
the benefits accruing from these first steps will help us as we move towards
the changes that require amendments to our Constitution. Let me mention a few
critical ones just to illustrate.
“Creation of
and Funding of Local Governments by the Federal Government. Few things
illustrate federal overreach into state matters than the creation of direct
funding of local governments by the Federal Government. As I have
said on numerous occasions, this makes a mockery of the word local. “No
good evidence has been produced to show that our local governments are now
doing better than they were prior to federal intrusion. That intrusion must
stop. Local governments are not federating units. State governments should have
the freedom to create as many local governments as they wish or not to have
local governments at all. Citizens at every locality would then
know that it is the responsibility of their states to provide services for
their welfare.
“A possible
compromise to help reduce opposition to this needed change is for the existing
number of local governments to be maintained during the transition with the
federal funds going to the respective states as part of devolution of
resources. Henceforth the local government administrations should
be responsibile to state governments.
“The decades
of excessive reliance on oil revenues and the relative neglect of other revenue
sources as well as our near addiction to states-creation mean that even the
increase of the resources transferred to the states may not make many of the
financially non-viable states to become viable. Those calling for new states
seem oblivious of the fiscal crisis the existing states are in and how
dependent they are on transfer payments from Abuja. If we are to maintain the
current state structure, how do we ensure their financial viability? Obviously
they would have to diversify their economies and revenue sources, but what
happens to those unable to do so? One option that I have suggested is a
means-test requiring states to generate a specified percentage of their share
of federal allocations internally or be absorbed into another state…”
On resource
control, Atiku said that, “Fear, greed, envy, and resentment are at the centre
of our disagreements over the issue. On the one hand, those who feel they
are better endowed with the currently important or exploited national resource,
oil, express some level of greed and resentment and a desire to monopolise
those resources; while on the other hand, those who feel less well-endowed
express some degree of fear, envy and resentment.
“We must
start from the point of view that no country’s regions or localities are
equally or uniformly endowed. Diversity is the norm, and often the strength.
And there are also historical swings or changes in fortune: the well-endowed
areas of today may become less so tomorrow. Sharing is part of human existence
and part of what makes human societies possible. I have consistently advocated
for local control of resources but with federal taxing powers to help
redistribute resources and to help address national priorities. Local control
will encourage our federating units to look inwards at untapped resources in
their respective domains and promote healthy rivalry among them.
“I must point
out that all of these do not have to be done in one fell swoop. Change is often
difficult, especially for those who feel that they are beneficiaries of the
status quo. We can start with the less contentious ones, including state
police, and returning jurisdiction for local governments to states. Discussions
and negotiations among leaders from across the country can be speeded up to
ensure timely resolution of these contentious issues.
“Our
generation cannot afford to be the one that is unable to negotiate and bargain
for a workable federal system that truly serves our peoples and enables them to
live in peace and harmony with mutual respect.”
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