By Charles Nwaneri
Many Nigerians, concerned about the slow progress of the nation
since independence in 1960, and desirous of giving the country a new lease of
life via restructuring the federation by devolving more powers and
responsibilities to the constituent parts have at various times and for long,
called for the restructuring of the country.
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| *Tinubu, Buhari and Oyegun |
By restructuring,
these concerned Nigerians want a situation whereby more freedom is allowed the
constituents to be in charge of their affairs while the central government
retains control of only those areas of national affairs where sovereignty
confers superiority and exclusive jurisdiction on the Central government. In a
restructured system, the constituent units would have more control over their
local resources and endowments and exploit these for their benefit, paying only
royalty and taxes to the central authority. This means that in such a
federation, unlike what we have now, states or federating units would be less
dependent on the central authority for revenue and their pace of development.
With less revenue and
authority, the attraction of the center would be reduced while the economic and
development action will be more at the constituent levels thus reducing
competition for power and control at the center.
Something close to a
weak center obtained in the 1960’s when Nigeria operated the Parliamentary
system of government, anchored on the regions with latter being the constituent
parts of the then Federation. The then powerful regions dictated and decided
the pace of politics and economic development. In fact, at that time, the
regions were engaged in healthy rivalry for development as none depended on the
central government for funding rather each paid taxes to the center when they
export their agricultural products which was the mainstay of the nation’s
economy. However, while there are many voices clamouring for restructuring,
there is no consensus as to the degree; time or even in what sectors of
national life these important changes should take place, though the sector of
State Police has dominated national discourse for some time.
Since the former Vice
President, Atiku Abubakar renewed his clarion call for the restructuring of the
country, at a book launch last week in Abuja
