The type of federalism Nigeria needs

When Nigeria as a political entity was transfigured from its 1914 political centrality to a quasi-federal trinity under the Arthur Richard’s Constitution of 1946, it was done with the intent to make the compromise relations of the federating peoples more conducive to all and sundry. The country being naturally sociologically federal in content and character, […]

When Nigeria as a political entity was transfigured from its 1914 political centrality to a quasi-federal trinity under the Arthur Richard’s Constitution of 1946, it was done with the intent to make the compromise relations of the federating peoples more conducive to all and sundry. The country being naturally sociologically federal in content and character, has traversed different phases of political configuration and reconfiguration since then – leading to the full-blown entrenchment of the federal imperative in 1954 and its retainment in the 1960 Constitution. 

Sadly, however, after the 1966 January 15 first military coup d’ etat, the emergent military regime under J.T.U. Aguiyi-Ironsi translated the country to a unitary state thereby displacing the inherited federal system. Since then, the country has not remained the same politically. 

It is instructive to note that before the creation of states, especially from 1967 when the four-region federal structure was converted into 12 states, the nation’s regional governments recorded substantial, and indeed exponential, developmental strides in educational, health, agricultural and industrial sectors, leading to massive job creation, food security, road and rail construction, health facilities development, all of which contributed to the massive advancement of not only the regions but also the country in totality. During this period for instance, graduate and non-graduate unemployment was zero as there were avalanche of jobs to choose from. There was also productive competition among the regions.

In recent years there have been repeated calls for the restructuring of Nigeria’s federal system so as to reflect the intents and contents of the various federating peoples and sections of the country. These calls are by all standards well-thought out mainly because of the current administration’s quest to diversify the economic life of the nation. Another factor is the mounting large-scale discontent that has been expressed by several sections of the country in relation to the lopsidedness of the present federal character of the nation.

In relation to the first issue – that is diversification of the economic life of the nation – it is clear that President Muhammadu Buhari’s quest to rapidly create other non-oil channels for the generation of national revenues for the good of the Nigerian peoples is a laudable determination. Commendable as this may be however, it will remain a dream if the precipitating or prerequisite conditions are not put in place first. The point being made here is that with the proper restructuring of the country’s federal imperative to the end that the center is adequately decongested of constitutional responsibilities so that there is devolution of political powers, the issue or quest to diversify the nation’s economic life will become a natural and normal corresponding reality. This is so because each state will naturally begin to look inwards for self-sustenance and maintenance, and knowing that there is no state in Nigeria that is vacuous in terms of natural resource endowment it becomes sensible to assert that the proposed restructuring of Nigeria will not lead to its dismemberment or disintegration but its prosperity as competitive productivity will be awakened among the component states. 

To this end, diversification without devolution first, will amount to sheer make-belief, day-dream or even outright hypocrisy. If the President and indeed the governing All Progressives Congress (APC), is serious with the diversification of the nation’s economy, then the repeated and perennial call for the country’s political restructuring must be urgently yielded to.

Also, the large-scale discontent emanating from sections of the country especially in relation to claims or fears of marginalization will, once and for all, be addressed if the country is sincerely and adequately restructured. 

So, when statesmen like former Vice President Atiku Abubakar, Chief Edwin Clarke, Rev. Fr. Hassan Matthew Kukah, among many others, re-echo the call to restructure the country, it is reasonable, patriotic and necessary to listen to them. 

Adamu Musa wrote from Abuja, and can be reached at: [email protected]