Return To Colonial Anthem: Who Really Owns ‘Nigeria’?

 By Olu Fasan

Nigeria is a product of two perverse rules. One is colonial rule; the other is military rule. Virtually everything that exists structurally in Nigeria today was either created by colonial rulers or military dictators. Nigeria’s very existence and name are colonial creations. Then, Nigeria’s Constitution, system of government – presidentialism – and governance structure – 36 states – are military impositions. Nigeria’s national anthem was colonial, then military, and now colonial again! 

Look around you, nothing structural, even symbolic, is a true reflection of the collective will, or choice, of the people of this country.

The implication is that colonialism and military rule produced a captive people called “Nigerians” who have absolutely no direct input in the creation, name, structure and even symbols of the geographical entity they call their country.

Nigeria’s Low Tax Intake: Blame Weak Economy, Breach Of Social Contract

 By Olu Fasan

Recently, the International Monetary Fund, IMF, lamented Nigeria’ low tax revenues. Two weeks ago, when launching the IMF’s Regional Economic Outlook for Sub-Saharan Africa, the Fund’s Director for Africa, Abebe Selassie, said: “For a country like Nigeria, Africa’s most populous country, with all those development spending needs, we think it is problematic that the tax revenue to GDP is only 8-9 per cent when it should be a lot higher.”

A few years ago, in its 2019 Article IV Consultation with Nigeria, the IMF made the same point. It said Nigeria suffered from “low tax mobilisation”, adding: “The revenue base is simply too low to address the current challenges”. Compared with the sub-Saharan African average of 18.6 per cent, Nigeria’s 8-9 per cent is minuscule and truly shocking. Like the IMF, successive Nigerian governments have fretted about it.

Obasanjo Foisted Presidentialism On Nigeria; He’s Still Defending The Indefensible!

 By Olu Fasan

As they prepared to return Nigeria to civilian rule in 1979, the military regime, led by General Murtala Muhammed and later by General Olusegun Obasanjo, set up a 49-man committee to draft a new constitution for Nigeria. However, the regime gave the “49 wise men” a red line: they must not return Nigeria to the parliamentary system, practised after independence from 1960 to 1966. Instead, they should adopt the American-style presidential system. After General Murtala’s assassination in 1976, General Obasanjo took over as head of state and put his imprimatur on the draft constitution, inserting nearly 20 amendments.

*Obasanjo 

So, the 1979 Constitution lied when it ascribed itself to “We the people of Nigeria.” In truth, it was Obasanjo’s military regime, aided by a few civilian elites, that imposed the constitution and the presidential system on Nigeria. Today, over 40 years after Nigeria first practised the system, and despite its patent flaws and unsuitability for Nigeria, Obasanjo is still defending it.

Toothless Bulldog: Tinubu’s EFCC Can’t Fight Corruption

 By Olu Fasan

Ola Olukoyede, the chairman of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission, EFCC, recently appointed by Nigeria’s new president, Bola Tinubu, is saying the right things and making the right noises about fighting corruption in Nigeria. Recently, he struck a chord with me when he called for unexplained wealth legislation in Nigeria.

*Ola Olukoyede

Unexplained wealth laws are the most powerful tool for tackling corruption, as I wrote in a piece titled: “Fighting corruption? Nigeria must tackle unexplained wealth” (Vanguard, November 22, 2021). Yet, despite my positive opinion of the new EFCC chairman, the stark reality is that the EFCC won’t and can’t make an iota of difference in stemming the inexorable rise of corruption in Nigeria. The agency is so bedevilled that it has become part of the problem, not part of the solution.

Active Citizenry: If Nigerians Don’t Hold Their Leaders Accountable, Who Will?

 By Olu Fasan

Nigeria is one of the very few countries where politics is the most attractive human endeavour, where holding a political office is more profitable than running a business. In Nigeria, politics is the quickest route to wealth, thanks to outrageous salaries and allowances – Nigeria’s federal legislators earn far more than their American counterparts – and corrupt self-enrichment.

In Nigeria, politics is largely a quest for private gain rather than public good. But nothing entrenches these perversities more than the lack of strong institutions and active citizenry. For not only do the system and the citizens allow wrong politicians to get to power, there’s virtually no institutional or societal pressure to hold elected politicians accountable. 

Why Do Nigerian Governors Swear Allegiance To The President?

 By Olu Fasan

This is a subject I have long wanted to address. It first caught my attention when I watched the inauguration of Professor Charles Soludo as governor of Anambra State in March 2022. As he recited the oath of office, I was struck by how many times he mentioned the words “Federal Republic of Nigeria”, “President of the Federal Republic of Nigeria” and “Federal Government of Nigeria”, while he only directly mentioned “Anambra State” once; yes, once!  

*Tinubu meets governors 

The words quoted above, bar Anambra State, are in the governor’s oath set out in the Seventh Schedule of the 1999 Constitution. For instance, it says a governor must exercise the authority vested in him “so as not to impede or prejudice the authority lawfully vested in the President of the Federal Republic of Nigeria”, and “so as not to endanger the continuance of the Federal Government in Nigeria”. It goes on: a governor must “devote” himself “to the service and well-being of the people of Nigeria”. Really? Why?