Sharing the ‘national cake’
Recently the Delta State Governor Ifeanyi Okowa complained that the mineral resources of the Niger Delta are used to develop the Western and Northern Zones, while the South-South Zone is littered with primitive villages. He complained that South-South states aren’t getting their fair share of the “national cake”. The Governor could rightfully be challenged as […]
Recently the Delta State Governor Ifeanyi Okowa complained that the mineral resources of the Niger Delta are used to develop the Western and Northern Zones, while the South-South Zone is littered with primitive villages. He complained that South-South states aren’t getting their fair share of the “national cake”. The Governor could rightfully be challenged as to why South-South Governors deserve more money considering what has happened with the “unfair” share they have been collecting. “White Elephant” projects compete with abandoned projects to litter the landscape. Worse still even as their citizens suffer serious deprivations, South-South Governors accumulate stupendous personal wealth. That said an investigation into the sharing of the “national cake” is revealing.
In Nigeria the “national cake” includes political appointments government contracts, political appointments, security votes, and income from mineral resources. If the sharing of the “national cake” is about political appointments then undeniably it isn’t being shared fairly. There are reputedly some 300 ethnic groups in Nigeria all struggling for political appointments, yet despite the constitutional provisions for Federal Character, top appointments have been cornered by one particular ethnic group. Be that as it may political appointments aren’t the most important element in the sharing of the national cake. There is scant evidence that appointees benefit anyone other than themselves, friends, and families. This is especially true in Northern States which remain the poorest, most underdeveloped and insecure despite Northerners occupying the majority of top political and security appointments.
Back in the day when the Presidency was in the hands of the South-South under Goodluck Jonathan, Boko Haram was on the rampage and he was roundly condemned and called clueless. His critics thought that things would improve once the Presidency rotated back to the North especially under a former General, but this has been far from the case. Today the situation is undeniably worse as Assassins, Bandits, Kidnappers, Highway Robbers, Herdsmen, ISIS and Boko Haram operate seemingly freely without constraint. While kidnapping and killing on the Kaduna-Abuja Expressway has become an almost daily occurrence, the Governors of Zamfara and Katsina have cried out that their States are under the control of criminal elements. This almost total breakdown of law and order is natural consequence of a lack of appropriate policies to “settle” people who are being denied their share of the “national cake”.
As former British Prime Minster the late Margret Thatcher once said “Nigeria isn’t a poor country, it’s a rich country full of poor people!” The situation won’t improve until government does something concrete about drastically reducing the numbers of jobless adults and numbers of children out of school. In the absence of effective policies and plans to alleviate their suffering, more and more Nigerians are venturing into lucrative crimes such as robbery and kidnapping. It‘s patently obvious, and has indeed been stated time without number that the mere holding of political office by a tribesman doesn’t positively affect the fortunes of his people. The Emir of Kano HRH Muhammadu Sanusi II recognized this when he reportedly said “I hope if President Buhari appoints Southerners as COAS, IGP, DG DSS, Minister of Defense or NSA the North will … pray for their success because by now I believe we must have learnt the hard way that patriotism, competence and professionalism matters not regionalism”.
The question then remains; “If not by political appointment what exactly is the national cake to be shared that may benefit the ordinary citizen?” In a nutshell it’s the nation’s mineral resources. Nigeria’s economic model is built around this concept of sharing. Every month proceeds from sales of Niger Delta Oil, Company Taxes, VAT and Import Duties are paid into the Federation Account and distributed to the three tiers of government. For many years the nation has been deceived into operating as if the only mineral resource it has is oil and Northern States with no mineral resources must be sustained with a share of oil money. This has been debunked by the recent killings in Zamfara which exposed the fact that gold is being mined in the State.
The Nigerian Minerals and Mining Act of 2007 vests the control, regulation and ownership of all mineral resources in all States to the federal government, yet paradoxically while this gold mining has been labeled as “illegal”, the Federal Government issued licenses to the miners! In addition to Gold Northern States have other minerals such as Marble, Tantalite, Lead, Zinc, Kaolin, Gypsum, Diatomite, Limestone, Gem Stones, Sapphire, Asbestos, Copper, Iron Ore, Tin, Bauxite, and Coal and the proceeds from their exploration cannot be traced to the Federation Account as required by law. Surely it cannot be that mineral resources in the South belong to the nation as a whole while those in the North belong to private individuals? As for sharing the national cake to citizens, the Federal government gives patriotic law-abiding Youth Corpers N19,000 per month, while former Niger Delta Militants are given N75,000 per month, and “repentant” Boko Haram killers are given N100,000 per month. Is this not an acceptance that lawlessness pays and is the only guaranteed way to obtain a share of the national cake?