Of Distorted Federalism, Structural Problems, and Leadership Crisis in Nigeria: A Case for Decentralization of the National Government.

“Leadership is half the battle but followership must also prove its mettle. Each regional grouping should, by its policies, declare an uncompromising developmental autonomy – I repeat, Autonomy - leaving the centre only with its competence provenance – foreign policy, national security and inter-state affairs - including peace subversive Peace Advocacy – but minus its propensity for inflicting heart seizure on productive human concourse.” Professor Wole Soyinka:   "Mission The Future" - A Speech Delivered at the 2nd South-South Economic Summit in Asaba.

“Fourthly, as a medium term, structural measure, we must work to restore our federalism to the broad outlines embedded in the 1963 republican constitution, devolving more powers and responsibilities to the states and making the federal government less of a busy body. This would require that states like Bauchi whose annual internally-generated revenue is N7 billion should not run a government costing N58 billion because of monthly hand-outs from Abuja. Each state should learn to live within its means and seek to actively develop its comparative endowments. State governors will then be compelled to use their resources better and not point fingers at the federal government.” “Between Terrorism and Corruption.” By Mallam El’Rufai, Sahara Reporters, May 10, 2012.

Preamble: 

There is this saying that every society gets a leader that it deserves. Profound as that saying may be; in Nigeria, the case is the case. For the past thirty five years, or thereabouts, only two Nigerians, in and out of the Military - Obasanjo and IBB - have been the dominant forces in our leadership selection. Until we eliminate the structural problem or institutional deformity that makes it possible for IBB and Obasanjo  to successfully commandeered our electoral process, we will not be able to overcome our leadership crises, especially at the national level. Without any doubt, that structural deformity creates fertile ground for nurturing the bunch of discredited scoundrels and opportunists now masquerading as political leaders and statesmen throughout the Nigerian landscape. Until we develop permanent solutions to overcome it, we will not be able to conduct credible election and elect leaders we can trust. It has nothing to do with INEC (the Electoral Commission). It has everything to do with selection of candidates during the Primaries - a process dominated by an all powerful President. Therefore, the main challenge before every delegate at the ongoing National Conference is how to dismantle and eliminate every fragment of that distortion - the unitary model and the oligarchy that it creates. That's the only way the spirit of one nation one destiny - a true federal system of equal rights and justice - can evolve as it ought to be. So, this essay is about unraveling that structural deformity - its genesis and trajectory - how it impacted our electoral process and leadership selection over the years, and finally, how to overcome it.

In principle, there is nothing wrong with federalism or federal system of government. Ours became an aberration, because the concept was abused, distorted, and manipulated by every administration at the national level since independence, thus creating in our body politic a lingering climate of political disillusionment throughout the land. In spite of every thing, I am passionately and unequivocally opposed to disintegration of Nigeria. Nevertheless, I will not in observance of political correctness, shy away from articulating how a very small, but very influential group in and out of the military, in collaboration with ethnic chauvinists in the likes of Dr. Junaid Mohammed, Professor Ango Abdullahi, and Mr Anthony Sani contrived and perpetrated that distortion/deformity in pursuit of unproductive, selfish, sectional, and feudal ideological objectives.

We must start with decentralization of the over-bloated federal government - relieving it of some responsibilities and transferring them to the federating units or regions. First, they have to put an end to the unproductive marriage or entanglement between State Governors and Local Government Councils, with a view to enabling Local Government Councils with ascertainable rights and responsibilities. Then, apportion the responsibilities presently on the Exclusive List between the Federating States or Regions and the National Government, thereby creating an authentic three levels of government with defined responsibilities and limitations. (By now, we all know those areas that the Federal Government should abstain from or yield ground or act as equal partner with the Federating Regions or States). 

Therefore, for this National Conference to be meaningful, any man-made obstacle, which in the opinion of the delegates, is capable of impeding their chances of developing a document that would eliminate the anomalies associated with our distorted federal system, should be confronted decisively and dismantled permanently, no matter who is orchestrating the obstacle. So, on the question of what constitutes majority vote, the delegates should use their own discretion - it requires reasonable judgement. Deferring  to the Presidency on the three-quarter requirement instead of two-third is a continuation of the distortion of our federal system by an over-bloated Aso Rock. The three-quarter vote is unconscionable, and must be voted down by the delegates, if they hope of saving this country. This time, Nigerians will not accept "our hands are tied." We need performance, action, and result. Not excuses. I beg to move. 

A Historical Perspective of A Distorted Federalism:

The perversion of our Federal system began from the time of Sadauna of Sokoto, Sir Ahmadu Bello, the Premier of Northern Region, whose expansionist zeal, geographically speaking, was blatantly inconsistent with the concept of Federalism. He settled in Kaduna, rather than joining forces with his peers in Lagos to form a Government and be saddled with responsibilities of building a new nation. He elected to stay back in Kaduna, confident that doing so would provide him enormous opportunities to assimilate the Middle-Belt Region and fortify his (NPC) hold on the entire Northern Region, and at the same time, consolidate his political and religious conquest of the Southern Protectorate, unhindered.

He resisted every attempt to create another region (Middle Belt) out of the then Northern Region, fully conscious of the aftermath: Doing so would diminish his command and control of the greater part of the ‘geographical expression’ called Nigeria. Nevertheless, he championed the creation of Midwestern Region, calculated to erode the territorial spread of Action Group, with the ultimate goal of diluting Pa Awo's influence and visibility at the national stage. And it happened, judging by the outcome of the election that took place following the creation of Midwestern Region.

As events unfold, especially after the civil war, that clandestine maneuvering of our federal system by the Northern Premier, took a reverse turn. When his "Boys" in the Military became the dominant forces in our Armed Forces and heading the government at the national level, they dismantled the untouchable Northern region into pieces in the form of new states and new local government councils for obvious reason: To channel more federal funds into every nook and cranny of the region.  Except for the short period of Aguiyi Ironsi's unitary gamble, Nigeria, since independence, has been at the mercy of northern intellectuals and Military Officers on the issue of the system of government that we embrace as a nation-sate.

Why is that distortion an issue today? The unintended outcomes, as devastating as they have been, outweighed the main objective. It changes the dynamics of our federal system of government and all its attributes; supplanting them with a unitary model – a model that is resistance of competition at the lower levels, and a model that creates in the occupant of Aso Rock, horrendous power that is blatantly inconsistent with democratic principles.

Indeed the structural decay is real. There is too much power and control in the command of a sitting President of Nigeria. So, tracing the genesis and trajectory of that anomaly is not immoral. Now is the time for the conference delegates to dilute that humongous power at the national level (the unitary model) and spread more of it to state and local government councils in the true spirit of a federal system. That is the view of most Nigerians from north to south and from east to west.  If that's all the delegates can do at the conference; it is a worthwhile endeavor.

Defining the Structural Problem in Relation to our Leadership Crisis:

I was never a fan of or an advocate for a sovereign national conference; believing as always, that leadership, to a great extent, determines the attitude of the governed towards grafts, bribery and corruption. And that if we have selfless or credible leaders from north to south and from east to west, all the calls for true federalism, confederacy, or total disintegration as robust as they are presently, would ebb significantly. In other words, if we vote credible candidates into political office, we are on our way to the promise land. I was wrong. The Primaries and the process of selecting candidates at the party level are dominated by one man - the Governor or the President, as the case ma be. It’s all about the incumbent, and who he wants to contest at the general election. In the words of President Obasanjo, ‘I do not know who is going to replace me, but I sure know who won’t’. And it happened.

In hindsight, given the nature of our electoral history, I firmly believe and hold that we will not be able to elect selfless visionary leaders capable of bringing into fruition our dreams of a great and egalitarian society, because of the dictatorship of a very privileged few, supported by the bourgeois class they created via the spoils of office. And that brings us to the thesis of this short essay: Decentralization, without Disintegration: Unraveling and overcoming the oligarchic trends in our body politic, without jeopardizing our age-old social and cultural integration.

For a start, you cannot separate the leadership crisis from the manipulation of our federal system and from the resultant structural problems. They are one and the same. The manipulation or distortion of our federal system gave birth to the structural problems, and the structural problems, in turn, create fertile ground for nurturing the opportunists we are having at the national level as well as in most of the states and local government councils - leading to a culture of low expectations.  Apology to Professor Ndibe. Undoing that is a task before the delegates. Because maintaining the status quo is the shortest distance to anarchy, disintegration, or a revolution.

Ours is the only country where an Awo, Gambari, Aguda, Kontagora, Idiagbon, Eme Awa, Aboyade, Adedeji, Alele Williams, Yusuf Maitama Sule, Faleye, Kalu Idika Kalu, Donald Duke, and Ayagi cannot become President. For instance, for an Idiagbon Military coup to be legitimate, a Buhari had to be brought in from retirement to satisfy the interest of the so-called Sokoto-Kano Caliphate. Were it not for that historic blonder, there would not have been an IBB aborted experimentation with democracy or an Abacha fiasco or an Obasanjo dictatorship or the dying Musa Ya'Adua. It is that simple! It is the structural deformity that defines the state of our federalism, and by extension, the quality of our leadership.

Undoing the Anomaly:

At this juncture, I would like to point out that at this very moment there are in existence, some elements of a confederacy system of government in operation in present day Northern region of Nigeria. Given that as true, one would then ask: why the resistance to call for a true federalism or resource control? Why the 'no go areas'? Why the brouhaha about federating units and federal system? How about the unilateral promulgation and imposition of Sharia Law in most part of the Northern region? Did Sharia Law receive the approval of the sitting President or the votes of the National Assembly? No. It is the same with the introduction of Native Police.

Truth is that the call for true federalism and semi-autonomous status that most progressives are demanding are already in operation in the Northern part of Nigeria, except of course, in the area of revenue generation where there is still 100% reliance on Federal Government - thanks to the monthly free oil money from the federal government. In other words, if elements of semi-autonomy are presently in full swing in most Northern States of the country, it is legitimate on the part of the delegates at the conference to vote and endorse semi-autonomous status  for the various states. And the same should apply to resource control.

Therefore, I challenge every concerned delegate at the conference to be firm of purpose and seize on this great opportunity to impress it upon every participating delegate, no matter the geographical, religious, or political background, that the present unitary model is not sustainable. Our federal model was distorted by the same people, some of whom are now holding forth at  Arewa Consultative Forum, crying marginalization. At this point in time, every Nigerian wants a true federal system, where each component unit or region is imbued with attributes of a semi-autonomous entity, defined as federating unit or region - a constituent of a whole – of the Federal Republic of Nigeria. It's all about decentralization of the national government. 

I would like to end this piece by quoting, once again, from the great work of Professor Wole Soyinka in the concluding paragraph of the same essay referenced at the opening section of this piece. ”Nigeria has proved too large and inefficient for the centralized identification and management of such human skills and material resources, the centre having become self-aggrandizing, bloated, parasitic and alienated. Now is the time to put into practice that ancient saying: Small is beautiful. We must return to the earlier days of creative rivalry that pronounces that vanishing past an interrupted project of promise, creativity and productivity. Then, it may be possible for your generation to say contentedly, even while the harvest is still distant but the soil is cleanly prepared, the seeds implanted and germinating: Mission? Accomplished!”

03/25/2014

Why we cannot run away from genuine federalism —Obong Attah - Vanguard News

Why we cannot run away from genuine federalism —Obong Attah - Vanguard News

A legacy worth bequeathing - Vanguard News

Excerpts From "A legacy worth bequeathing - Vanguard News:" By Mr. Muyiwa Adetiba

"I had read about gas flares. I had seen some from the air on my way to Port Harcourt or where ever. But I had never felt so close to one. This was an experience my mind has refused to erase. When I complained about the gas flares the following day and the effect of a permanent light on my sleeping pattern, someone took me to a dark, ‘heavy’ body of water to show me what pollution had done to their vegetation and way of life."

"Not too long after this experience, I had to travel to Abuja to see a retired military governor who had just moved to Asokoro. This area was still in its early stages of development, but the signs of an elitist, up market settlement were there as architectural master pieces were in different stages of completion. You didn’t need anybody to tell you the injustice that was being perpetuated because the money that was developing this place came from the bowels of a ruined, neglected region. It is the kind of injustice that has kept us down as a nation because it negates our attempts at forging unity."

"Around this time—remember it was about 30 years ago— I tried to seek answers to some uncomfortable questions. How could we look away when the ecology and a way of life of a people were being destroyed? How could we allow the oil companies to get away with pre-meditated and sustained annihilation of a people? How could we be so callous— or stupid— as to neglect the goose that was laying such beautiful eggs? And the conscience—or lack of it— that makes us to fill our dinner tables with generous portions of these eggs. Why could we not develop these areas like other oil producing countries had done?"

"They were questions that led to some uncomfortable truths. I learnt how some local elites in the affected areas lined their pockets and looked away; how people used the region to get good education and threw away the ladder; how they were more interested in using the oil spills as instruments of blackmail than in seeking genuine redress. Many of these people I heard, were on retainership with oil companies, feeding fat on the ruination of their communities. Then the national elites took their cues from the local ones— why should they be holier than the Pope? The civilian and military leaders lined their pockets and diverted funds to develop private estates."

"So it was easy to empathise with Ken Saro-Wiwa when he started to sensitise the world about the injustice of it all. Or the militants when they took up arms until they criminalised the whole thing and lost people’s respect."

"On the other hand, it was also easy to understand why the local elites did not take umbrage when Ibori and Alamieyesiegha exemplified the many civilian and military governors who had developed and enriched everywhere else except their states. These are leaders who care more for money and power than the genuine interests of their people."

"So when E.K Clark and the many South-South leaders advocate the return of Jonathan irrespective of his performance, irrespective of the state of the nation in almost all critical areas of governance, you can see why. It is more for their continued access to power and the accoutrements of power than a genuine love for their people.  Unfortunately, these leaders are so blinded by easy money that they cannot recognise that a once in a life time opportunity is passing them by."

"And if the President is thinking about the legacy to bequeath to his people, he will have to go beyond shelling money to a few of his praise singers. He has the clout for the moment, to push for national and international awareness on the environmental situation of the region. He has the power, if only he recognises it, to clean up the place. He is in a position, if only he can see, to advance the cause of derivation. And if he wills it, he can make the oil system more transparent and thus generate more money for his region."

"He has had five years to make his region an investor’s haven. Five years to encourage and strengthen a true federal system that will liberate his people and stop the feudal system of doles and patronages. Five years to bequeath a true legacy to his people. He is running out of time and a life time opportunity for the minorities is slipping away." By Muyiwa Adetiba: Vanguard, March 15, 2014

See Moving Forward and other issues, culled From "Bonga Oil Spillage: Niger Delta, and Sustainable Development", posted January 02, 2012 by Alex Aidaghese

Moving Forward

"Indeed, President Goodluck Jonathan’s election as President of Nigeria is important symbolically, but they cannot overcome 50 years of abuse of federal character, quota system, environmental degradations, and the indiscriminate destructions of the aquatic resources that the people of Niger Delta overwhelmingly depend on for their survival by the multi-national oil companies."

"They survived 50 years of neglect and deprivations. That is a fact."

"They were fisher-men, they were into rubber and they were into timber. They were industrious, self-secured and self-sufficient. They were loyal landlords, until the uninvited quests confiscated their land, took away the riches of their earth, and imperiled their means of survival."

"And yes, they produced and drank ogogoro (local gin), but there was no drunkard and no insane delusional or hopeless mind rummaging the swampy landscape scavenging for a piece of the black gold simmering from crevices along the pipelines. IOCs and the Federal Government of Nigeria took their humility for granted and left them economically pulverized."

"There was no burning, and there was no looting. There was no kidnapping of white men and not so white men for ransom. And there was no lamentation of force majeure by Shell, or BP, or by Chevron. These companies cleaned up their mess in the Gulf of Mexico and elsewhere in the developed and developing World; they must be made to clean up their mess in the Niger Delta."

"That is not too much of a demand."  

"Suffice it to say at this juncture, that, just as Abuja (the Federal Capital Territory of Nigeria) was a national priority during its construction, the reconstruction and development of infrastructural facilities in the Niger Delta should be a national priority. NDDC must be managed directly from Aso Rock. "

A Fundamental Framework

"God gave us the Niger Delta, with all its natural riches for our use, development, and enjoyment.  Be that as it may, it is expected of us to explore, exploit, and utilize the natural riches for the use and benefit of present generations, while making reservations for the needs and use of the unborn generations who would have no other land, except the Niger Delta and Nigeria, to call their own.  It is called sustainable development of natural resources."

"What is required therefore, is a fundamental framework, developed with a view to ensuring sustainable development of the natural resources by the government of the Federal Republic of Nigeria on behalf of Nigerians and specifically, on behalf of the occupiers land and water - the local communities in and around the Niger Delta."

"This fundamental framework involves the integration of human rights and human resources development clauses within the body of every international investment agreements negotiated between Nigeria Government and International Oil Companies (IOCs). It also extends to agreements negotiated between the National Government and Local Oil Companies (LOCs).  It requires balancing the investment interests of IOCs and LOCs, with those of the host nation, Nigeria, without undermining the human rights and sustainable development of the host communities in the Niger Delta. That is the current trends in the development of mineral resources around the World. Nigeria should not be an exception."

"It requires the establishment of a Land Reclamation Funds or Water Restoration Funds as the case may be, created at the inception of the exploration agreement to be funded by the Federal Government, IOCs and LOCs with certain percentage of estimated yearly earnings agreed upon by the parties. [See 'The Host Community Funds' under the new Petroleum Industry Bill before the National Assembly]. The contracting parties must deposit the reserve funds in an escrow account during each calendar year, specifically to offset environmental clean-up, oil spillage as presently the case in Bonga Field. It also involves land reclamation, and decommissioning costs whenever the need arises or whenever the investors cease operations (Shell). The land reclamation funds, the escrow account, as well as water restorations obligations are essential and mandatory components of the integrated contract."

"It recognizes the importance of local contents and training and education of the indigenes of the surrounding communities. Cash incentives only provide temporary relief and should be discontinued where possible; instead, effort should be made to expand Petroleum Training Institute, Effurun, with the capacity to absorb and provide basic machining, technical and mechanical training for candidates within the amnesty pools (former  members of MEND), with a view to preparing them for entry level positions in the energy sector."

"It requires honest and transparent negotiations between the government, IOCs, and the local communities where natural resources are located. IOCs should endeavor to engage and interact socially and economically with the local people on regular basis by buying local produce, attending community activities, and cultural festivals. It is called social license, and it is more important than any PSA [Production Sharing agreement] with the federal government. In addition, the divide and rule system - setting up one community against another or one interest group against another as was the case in the trial and execution of Ken Saro-wiwa, is counterproductive and should be avoided by all means."

Domestication and Rehabilitation of Militants

"In Nigeria, militancy business is a big business. It benefits the sponsors of the activities more than the perpetrators  (the militants) of the activities in financial terms. Therefore, the perpetrators need redemption, while those involved in planning and sponsorship should be prosecuted where possible."

"First, government and IOCs should start with establishment of Schools of Basic Studies or Extramural Classes, where those who dropped out of Grammar Schools and those who do not have the mandatory five or six credits required for admission to higher institutions,  as well as those who cannot afford to pay to retake the exams over and over again as it is the case in Nigeria, should be able to register and retake the exams, without the temptation of joining militant activities. These are the dislocated Nigerians – no certificate, no jobs, and no future - who are the gullible, vulnerable and easy target for recruitment as militants."

'In spite of every thing, these affected youths should be proactive and look beyond immediate gains accruing from militants activities, and instead, dwell on how to secure sustainable income, with a view to ensuring a better standard of living and a brighter future for their children. The reasonable step right now, is to eschew militancy activities and  take advantage of the amnesty programs and everything that it offers. That is one sure creditable avenue to earning a sustainable income and a happy living.' 

Analysis 

Integrating Human Rights and Community Expectations into Investment Agreements with IOC:

"The demand for the integration of human rights, human development and sustainable development within the framework of every investment agreements in the extractive sector, is not just an in intellectual exercise. It is real and achievable, if diligently pursued. Investment Treaties and Stabilization Clauses do not provide the kind of stability that developing some forms of relationship (social license) with the community provides."

"The earlier nation-states and foreign investors embrace and acknowledge the interests and concerns of indigenous people and inculcate those concerns into their final investment agreements, the closer we are to peace and sustainable development in the mineral producing areas of the World. Nothing enriches shareholders value more than sustainable income and conducive investment climate."

.

"Finally, it is our firm belief that any IOC that values life, liberty, freedom, and fundamental human rights of others, especially people living in and around mines and rigs; any IOC with genuinely concern for living things, creatures, and the environment in and around its facilities; any IOC that values peaceful investment climate and cordial business relationship with local communities, should not prevaricate on these issues and the solutions proffered."

"Therefore, we strongly hold that the number one problem facing multinationals in the extractive sector, especially in developing countries, Niger Delta in particular, is a failure of corporate responsibility."

"In addition, host nations should hold IOCs liable for any financial setback following declaration of force majeure that are unconnected with natural disaster, or unforeseeable catastrophic occurrences. Also, we firmly believe that the health and environmental hazards prevalent in the oil producing areas and Niger Delta in particular, are preventable, and the economic deprivations and financial losses inherent in oil spillage and pollution are compensable. Host nations as well as host communities, working through the legal channel, should demand for punitive damages where catastrophic occurrences are foreseeable, egregious, and preventable."

" Finally, the United Nations has over the years, developed numerous papers and articles on this very issue of integration of human rights and investors’ interests in natural resources agreements with host nations for the purpose of ensuring sustainable development. And the one that I find most revealing and enlivening, is the Rio Declaration of 1992. Four of the articles are reproduced below."

“Human beings are at the center of concerns for sustainable development. They are entitled to a healthy and productive life in harmony with nature...The right to development must be fulfilled so as to equitably meet developmental and environmental needs of present and future generations…In order to achieve sustainable development, environmental protection shall constitute an integral part of the development process and cannot be considered in isolation from it…Indigenous people and their communities and other local communities have a vital role in environmental management and development because of their knowledge and traditional practices. States should recognize and duly support their identity, culture and interests and enable their effective participation in the achievement of sustainable development.” UN RIO DECLARATION: Principles 1, 3, 4, & 24

December, 2011

Culled from "Bonga Oil Spillage: Niger Delta, and Sustainable Development", posted January 02, 2012.

Falae, Shonibare, others re-launch SDP - Vanguard News

Falae, Shonibare, others re-launch SDP - Vanguard News
http://www.sdp.org.ng./

OF PREDICTION AND A THIRD FORCE

Culled from "In Search of a Real Political Party" posted on this Blog on September 08, 2013. 

"On a last note, Nigeria will not disintegrate. A third credible force will emerge to battle PDP, given the fact that APC is seemingly lethargic at the moment. In similar vein, it won't be from within PDM or the New PDP - they are already polluted. It won't be the Military, either. Battling PDP in the 2015 may fall on either Independent Democrats or an unknown third force." 

"Truth is, Tinubu and Buhari ticket, without a vigorous, widespread and all embracing campaign, cannot defeat Jonathan. Tinubu is not Awo, and Buhari is no Aminu Kano. Besides, they are not articulate and they are not believable outside their immediate enclaves. In addition, IBB, Obasanjo and the Big Boys controlling lucrative oil blocs, would prefer to commit mass suicide than to see Buhari at Aso Rock with El'Rufai as his Chief of Staff. Yes, there is big huddle awaiting Tinubu and Buhari to cross. And that is another reason that younger and modern day educated administrators should step up." 

"And on a more disturbing note, El Rufai, one of the most outstanding, competent, and agressive administrators in the Nigerian political scene, is having difficulties making his presidential pitch before the relevant audience. At the same time, he is seemingly more comfortable operating under the shadow of General Buhari." 

"Also, Governor Fashola on his part, is busy feeling comfortable in his Lagos almighty chair - not showing or declaring his presidential intention, probably for the fear that doing so is tantamount to undermining the interest and goal of his mentor. And that leaves Tinubu and Buhari as the dominant and potential figures in 2015 [under APC platform]."

"Therefore, Independent Democrats, in their search for a flag bearer, must go beyond the present bunch of discredited leaders who wrecked and corrupted a supposedly great nation. They will have to do a real search for real intellectual/technocrat as Presidential candidate for 2015 to prevent the emergence of the third force."

"If they don't, Nigeria will come to a standstill after a brutal and ... upheaval. At the end of the day, language, tribe, culture, and religion will cease to be of any influence in defining Nigerian oneness as a nation-state. The oppressed will speak in one voice, whether from Kano, Umuahia, Sokoto, Abeokuta, Ewohimi, Asaba, Keffi, Eket, Warri, or Lagos. A true hero will emerge out of the debris to restore sanity, grace, and real leadership to Nigerians at home and abroad."

"President Jonathan can avert a ... revolution from evolving: it is about true leadership. And that again, depends on whether or not he is willing to send thieving ex-Governors to jail, prevail on bogus Oil Marketers to forfeit their loot and belongings to the Federal Government, take religion out of the political system, stop the large scale squandering of riches in high places, and restore stability in our educational sector."

"The fact that the present opposition forces are indolent, politically and strategically speaking,  is no ground for celebration by the PDP. Such vacuum places the redemption of our great nation in the hands of the unknown - basically, it is not an automatic ticket to Aso Rock for the PDP. PDP, nPDP, APC, or PDM as presently composed, cannot lead that new beginning - restructuring and openness. They are responsible for the decadence of the past and the uncertainties of the present." 

"It is now left for Independent Democrats to step into the scene, with a vigorous populist/progressive agenda, anchored on the principle of one nation one destiny (egalitarianism) under the leadership of an all round intellectual warrior - one who truly espouses true federalism, equal rights and justice, separation of religion from politics, sustainable development of our human and natural resources and war against fraud in high places. That is the party I am ready and willing to align with."

"If Independent Democrats fail to live up to expectation, assuming also that President Jonathan did not transform himself, then comeback here in six months for what I will do next. The emergence of a third or unknown force is real."  

"Thank you and God Bless."  
Alex Aidaghese: "In Search of a Real Political Party", posted September 08, 2013. 

Of Delegates, Gerontocracy, and Sovereign National Conference.

Introduction:

Much as I would like to commend the Presidency for assembling a somehow unique and very diverse audience for the assignment, I would like to express my reservations over the congestion of the pack with people over seventy years of age. A greater majority of the delegates have been around, stealing and dominating our political system and perverting it with ethnic and discredited political beliefs since independence. In other words, if they are or were that good, why are we in the present state of hopelessness politically and economically speaking? In a similar vein, if all is well, why are some sections of our beloved country or political interest groups demanding a confederacy option or total disintegration? Mr. President, all is not well, because the majority of those you are now calling upon to remake Nigeria have managed our economy and political system over the years. Sir, I would suggest you take a second look at the list representing the Federal Government, and find ways to incorporate four or five guys from the younger generations into it. And with due respect, gentlemen like Mr. Chido Onumah, Mr. Remi Oyeyemi, and of course, my honorable self (yes, me, Mr. Alex Aidaghese), deserve to make the list based on our unrelenting and in-depth coverage of the concept of Federalism and Sovereign National Conference in the past three years. Nevertheless, as a patriot and a true believer in the Nigeria state, I would like to join hands with other patriotic Nigerians in praying and hoping that the delegates and the Presidency do the right thing and produce a document that would serve the most good for every segment of the "geographical expression" referred to as Nigeria. This assignment is their last opportunity to redeem battered legacy. They either do it right, and have their names celebrated as the men and women who reinvented Nigeria as a viable nation-state for the future generations, or play the usual greedy dance of 'chop and let chop', and risk losing everything.

Structural Problem versus Leadership Crises:

I was never a fan of or an advocate for a sovereign national conference; believing as always, that leadership, to a great extent, defines the attitude of the governed towards grafts, bribery, and corruption. And that if we have selfless or credible leaders from north to south and from east to west, all the calls for true federalism, confederacy, or total disintegration as robust as they are present, would ebb significantly. However, it came to a point where my thought process in the subject gains some new insights. I have come to realize that we cannot possibly separate our leadership crises, especially at the national level, from the deformities in our federal system, often referred to as "the structural problems." Those deformities or structural problems create a fertile ground for producing the quality of leadership we often have at the national, as well as in the state and local levels. 

Think first of a situation where a President unilaterally determines who must become his successor (undermining the electoral process), or where a President, in collaboration with faceless individuals, took the decision to annul a flawless Presidential Election, or where a Governor, without consultation with the government at the national level, unilaterally imposes Sharia Law on his subjects. Or consider where a constitutional principle (federal character) meant to secure the interests and protection of the minority tribes in the political system has been so abused and perverted to the extent of creating a first class, second class, and third class mindset within the citizenship. 

In addition, a situation where a region or a tribe does not consider itself Nigerian enough unless it produces the President or the next President is antithetical of everything a federal system is meant to project. Yes, the structural decay is real. There is too much power and control in the command of a sitting President of Nigeria. So there is every need to dilute that humongous power at the national level (the Unitary model) and spread more of it to state and local government councils in the true spirit of a federal system. If that's all the delegates can do at the conference; it is a worthwhile endeavor.

My Expectations:

My position on Sovereign National Conference, true federalism, resource control, and semi-autonomy for the component states within the Nigerian Federation have evolved over the years. That evolution is in consonance with the views of Professor Wole Soyinka, Governor El'Rufai, and Governor Fashola, before he backslides. In series of speeches and publications, they have openly canvassed for a certain degree of autonomy for the component states within the "geographical expression" called Nigeria. Given the scale of our cultural, political, and religious differences, semi-autonomy is the right approach to ensuring stability and sustainable progress nationwide.

In addition, our inability to unravel, and with solutions, the complexities inherent in the governance of Nigeria as a single sovereign nation-state as we have seen and experienced over the years makes the conference a timely and necessary adventure. Those complexities, as obvious as they are, make our distorted federalism (the unitary format under present dispensation) unattractive.

Today, Federal Government is becoming larger in size, scope, and responsibilities for a true federal union, while the component states are becoming too dependent on it for their survival - a unitary model, inconsistent with the spirit and letter of a federal system.

At the same time, and judging from history, our federal government has not being able to adequately manage, police, and protect our wealth and riches under its command - a roguish and uncountable Central Bank, an uncontrollable NNPC that is more powerful than the Federal Government, influential Bogus Petroleum Marketers scamming our Fuel Subsidy Funds with enthusiastic abandon, Millionaire Civil Servants manipulating our budgetary system with impunity, and a bunch of Pension Funds Raiders stealing us blind, while we watch helplessly.

Yes, our Federal Government - since President Shehu Shagari's era of big government and to this day - lacks the strategic wherewithal to manage and apply the wealth and the riches equitably for sustainable use and benefit of all. We have a decaying Police Department, a near-comatose educational system, and a Military outfit in modern a time that cannot subdue and domesticate a bunch of religious sects ravaging Northern Nigerian villages and countryside, killing and maiming innocent women and School Children in their sleep mercilessly.

Yes, the need for decentralization of power and authorities from the over-bloated central government to the federating units and regional councils is a compelling consideration, because over-dependent on crude oil makes serving Governors indolent. I will explain.

There is no longer massive economic engagement or social mobilization of the idle minds as labor forces for wealth creation within the states and local councils. The monthly allocations from the federation account is enough for most serving Governors to pay salary, fix State Highways and enjoy the comfort of their Abuja mansion.

Militancy, where ever they exist, thrives because of redundancy in the system. An idle mind, as the old saying goes, is the devil's workshop. The social and economic disconnect (covered on this blog two years ago), which exists between the Governors and their unaccounted and unemployed youths creates a fertile ground and recruitment reservoir for those willing to perpetrate havoc in the political system. Where are the modern-day Groundnuts Pyramids?

Anyway, my position is neither a demand for disintegration nor an endorsement of the call for disintegration of Nigeria as we often hear from some individuals in the social media. Disintegration, to say the least, is unrealistic. That is a fact. It is too extreme and too dangerous to execute, given the tenacity of the economic relationship between the different regions and the social integration that existed between the various ethnic groups and tribes for centuries.

On the other hand, if disintegration is not negotiable, then removal of "Federal The character", "Quota System", and "State of Origin" concepts from our constitution is a deal-breaker.  In that case, every Nigerian should be safe anywhere he or she is (state of residence) in Nigeria, as well as being able to claim that state as his state of origin. I do not understand why, for instance, a child born in Lagos or Kaduna by Edo or Kogi parents, who have been living and going to school in Lagos and Kaduna all his life be made to claim Edo or Kogi as his state of origin in his job and JME applications. That's not right.

Therefore, the best approach is true federalism or a confederation option or confederacy, similar to what obtains in Canada. Thus enabling the component states or regions to assume semi-autonomous status and develop at their own pace culturally and politically, and at the same time, relieving the central government of some of its enormous power and responsibilities.

Finally, we should also not lose sight of the mayhem and ethnic cleansing that heralded the civil war. I am totally against any measure that would exacerbate ethnic hatred and bloodshed. Separation of religion and State is sacrosanct. The government, both at State, Local, and Federal levels should stay away from religion and religious-related activities. Sponsorship of pilgrimages to anywhere in and outside of Nigeria should be a private or corporate concern; not the government.

Conclusion: 

First, let's start with decentralization, or at least, decongestion of our humongous federal government - relieving it of some responsibilities, and transferring them to the federating units. How to apportion those responsibilities among the federation states and the central government, as well as how to extricate Local Government Councils from the stranglehold of State Governors should be the major focus at the conference - an authentic three levels of government with defined responsibilities and limitations.

By Alex Aidaghese: Adapted from "Sovereign National Conference and Decentralization, without Disintegration", posted November 21, 2012.

President Jonathan Releases Final List Of Delegates To The National Conference | Sahara Reporters

President Jonathan Releases Final List Of Delegates To The National Conference | Sahara Reporters

Something must give - Gen. Alani Akinrinade - Vanguard News

Something must give - Gen. Alani Akinrinade - Vanguard News

Of National Conference and the Right of the Component States/Federating Units to Exercise Real Power in true sense of True Federalism. 

“If President Jonathan, an Ijaw man, has been in government for about six years and has not been able to change the revenue mobilization and distribution system, nor has he been able to implement the clear United Nations report on cleaning up the environmental mess in Ogoni land which costs a mere one billion dollars, it is clear that the issue is not who is in government but the structure of the Federal Government. It is the structure that needs to be re-designed.”

“Akinrinade would therefore be a rallying point for such ethnic nationalities such as Igala, Tiv, Itsekiri,  Isoko, Urhobo, Birom, Efik, Ibibio, Anioma, Jukun, among others, who would look up to him to bring the progressive view of late Chief  Obafemi Awolowo as  enunciated in his books entitled: Thoughts on the Nigerian Constitution and Path to Nigerian Federation, to guide  deliberations at the National Conference.”

“Akinrinade said deliberations at the conference would be hot, negotiations would be nerve wracking because the North would not easily give up the advantage which the 1914 amalgamation conferred on it, in the same way other regions have woken up to realise that the master / servant relationship that was the product of Lord Luggard finding a wealthy bride for a not endowed groom would not endure.”

“The new design is to make the zones or regions or by whatever name called to be the federating units, going back to the parliamentary system in place until 1966; transferring the power to tax to the federating units; changing the system of public order and law enforcement to ensure all tiers of government have the ability to enforce the laws they make, adjudicate and administer punishment within their jurisdiction, make education a residual matter or must the Yoruba  watch egalitarianism washed away by jettisoning the teaching of history and embracing such backward ideas like nomadic education and Almajiri schools in the name of unity? Creating a constitution court to adjudicate on all constitutional matters and disputes between states; allowing each state or federating unit to have a judicial system on non-federal crimes that go all the way to their own Supreme Court and terminates there.” 

"By agreeing to convoke a National Conference, it would seem that Jonathan has been eventually persuaded that something is structurally amiss with the current political and structural configuration of the nation.  Having now seen the light, Jonathan must rise above playing politics with the hope and aspirations of the Nigerian people and see himself as an instrument of divine will to forge this traumatized nation anew. This is the only honour and respect he can pay to all those Ijaw heroes and heroines who have fallen in the struggle to redeem the nation."

 Gen Alani Akinrinade: The Vanguard, March 02, 2014

The Canonisation Of Terror By Wole Soyinka - Vanguard News

The Canonisation Of Terror By Wole Soyinka - Vanguard News

"For the name of that hospital, it is reported, is none other than that of General Sanni Abacha, a vicious usurper under whose authority the lives of an elected president and his wife were snuffed out.  Assassinations – including through bombs cynically ascribed to the opposition – became routine. Under that ruler, torture and other forms of barbarism were enthroned as the norm of governance.  To round up, nine Nigerian citizens, including the writer and environmentalist Ken Saro-wiwa, were hanged after a trial that was stomach churning even by the most primitive standards of judicial trial, and in defiance of the intervention of world leadership. We are speaking here of a man who placed this nation under siege during an unrelenting reign of terror that is barely different from the current rampage of Boko Haram. It is this very psychopath that was recently canonized by the government of Goodluck Jonathan in commemoration of one hundred years of Nigerian trauma." Professor Wole Soyinka

Confab: There is nothing to talk about — Kukah - Vanguard News

Confab: There is nothing to talk about — Kukah - Vanguard News

This is a 'Must Read Interview.

"Countries are built by philosophers. The whole concept of a philosopher king is not about resources. It is about ideas. Ideas rule the world. And ideas are as a result of fertile imagination that is far from all the rubble and rustle that is the reality of every day life in Nigeria." 

"What I am saying is that the so called political elites were a bunch of contractors, who will do business with anyone. The result is that these are the kind of people that presented themselves as politicians and these are the people we had to choose from. The kind of freshness that you require from a transition never happened in Nigeria. And this is why we are still some of the key players in politics today."

"They are in their eighties, some are way beyond their eighties, they are still the key players and actors on the political scene. Clearly, in basic political science, one of the obstacles to democracy is military rule, another obstacle is gerontocracy, that is the presence of too many old people in a democracy."

"Gerontocracy scuttles democracy especially in Africa where we think that ,age is synonymous with wisdom. How we get past all that is beyond the saying that we are going to have a conference or saying that we are going to have a national Assembly to do things differently. Even at the National Assembly we have a problem."   Bishop Matthew Hassan Kukah: The Vanguard  March 03, 2014