When
the former Vice President and presidential hopeful on the platform of the
Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), Atiku Abubakar, recently addressed the London’s
Royal Institute of International Affairs (Chatham House), on the importance of
strengthening the economic management system of the federating states in
Nigeria, the major takeaway was that we have lived on a dangerous structural
fault line for too long and pretended all was well.
Though
the former vice president used the auspicious opportunity of his speech at the
Chatham House to harp on some of his economic programmes and policies as a
presidential candidate, the emphasis was heavily on the ills of our defective
federal system of government.
First,
we can no longer afford to keep promoting, or rather tolerating a defective
political structure as it has become obvious that the federalism we practice is
at best not smart and at worst a complete negation of what it should be. How
long can we continue to deceive ourselves that the present relationship between
the centre and the federating state are sustainable?Southern Nigerian Leaders: Advocates for Restructuring |
After
nineteen years of uninterrupted democracy, it is now an indisputable fact that
today’s Nigerian states have essentially been reduced to parastatals of the
Federal Government and have become dangerously addicted to the monthly
“handouts” (allocation) they receive from Abuja.
We
politicized the creation of states and local governments over the years. States
and local governments became too weak to meet their constitutional
responsibilities and consequently the Federal Government emasculated them and
took away those responsibilities which belong to them. It is therefore very
attractive for these states and local governments to become addicted to
revenues from federation accounts and to care less about their internal revenue
opportunities.
If
we accept the wisdom behind calls for a restructuring of the economy, we must
be ready to build a foundation for its success: we must, in other words
restructure the polity.
True
federalism ensures that a strong federal government guarantees national unity
while allowing various parts of the country or the federating units to set
their own priorities.
As
a consequence, the Federal Government appropriates, along with these
responsibilities, huge resources. For example, in the allocation of revenue
from the Federation Account, the Federal Government is unduly favoured at the
expense of the States and Local Governments. Out of every Naira in the Federation
Account, 56k will go to the Federal Government and four other ‘special
accounts’ which it manages! This is neither efficient nor equitable.
We
can no longer afford to keep promoting, or rather tolerating a defective
political structure as it has become obvious that the federalism we practice is
at best not smart and at worst a complete turnaround of what it should be.
Beyond
the healthy competition among the federating units which a restructured Nigeria
would engender is the unique opportunity for the retooling of the leadership
recruitment process in the country. Governance would be elevated to a serious
business manned by equally serious-minded people. The attraction to power would
no longer be a chance to stumble upon privileges not worked for. But a
carefully calibrated move to demonstrate ingenuity and quality in creating
wealth for the country.
The
restructured Nigeria is a Nigeria that will not only provide opportunities for
everyone to work but even more specifically is one that will challenge the
leadership to demonstrate capacity to create wealth for every layer of
governance.
Does
anybody dispute that it is time for serious-minded people to get involved and
take the lead in making our country work? It is time for citizens to demand
from people aspiring to lead them as a matter of right, a plan on not just how
to manage their wealth but most fundamentally how the wealth is going to be
created. We should not continue to allow political slogans take the place of
cogent plans and propagandas substitute clear-cut agenda.
For
long, our leadership has been pampered. They work into managing a wealth they
have little input into how it is created. And because they are not involved in
the creation, they rarely appreciate it. Hence, they turn out as either bad
managers or killers of the greater Nigerian dream. How long can we continue
like that?
Nigeria
needs a leadership that can create wealth for the country and make it work.
Every part of Nigeria has enough wealth to sustain it. What is lacking is the
leadership with the required capacity and vision to tap and manage the wealth
on behalf of all. Anybody who cannot tell Nigerians at the State level how,
he/she is going to generate the required resources to run the State he/she is
aspiring to govern is not worthy of the electorates’ votes.
Restructuring
is not just about the devolution of powers to the states, it is about
transforming the role of the federal government. In matters of territorial
governance, the federal authorities must learn to cooperate with, and in some
instances defer to state authorities; in matters of economic governance, the
federal authorities must learn to cooperate with, rather than displace or
ignore, the private sector.
We
need a Nigeria that challenges our leadership to create wealth in every layer
of government and make it work for our citizens. Only restructuring can make
that happen and any skeptic of restructuring Nigeria is merely submitting to
continued leadership indolence we have in our country today. Was this not the takeaway
in what Atiku said at the Chatham House London? God bless Nigeria!
Email:
iizeze@yahoo.com
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