That our federalism is not working is not open to debate; it’s there for all to see. The fact that the growth of this otherwise great nation is stunted can only be contested by those who have chosen to live in self-denial. We all keep complaining of the over-centralisation of leadership in Abuja, yet lack the courage to address what has remained an albatross to the country.
Our specifications of federalism is a poor specimen of that of the United States of America, from where we copied it. How can our so-called federating units still have their apron strings hopelessly tied to Abuja and yet we claim to be a federation?
The best experience we have had as a nation since after the amalgamation of the southern and northern protectorates in 1914, was between 1954 and 1966 when we practised regional federal government.
In May 1966, General Johnson Aguiyi-Ironsi, Nigeria’s first military head of state, promulgated the Decree No. 34 of 1966, the supposed “unification decree,” which effectively did away with the federal system of government practised since independence from British colonial rule in 1960.
By the General’s reckoning, a unitary system of government was a way of discouraging “tribal loyalties and activities which promote tribal consciousness and sectional interests and which must give way to the urgent task of national reconstruction.”
Today, General Aguiyi-Ironsi, whose genuine intention cannot be faulted, would be ruing in his grave, that decision as the unitary government has not only accentuated those fault lines he sincerely wanted blurred but they have also become the greatest impediment to the growth of the nation. The effect of this decree still reverberates 58 years after.
Some few years ago, when we visited a south eastern state, we discovered that all the major landmark establishments of that state were built when Michael Okpara was governor of the whole eastern region.
What that meant was that about 50 years after Okpara, not many states in the entire southeast can match his era even with very few resources at his disposal and that of other regional governments.
That was the era when the regional governors were more preoccupied with the prosperity of their territories. Today, our governors are building their personal fortunes and empires at the expense of their states and people.
This mentality of service and delivering good governance were replicated all around the country. The regions were in healthy rivalry and were constantly seeking to outdo themselves in rendering services to their people.
And boom, came oil exploration in commercial quantities in Oloibiri in June 1956 and all attention began to focus on the proceeds from the black gold.
As it is now, the only reason we cannot come together to tinker this so-called federalism, is that same oil which has remained the mainstay of the federation and so all our laid-back and disingenuous leaders in the states all look up to the centre for sharing of proceeds from sale of that black gold.
The drawback of this position is that all the potential of the states from which the leaders of the 1950s and 1960s built those regions; cocoa in the South West, palms in the south east and groundnuts etc. in the north have all been abandoned in the chase of monthly allocations from FAAC in Abuja.
As it is, unless the oil wells dry up or the north is able to find oil in commercial quantities, this overburdened federal structure would remain.
Sadly, this is still happening at a time when the rest of the world is moving toward the fourth industrial revolution to be powered by information and communications technology. Our governors are content sitting back and crying of dwindling and insufficient allocations to pay meagre minimum wages.
For a monolithic economy like ours, all we have been taught to do and hope for is to pray for good fortune for the black gold in the international market. Any fall in the price of this commodity would mean a consequential misfortune for the people and the nation.
This is at the heart of the crises we now face.
However, these constitutional drawbacks and impediments should not be the reason we cannot evolve a means of making the most of this ugly situation.
One clear area where over centralisation has affected the most is in the area of security. We operate a central policing system that has failed and cannot work. All fears by proponents of the current policing we practice against state policing are equally inherent in the policing of today.
In the meantime, since calls for true federalism have remained unheeded, and a return to regional government is out of the question, perhaps a more integrated and coordinated regional alliance should help to propel and engender development and growth within the regions.
This should go beyond the occasional meetings of governors of various regions for photo opps and grandstanding to a sincere and honest move to collectively build their regions for the benefits of the people. This plan should be blind to political affiliations. The states within these regions should look for areas of comparative advantages and support themselves in joint efforts to build the economy of their regions.
Last Monday, the governors from the south-west geo-political zone renewed their call for the creation of state police.
The governors, who said state police would strengthen safety in the South West region, spoke through Babajide Sanwo-Olu as the new chair of the forum following the demise of Rotimi Akeredolu, former governor of Ondo.
Reading a communique after a closed-door meeting, Sanwo-Olu, said there has been relative peace in the south-west because of the collaboration between Amotekun and security agencies.
He said that Commissioners for Agriculture of all the South-West states should begin to meet and set up a working template, which will ensure collaboration based on each state’s comparative advantage.
Sanwo-Olu said the south-west governors have adopted a popular song composed by Afenifere titled: “Ise wa fun ile wa”, as common anthem across the six states.
Beyond just mere rhetoric can these governors match word with action and begin to take the advantage that agriculture presents to build the economy of the region and diversify from oil? Will the problem of politics and political opinions not stand on their way to achieving these lofty plans?
The South West governors are now praising the contributions of Amotekun in reducing the crime within the region, but it must be noted that but for the resolute resolve of the late Akeredolu, the Amotekun Corps may as well have remained in the pipeline.
Akeredolu’s refusal to be swayed by political party sentiments and affiliation, even against the wishes of his party, ensured that Amotekun remained and for that he will be sorely missed.
Beyond agriculture, they should also explore areas of cooperation in ICT since that is where the future is. That way they can be comparing notes for progress. That the leadership at the centre may have failed over the years, is not an excuse for the regions not to cooperate to lift their economy to reduce the over reliance on federal allocations.
In this current and developing environment in which disruptive technologies and trends such as the Internet of Things (IoT), robotics, virtual reality (VR) and artificial intelligence (AI) are changing the way modern people live and work, should we still be held down by a diminishing asset such as oil?
By the way, has Lagos too embraced and introduced Amotekun in the state? With Gov Sanwo-Olu as the new leader of the South West governors, perhaps a good way to begin is to also introduce Amotekun in Lagos.
How far are these South West governors prepared to go or is it just one of those usual meetings for photo opps and empty rhetoric?
Is the adoption of a common anthem by the south west governors an indication of a push for greater regional integration and cooperation for common economic prosperity? Time will tell.
