REMEMBERING GEORGE SHULTZ

Some men are born great. Some have greatness trusted upon them. Neither principle applies to George Shultz. I am unwilling to accept the proposition that someone who went through Princeton for his Bachelor's Degree, MA and PhD from MIT had greatness trusted upon him or that he was born into greatness. Mr. George Shultz sewed seeds and made sacrifices, and greatness came upon him unsolicited based on the contents of his character. 

I share this story, not because Mr. Shultz was the American Secretary of the Treasury. And certainly not because he was the Secretary of State. I did because he was a great man, a colossus on the global stage of diplomacy who perfected integrating compassion, love, and humanity, and immersion of wisdom into a negotiation, without undermining the national interest of the guy at the other end of the table. 

He brought energy to his job. He was more powerful than the government he served - not in the negative sense. He projected truth. And he projected trust. Terms like Strategic Defense Initiative and Integration of Force and Diplomacy were given life during his term as US Secretary of State.  He was President Nixon's Secretary of the Treasury (Minister of Finance) and Chairman of the Council on Economic Policy. He was appointed Secretary of State by President Reagan. 

He was neither the gregarious Alexander Haig nor the conservative ideological leaning Henry Kissinger, he wasn't about left or right, socialism versus capitalism, or liberalism versus regulated markets. He was simply human - a scholar, an academic, searching for and negotiating common ground to broker workable peace. It was about what is good for mankind. Indeed, he was a gift to America and Ambassador to the whole world. I would add that his groundwork led to the collapse of the Soviet Union and the dismantling of the Berlin Wall. 

Working with Secretary of Defense Casper Weinberger and President Reagan on the one hand and Soviet Foreign Minister Eduard Shevardnadze and Soviet President Mr. Gorbachev they signed a landmark arms control agreement, the Intermediate-Range Nuclear Forces Treaty in 1987. Mr. Shultz wanted you to embrace democracy, certainly not by compulsion or tying conditions into it. 

According to Henry Kissinger former Secretary of State, "If I could choose one American to whom I would entrust the nation's fate in a crisis, it would be George Shultz. Reading his book "Turmoil and Triumph: My Years as Secretary of State," all I could see was a man who brought his classroom before the global audience - making friends, lecturing, negotiating deals, and standing for what is noble and male the world a better place. And most often, I would pause and ask myself, why am I not like him and how do I equip myself to be able to carry the global burden on my shoulder without feeling the pain or complaining? 

Reading his book prompted me to buy "Work Hard, Study ... Keep Out of Politics: Adventure and Lesson from an Unexpected Public Life" by James A. Baker III, another giant in American foreign affairs. Reading their works, you could feel the compassion, seriousness, and authenticity they brought to the negotiation table. 

Nigeria had numerous of George Shultz, who, sadly, didn't make it to the global stage in our foreign affairs. Notably, Professor Claude Ake, Professor Eme Awa, Professor Ojetunji Aboyade, Dr Akinola Aguda, and Dr Stanley Macebuh. They were not only intellectually gifted but unapologetically forthright. Except for Dr. Akinola Aguda who was appointed Chief Justice of the nation of Botswana and Lesotho. 

May the soul of Mr. George Shultz rest in peace. 

 On CAMA, I Stand with Bishop Oyedepo and the Chuch

Whatever you do or whatever your intentions are concerning the CAMA proposal to appoint Trustees to regulate the financial affairs of the church, always remember that Pastors and Bishops come and go, but the Church remains. The moment you start subjecting the church, mosque, or religious body to the regulatory rigmarole of a Federal Government that lacks the managerial expertise to regulate its myriad institutions, you'd be creating a monster at Abuja that would hasten your demise as a nation-state. 

With CAMA engagement, the federal government is, directly and indirectly, capturing the inherent rights of the people as it relates to their relationship with God or Allah. If you want to tax the church, fine. But to shroud, your dubious intent under the argument of ensuring regulatory compliance because the church is a creation of an act of state is the vilest a proposition to make. 

There is more to the proposition than meets the eye. It has nothing to do with your love for the congregation or your interest in accountability or financial probity. It is hatred. Pure and simple. The authors of the proposal are not comfortable with the enormous wealth under the control of the big churches in Nigeria. The goal is to curb their influence and demystify the clout of the founders of the megachurches by any means necessary.  

Please, whether you are a lawyer or a public affairs commentator, don't be a victim of the resentment you harbour against some of the big names behind some of the big churches in Nigeria. The motive is to disorganize the church. The proposed financial review is just a facade to hoodwink gullible Nigeria into swallowing their hocus-pocus, to destroy the only institution in Nigeria that is operating outside of their whims and caprices. The church should resist it. 

CELEBRATING NIGERIAN CRITICS

And as long as we continue to measure intellectualism or national relevance based on proficiency in the English language or the use of English Grammar by our writers and commentators, then, Liberal Arts graduates who know little or nothing about public policies or management will continue to loom large in the public space and continue to be celebrated by Nigerians as the conscience of the nation. What are they writing about? Nothing useful. They are critics and they are "news analysts" who derive pleasure and attention by rehearsing and bombarding gullible Nigerians with the same old stories by spicing them with captivating nuances and innuendos. At the end of the day, the readers gain nothing other than beautiful prose. Above all,  corruption and abuse of public trust by political leaders and civil servants remain unchanged. Today, it is more appealing to be a critic than to be solutions-focused in your writing. 

PRESIDENT BUHARI AND THE UNMAKING OF A THESIS.

 I do not profess to be an intellectual, but I have common sense. And my work speaks for me. The Thesis you are about to read was developed and published in 2012. Thank God, everything works out as intended - the culmination of a progressive-leaning political party, the APC. They ran and they won. But the victory died stillbirth. The mandate was hijacked by unknown forces. Today, the said unknown forces are still being defined. The fears that provoked the thesis are unravelling beyond the author's wildest imagination. And the status quo is made worse. Happy reading. 

Thesis:

How do you make a change in a given society, when those who ought to be at the forefront of change [Northern academics, mavericks, and intellectuals] are the direct beneficiaries of the policies [feudalism and caste system] that made the call for change inevitable?

This is not an isolated or abstract academic puzzle - it is the real deal at the core of our political impasse as a nation-state. And it is the first hurdle that those of us (non-partisan real progressives from the South) who think one great Nigeria is not an illusion (a reality) must first overcome to develop a formidable framework for a genuinely progressive movement nationwide.

Here is my approach to the thesis.

In light of the current development in Nigeria, it is incumbent on the part of the vocal northern intellectuals to rebel in principle against the age-old oligarchy system of government prevalent in the northern region to collaborate with the progressives nationwide, to create a political culture that will stand the test of time and benefit everyone equally. 

Given the scale of unrest in the north, rebelling against the feudal philosophy that perpetuates the caste system, becomes a moral obligation, because (1), it is the right thing to do given the level of discontent as well as the total disconnect between the nouveau riche and the Talakawa. (2), the obscene wealth flowing to some individual families in the north from lucrative oil blocs appropriated during the past military regimes is more than necessary to develop the region, and (3), the unpredictable nature of the class warfare that will engulf the area and the spillover effect to the other parts of the country, should status quo remains unchanged, is more potent than imagined. 

Therefore, it is imperative on the part of the Mavericks and militant intellectuals of the North to either step out of their protective closets and align with progressive southerners to build sustainable human and economic development throughout the northern region and Nigeria at large, or remain ensconced in your El Dorado and suffer the Muammar Qaddafi's foolhardiness in the long run. Time is of the essence. 

CHALLENGES BEFORE NIGERIAN PROGRESSIVES

I have no doubt in my mind that a progressive administration - precisely at the national level, devoid of ethnic or religious colouration - is our best hope given the level of discontent on campuses and the apparent disconnect between the governed and successive governments since independence. Until we have a genuine leader who espouses financial discipline, transparency, and accountability in the management of our wealth, we cannot make tomorrow better than today.

Given the fact that the present administration has not exhibited any modicum of rebellion against the status quo in terms of ideas and war against corruption, the earlier progressives of all shapes and stripes unite around a bold agenda and unseat the power clique the better for the nation at large. And that, my friends, is the surest route to emancipating and reinventing the Nigerian man inside of every one of us.

Therefore, this paper is more of a progressive pitch, making a case for (1), the need for Southern progressives and Northern mavericks and intellectuals to unite and rebel against greed and feudal principles to avert imminent class warfare. (2), that given the seemingly fragile state of our sovereignty, the idea of a Sovereign National Conference, though well-intended, should not be a 'take it or leave it' option because there are too many uncertainties surrounding its successful evolution within a definite period. (3), that progressives and mavericks - with a uniform political and socio-economic agenda nationwide - stand a better chance at uniting this country and arresting the ills that facilitate religious intolerance, greed, corruption, and political assassinations, and (4), that the ruling class - from north to south and east to west - often times capitalizes on existing ethnic mistrust to perpetuate their dominance of the political forces at the perils of the greater majority. Therefore, defeating them in a democratic setting is morally imperative. March 2012. 

My comment, is today, May 30, 2021. 

They congregate and after a series of meetings and deliberations, a patchwork was born - the APC. Regrettably, the party that came out of the coalition and won the 2015 Presidential election, did not form the government. I repeat APC did not form a government - General Buhari and the unknown forces did. And they have been in power since May 29, 2015. 

And who are these unknowns? 

They are the purveyors and beneficiaries of the caste system and feudalism that the thesis targeted. You do have a good understanding of feudalism, with the unhinged Almajiri culture and the helplessness of the Talakawas, you no longer need a tutorial on the concept of the caste system. 

The Talakawas and the Almajiri population are the ready tools for jihad, ethnic cleansing, land-grabbing mechanisms, and rigging of elections. So, their espousal of the Boko Haram principles is rooted in the caste system and dominance. 

They are amoebic, they come in different forms in different administrations. With them, ethnic loyalty and the awe of the superiority complex developed from the conquest of the native northerners hundreds of years ago remain unquenched. Whether in military uniforms or agbada, their loyalty is never to the green white green. 

But for the Customs and Immigration Services and the Crude Oil in the Niger Delta, this country would have been gone long ago. 

Let's not make pretence about it, a superiority complex that is built on unproven strength is hard to dislodge, especially when the opposing team is susceptible to capitulation, compromises, and accommodation in every dispute or confrontation. 

In light of the mess that President Buhari and his folks made of this thesis and the progressive mandate, the demand for Decentralization of power is now unassailable. NEVER TRUST A PARASITE WHO TAKES YOUR CIVILITY, EGALITARIANISM, AND PATRIOTIC FERVOR FOR WEAKNESS. 

OVERCOMING THE ALMAJIRI SCOURGE

It is surmountable. The Almajiri culture is surmountable. It is a gradual process. For those who are already in the system, you start by integrating their Quranic or Arabic studies with Western or regular school curricula until the culture (Almajiri) is completely eliminated. This was followed by discouraging parents from sending their children to Imam and Sheikhs out of state for caring and upbringing. You do that by providing social support and making schools available and within walking distance from homes in every community. I wrote a paper on it. President Jonathan experimented on it. President Buhari abandoned it.

His "Boys" are busy chasing me from pillar to post, hacking my accounts with enthusiastic abandon. To the extent of publishing the password of my email addresses on a dangerous website. They cloned some folks' email accounts and used them to invade my messenger, mocking me stridently. While we are focusing on solutions and how to move Nigeria forward, on the other hand, they are doing everything dangerously possible to silence the voices and opinions of the real patriots in other to perpetuate in office a very dangerous human being - an unrepentant racist and a bigot who has never pretended to accept the notion that Nigeria is one country.

He has taken feudalism to a scale unprecedented in the history of our amalgamation. He cherishes and values quality education, but not for every Nigerian child. And he surrounded himself with characters who escalated the worst in him about nation-building, accountability, rule of law, and equal rights and justice. His Attorney General has become a law unto himself - a Gestapo kingpin, devoid of human kindness and professional ethics training. They sent armed men in a mafia-style to private homes to kill and hunt down perceived enemies.

These people are the most dangerous set of political operatives the world has ever seen. This is no longer about APC vs PDP, it is The Buhari's Men vs the rest of us. That's how they see the struggle and that's the fight they fight.

Is this how to rule a country? You could trace me all over the United States; invading my workspace, bank accounts, Facebook account, and email address, but you can't trace the Bandits who are terrorizing the entire North, killing Nigerians, taking over our villages and communities, and spilling blood all over our lustrous landscape. And you want me to be quiet, writing about entertainment and music! Give me the Amajiri, and in three years all the emerging deviants roaming our streets, begging for money will be in classrooms, learning. I know I can do it because I am the author of the almajiri integrative education model.

REMINISCING ON THE "THERE'S IT" VIDEO BY THE SHALAMAR MUSICAL GROUP AND OUR TEENAGE YEARS

I just can't stop loving them. Looking at this video will remind you how young these three guys were at the time. Growing up in Nigeria in the late 70s and 80s, playing and listening to their music, we didn't realize they were in the same age bracket. But they were already living their dream, while we were still battling with our West Africa School Certificate - O' Level Examination.

Despite all the odds, we rock. We party hard. And we study hard (awoko). We didn't know sadness. Whether a Boarding student or not, every student looks up to the Long Holiday period (June, July, and August) with excitement. Who can forget the "Send Off Party" organized around June in honor of all the graduating students from your community? It was fun. Sad to say, Nigerian recent generations do not even know what a "Long Holiday" is, due to the massive disruptions of our academic calendar. And I pray the situation gets better at home soon.

UP FROM SLAVERY: THE AUTOBIOGRAPHY OF BOOKER T. WASHINGTON

I highly recommend this book as a compulsory read for American Middle School students, especially schools in predominantly African American School Districts. Why Middle School? Because the dropout rate of African American students is prevalent in High School. In other words, if they are exposed very early in their academic life, to the struggles and sacrifices made by an educator like Booker T. Washington to be able to go to school as a grown-up teenager, I have no doubt in my mind that school exposure, such awareness will go a long way to inspire them, rejig their interest in education, and ultimately, curtail the High School dropout rate in the Black communities. And if Mr. Spike Lee, Tyler Perry, Oprah Winfrey, Will Smith, Denzel Washington, Van Jones, Ice Cube, Eddy Murphy, Keenen Ivory Wayans, Nick Cannon, Viola Davis, Robert Townsend, Gary Gray, Ava DuVernay, Forest Whitaker, etc., reading this, I sincerely hope and pray they find the time and resources to bring "Up From Slavery" to our living rooms. That he later made friends with American Presidents in life is immaterial. The "never give up" attitude he exhibited to acquire elementary education when no one was there to inspire and guide him should be integrated into the Great American Hip Hop Culture.

THE FINAL CHAPTER OF MICHAEL JACKSON

The world liked and loved him, but he didn't like himself. I used to have his pictures all over my wall at the university, and I idolized him endlessly and unconditionally. He was the best there was in dancing and entertainment, and the World loved him for the love he gave. The "Off The Wall" Album's picture was the best we had of him. He had problems with the looks and colours of the man in the mirror. All the skin disease excuses are not tenable. There was nothing wrong with his nose; he bruised and battered it trying to make it look like that of his friend, Elizabeth Taylor. He had numerous battles with nature. Thus, allowing Sony Music to accelerate his death. They had a $25,000.00 weekly paid Medical Doctor by his bedside who regulated his sleeping and waking up with the aid of gas. Even when Sony Music knew that the man they were milking and filming and recording was dead walking, they didn't take him to a regular hospital. They kept "knocking him out" with artificial devices to sleep and waking him up at their regulated time. They succeeded in isolating him from his friends and immediate family members. And the man died when nature went on holiday.

The Trial and Conviction of Trayvon Martin: A Common Sense Analysis.

"You can stand your ground if you're white, and you can use a gun to do it. But if you stand your ground with your fists and you're black, you're dead." - David Simon, the Creator of the "Wire" and numerous other TV series. http://tv.yahoo.com/blogs/tv-news/-the-wire--creator-david-simon-on-trayvon-martin-case---ashamed--to-be-an-american-011408813.html

They shot him. They tried him. And they found him guilty. They found him guilty of allegedly inflicting cuts on the head of a racist aggressor masquerading as a vigilante. Yes, Martin was his name - a vivacious young fellow, a child-man with a beautiful heart the whole world has come to know as the unarmed black teenager, ambushed and killed in cold blood by a vigilante Zimmerman for simply being black. 

He was walking along a familiar path that he had every right to be at. Sadly, throughout the trial, the world never had the slightest opportunity - not even by reference - to see the bruised and battered body that shielded the bleeding and mutilated heart of Trayvon Martin. 

The bloody nose of the vigilante bigot was on full display on the TV and on the pages of Newspapers throughout the trial, but nothing was said of the bullet-ridden and mangled heart of an innocent child with no criminal history. No doubt, Trayvon could have been President Barack Obama 35 years ago as the President rightly stated during his address to the nation following the acquittal of Zimmerman. Indeed, Trayvon could have been any black teenager at the moment. And to the black race, there is every Trayvon in every one of us, and that is the more reason that his story is, and will always be our story. 

Twice I tried to watch the trial, and twice I cried. Twice I cried, because guilty or not guilty the world would never see Trayvon again. And that's the tragedy of the story - a vivacious and lovely child man gone so soon. Gone forever through the fatal bullets fired by a trigger-happy vigilante whose responsibility it was to be the “eyes and ears" of the Police and to "report suspicious activities" to law enforcement agencies - not to accost, not to ambush, not to confront, and not to shoot at point-blank at any a "Trayvon Martin" who was not committing any crime. 

Seeing Trayvon, Zimmerman momentarily went blank - he decided to forget the scope of his assignment and what he was trained to do in the circumstance that he was in - report. In addition, Zimmerman failed to heed the timely warning of the 911 Operator who told him DO NOT FOLLOW THE GUY. Zimmerman protested, arguing that 'they always allow these punks' to get away. In his mind, this time, this very one, this Trayvon Martin, is not going away a free man - he is black, and therefore, he is suspicious activity, one intent on committing a crime and deserving of death. He must be stopped. And true he did. 

He confronted Trayvon and he shot and killed him in cold blood while the young man was defending himself. Juror B37 told Anderson Cooper of CNN that Trayvon threw the first punch, therefore, Zimmerman must walk free. And he did walk free. We will come to that later.

Trayvon had every right to be where he was when Zimmerman confronted him - he was walking home minding his own business. Zimmerman knew that he, Zimmerman, was carrying a loaded weapon when he accosted and confronted Trayvon. Zimmerman was never a Police Officer. Besides, Zimmerman, as a private citizen, was not in a position to make a "citizen arrest" when he accosted and confronted Trayvon because Trayvon was not committing any crime. Again, he was simply minding his own business, walking along a familiar path he had every right to be at. In other words, Zimmerman had no right in law,, equity, or morals to confront Trayvon when he did, except of course that he saw a black guy - a punk who "they always allow to get away."

When Zimmerman failed to heed the Godly warning of the 911 Operator, who specifically told him not to follow Trayvon, Zimmerman had his mind made up. This punk, this time, is not getting out of here a free man. Zimmerman parked his car and walked up to Trayvon. A fight ensured, he pulled his semi-automatic weapon and fired at Trayvon, killing him instantly, and in cold blood. Just like that. 

He told the Police that he acted in self-defence, according to the articles of Florida Stand-Your-Ground-Law. The six white Floridan women jury concurred, claiming that Trayvon threw the first punch.  

Trayvon who is dead, and not in a position to tell his side of the story, or to display his bruised and battered body to the jury and the world, was found guilty and convicted of a crime he did not commit - a violent encounter he took all the necessary steps to avoid. "The man keeps following me," he told his friend.

Zimmerman told the world that he was simply defending himself under Florida Stand-Your-Ground-Law and that he was the one who cried for help. The Jury believed him and they set him free. 

From what we have heard so far from Juror B37, she was never in any mood to convict Zimmerman. She had her mind made up from the very beginning of the trial that Zimmerman would walk free. In her calculation, 'Stand Your Ground Law' or not, Trayvon, by birth and by inclination (a black man), was an aggressor, and always a potential aggressor. Proof or no proof, corroboration or no corroboration, he was the aggressor. He must die. And he died.

Under American criminal law, an aggressor cannot plead self-defence, unless the aggressor (that's the one who initiated the confrontation) successfully renounces the aggression or totalling withdraws from the aggression. Here, Zimmerman who parked his vehicle walked towards the innocent child, and started a fight did not at any time beat a retreat until he shot Trayvon to death.  

Juror B37 told Anderson Cooper of CNN that Trayvon threw the first punch. Really? Madam, were you there? She laboured disdainfully to find all the excuses in the book to empathize with Zimmerman and to justify his action - Trayvon threw the first punch, and he must die. Zimmerman went beyond the scope of his brief and defied instructions. 

As a vigilante, Zimmerman was not making any ‘citizen arrest’ when he confronted Trayvon because he was not in a position to do so – Trayvon was not committing any crime.

If race was not a factor as Juror B37 is telling the whole world, the question still is: what was Zimmerman’s reason for accosting Trayvon? Truth is being black, in the instant case, made Trayvon a suspicious activity/object. Same reason that Zimmerman defied standing order as he was trained to do. In the mind of Zimmerman, killing an unarmed black teenager is no big deal. 

Zimmerman was trained to be the "eyes and ears" of the Police and to "report any suspicious activities" accordingly. Confronting Trayvon he didn't remember all that. He accosted him and shot him in cold blood, even when the 911 Operator told him not to follow Trayvon. It is the same reason that Juror B37 could not find grace in her soul to empathize with the departing soul of Trayvon and his family. 

Race was why Juror B37 and her colleagues found no scruple concluding that Trayvon threw the first punch and deserved to die. 

Trayvon told his friend on the phone about someone trailing him and he cannot evade him. That someone is Zimmerman, who eventually came down from his car and confronted the helpless black teen, despite a standing order not to do so. 

It was all about hatred and malice. But the jurors pretended that the circumstances of the case did not present malice. In their so-called colour-blind reasoning, Zimmerman was simply doing his job the wrong way - just living his passion for hatred of people like Trayvon Martin. Punks who always get away. 

Trayvon was where he had all the rights in the world to be - walking home, minding his own business. And he died in cold blood from the fatal and unkind bullet fired by a heartless vigilante who told Sean Hannity of Fox News Network that God wants it that way. 

No. God did not want it that way, Zimmerman. God did intervene to save Trayvon and set him free when the 911 Operator told you not to follow the teenager. 

You confronted Trayvon and initiated a fight knowing full well that you had a loaded semi-automatic weapon to accomplish your goal. What were you trying to do when you parked your car and confronted Trayvon? You're not a Police Officer trying to arrest a suspect running from a crime scene.

Was Trayvon committing any crime? Did you see him running away from a crime scene? Did Trayvon pull you out from inside of your moving vehicle to start "banging your head at the sidewalk?" 

Would you have confronted him if you were not carrying a loaded weapon? Trayvon was never in a position to "bang your head at the sidewalk" - if that was the case - but for the fact that you came down from your vehicle and initiated a fight. 

What exactly were you trying to accomplish when you parked your vehicle and walked up to him? To arrest him or to throw him out of the complex? At what point did the first punch land? Was it when you were interrogating him or when you were trying to force him out of the Apartment Complex?

Jury B37 cooked up a bogus and unsubstantiated theory to set Zimmerman free - Trayvon threw the first punch. So he must die. 

From the onset, her goal was to set Zimmerman free and write a bestseller. In the end, she prevailed on other jurors to abandon facts for fiction in the hope of securing a bestseller deal, to profit financially from the gruesome killing of an unarmed Trayvon. The whole world said no to her calculated mischief. You cannot profit from the blood of a helpless soul, killed for doing nothing wrong. 

Stand-Your-Ground-Law, good or bad, was meant to protect those who are in the precarious situation that Trayvon found himself in; not a Zimmerman who was fishing for chances to unload his loaded weapon on any moving black object. Zimmerman's conduct was calculated - a deliberative malicious act, without question. 

Now, only Zimmerman can say exactly what went wrong and why he discharged his weapon on an innocent Trayvon. Juror B37 and her unwilling colleagues did not take into account how Zimmerman instigated the confrontation. It came up to be about the first punch. 

At this juncture, what is not contentious is the fact that Zimmerman does murder sleep and he shall sleep no more. The blood and the bleeding heart of Trayvon are on his head. The smile that was on his face the very moment the jury announced that he, Zimmerman, did not commit any crime is going to be his last public smile. Those who live by the sword shall die by the sword. 

We cannot stop being black. We are created black and we are proud of our blackness. At this moment we have every right to defend ourselves by any means necessary and to stop the like of Zimmerman who thinks and believes that being black is a suspicious activity. Enough is enough. 

To be continued -

NIGERIA AND THE DISAPPEARANCE OF POLITICAL IDENTITY (IDEOLOGICAL BENT)

In Nigeria, jumping from one political party to another in pursuit of personal political ambition is a celebrated normal. The concept of ideological bent or political leaning is now an aberration.

In Nigeria, we don't even know who is a Liberal, Progressive, Conservative, or Socialist anymore. When the outcome of the Primaries conflicts with their ambitions, they go about fishing for alternative platforms to perpetuate themselves in power.

Reading from my history book, in the First Republic, Chief Obafemi Awolowo of Action Group (AG) couldn't structure a workable alliance with Sir Ahmadu Bello of the Northern People Congress (NPC), because they couldn't agree on Free Education at all levels program and Free Healthcare for those who cannot afford that Papa Awo brought to the table. And Awo worked away.

Ahmadu Bello and Balewa wouldn't take any of Awo's populist appeals, and they went to Dr. Namdi Azikiwe of NCNC, who willingly agreed to align and to be compensated with the post of a ceremonial President, while Balewa took charge as the Premier of the new nation.

In a similar vein, the same scenario played out between Papa Awo of the UPN and Alhaji Shehu Shagari of the NPN in the Second Republic. Papa Awo brought Free Education at all levels and Free Healthcare to the negotiation table, but NPN wouldn't oblige to his demands.

Consequently, the two camps walked away. And as expected, Chief Nnamdi Azikiwe of NPP, went into alliance with NPN, a negotiation that culminated in the infamous "Accord Concordia," wherein a few Ministerial posts were ceded to the NPP.

About a week before his death, Mr. Dan Agbese of the Newswatch magazine, wrote, when (Papa Awo) is gone, he would be remembered as the best President Nigeria ever had. And when death eventually came, the Ikemba of Nnewi, Odumegwu Ojukwu, declared, he (Papa Awo) was the best President Nigeria ever had. Indeed he was. Many years after his death, we are yet to see another Nigeria so eloquently eulogized or revered in life and death.

That's what being a conscientious and principled leader is about. It is believing in something and standing for something. Papa Awo refused to go into coalition, without carrying along his cardinal blueprint for seeking political office. It wasn't about him or his lieutenants, but the people he wanted to serve. That love for the people is missing in the power struggle of the moment in Nigeria. Yes, let them dance naked. It will serve as a deterrent to other opportunists.

DECENTRALIZATION WITHOUT DISINTEGRATION:

INTRODUCTION

“Why can’t we have a system of government that will create what I will call the United States of Nigeria? Let me explain. We all know that we must restructure. It is either we restructure, or we break up, you don’t have to be a prophet to know that. That is certain – restructure or we break up." The General Overseer, the Redeemed Christian Church of God (RCCG), Pastor Enoch Adeboye – The Guardian October 04, 2020.

What exactly is restructuring, and why is it perceived by the Northern traditional rulers and the majority of Northern political leaders as subversive manoeuvring by Southerners to dismantle Nigeria through the back door. Not exactly – it’s quintessentially a false narrative developed to perpetuate age-old dominance and frustrate the inevitable. Without mincing words, the fear is unfounded, and it is rooted in greed, followed by an inordinate sense of entitlements, and a superiority complex. We were there before the outbreak of the Civil War and the discovery of crude oil.

Restructuring as a political concept was made popular by the former Soviet leader, Mikhail Gorbachev in 1985 when he demanded and launched a new era of glasnost (openness) and perestroika (restructuring). His groundbreaking theory did not only lay the foundation for the dismantling of the monstrosity called the USSR (The Union of the Soviet Socialist Republic), it saved the second most powerful military nation on earth from self-annihilation. And in 1991, the huge union devolved into 15 nation-states of an equal part. 

Today, the Russians are no longer trooping to Europe to seek political asylum, and no more Soviet Scientists and professors flock to the United States of America to engage in the taxi business. As you read, the nation of Ukraine is on the verge of imminent annihilation, and Putin’s Russia, with its new wealth and revival of its nuclear arsenal, is daring NATO and the rest of the world to physical combat.

Also, the six nation-states (Serbia, Montenegro, Slovenia, Macedonia, Croatia, and Bosnia and Herzegovina) that emerged from the former Yugoslavia are happier now than ever before. No more bloodshed or threats of ethnic cleansing. 

There is no doubt, the benefits of Restructuring and True Federalism cannot be overemphasized.

DEFINING THE CONCEPTS – CONFEDERAL, FEDERAL, AND UNITARY SYSTEM.

A Federal system of government involves the delegation of power between the central government, the federating states, and local councils. The ability of the component states to manage their resources, raise revenues, participate in the ratification of the national constitution, make laws, provide security, and regulate the general well-being of the citizens within their geographical and political boundaries are some of the fundamental elements of a Federal system of governments.

A Federal system is a midway between a unitary system (where the central governments delegate power and authority to the states and local governments), and a Confederacy system (where the component states command a large degree of autonomy and are more powerful than or as powerful as the central government).

In a Confederacy arrangement, the central government only exercises the power and authority reserved for it or delegated to it by the component states. In other words, the component states dominate the central governments and operate as semi-independent nation-states. Canada and Switzerland are some of the few countries where the Confederacy is presently in operation. The late Chief Olu Aboderin, the publisher of the Punch newspaper was the first Nigerian to advocate for a confederation option. And the late Chief Bisi Onabajo of Ogun State took it up from where Mr. Aboderin left off.

Constitutionally, Nigeria is a Federal system, but in reality, we operate a unitary system of government. Today, the component states in the federation cannot fend for themselves and cannot survive on their own, without monthly allocations from the central governments. The Thirty-Six States in the federation are like local councils - a true replica of a unitary model - where the centre is more powerful than the whole. That was never the intention of our Founding Fathers.

In sum, Nigeria, without any iota of doubt, is becoming too large and too complex for the leadership at the national level to manage and govern effectively as one independent whole. The devolution of certain responsibilities of the central government to the regional governments will make for efficiency, and no doubt, curtail the massive scale of corruption, embezzlement, and prodigious squandering of our riches prevalent at the national level.

A HISTORICAL PERSPECTIVE OF A DISTORTED FEDERALISM (How Did We Get Here)?

The perversion of our Federal system began from the time of Sadauna of Sokoto, Sir Ahmadu Bello, the Premier of the old Northern Region. His expansionist zeal, geographically speaking, was blatantly inconsistent with the concept of Federalism. Following our independence in 1960, he settled in Kaduna, rather than joining forces with his peers in Lagos to form a Government and be saddled with the 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, consolidated his political and religious conquest of the Southern Protectorate. To him, the concept of Nigeria was simply an aberration, to wit: we are not one nation with one goal or destiny, but a confederation of states. He simply didn’t want the Northern region to be subservient to the authority in Lagos.

He resisted every attempt to create another region (Middle Belt) out of the then humongous Northern Region, fully conscious of the aftermath: Doing so would diminish his command and control of the more significant part of the country. Nevertheless, he championed the creation of the Midwestern Region, calculated to erode the territorial spread of Action Group, with the ultimate goal of diluting Pa Awo's influence and visibility on the national stage. And it happened, judging by the outcome of the election that took place following the creation of the Midwestern Region in 1963.

As events unfolded, especially after the civil war, that clandestine manoeuvring 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 headed the government at the national level, they dismantled the untouchable Northern region into bits and pieces in the form of new states and LGCs. And the reasons were obvious. To channel more federal funds into every nook and cranny of the region, coupled with electoral advantages and numerical strength at the National Assembly.

In other words, the more states and local government councils a region commands, the more federal funds accrue to the region monthly. In a similar vein, the more states and local government councils you have, the more Senatorial Districts and House of Reps Constituencies you command. In translation, the more members you have at the National Assemblies, with all its attendant abuses and distortions of the legislative process, the more control you exert over what becomes of Nigeria. Don’t forget the passage of the Petroleum Industry Bill into law.

Except for the short period of Aguiyi Ironsi's unitary system (under the Unification Decree of 1966 or 67), Nigeria, since independence, has been at the mercy of northern intellectuals, technocrats, and Military Officers on the issue of the system of government that we embrace as a nation-state.

Why is that distortion an issue today? It is an issue because the unintended consequences abound and they outweigh the main objectives. It changes the dynamics of our federal system of government and all its attributes. Dismantling the country into smaller units has supplanted the Federal system with a unitary model – a system of government that is resistant to competition. And it has created in the occupant of Aso Rock, a horrendous power that is blatantly inconsistent with democratic values. And that brings us to the thesis of this essay. How we overcome that anomaly is where we are going next.

 ANALYSIS

The complexities inherent in the governance of Nigeria as a single sovereign nation, as we have seen and experienced over the years, make distorted federalism expendable. Over the decades, it has been proven beyond doubt that the Federal Government cannot police and protect our wealth and riches. At the same time, it lacks the ability and the strategic wherewithal to manage and apply the wealth and the riches equitably for sustainable use and benefit for everyone. Therefore, there is no reasonable ground for allowing the central government to remain in total and perpetual control of the wealth and riches of our great nation. Thus, making the call for decentralization of power from the over-bloated central government to the component units or regional councils a compelling consideration.

In the words of Professor Wole Soyinka, ”Nigeria has proved too large and inefficient for the centralized identification and management of such human skills and material resources, the centre has 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!” Professor Wole Soyinka: "Mission The Future" - A Speech Delivered at the 2nd South-South Economic Summit in Asaba. 03/25/2014

Suppose in the event you have any course to doubt or question the brutal optimism of our Noble Laureate on Decentralization of Power, in that case, you will no doubt be consoled and reassured by the eloquence of the former Governor of Lagos State, Raji Fashola in his Liberating and Coordinating Diversity” speech at Johns Hopkins University, SAIS, DC, the United States of America on April 2013.

According to the former Governor, “The realization of these demands [Decentralization of Power and True Federalism] on their own may not necessarily leapfrog us into El Dorado, but without them, the journey will be torturous. If they materialize, they liberate the possibilities that lie inherent in the diverse capacities that the Nigerian states and local governments are blessed with. In that event, the Federal Government will not be without authority or responsibility but, in my view, it will be better able to coordinate the diversities for mutual prosperity." Excellent! Excellent! Excellent!

That was Mr. Fashola (SAN) in 2013, he diligently and constructively articulated the ills of our present federal system and why it must be rejected for True Federalism to thrive. So, why is he not making the same argument today? I have no clue. Thank God, we have his works handy and we can conveniently cite them - as we're doing now - to convince the doubting Thomas that the monstrosity at Abuja is not sustainable.

At this juncture, I would seek your indulgence to hear from the Minister of Transportation, the former Governor of River State on the issue of resource control. He was blunt and thought-provoking beyond expression. Speaking at the retreat organized by the Senate Committee on Constitution Review, SCCR, in Asaba, the Delta State Capital, Governor Amaechi said: “We want the Federal Government to reduce the responsibilities that they have as well as the resources that they have because I am first of all a Rivers citizen before I became a Nigerian.” Unbelievable. He is not done, yet.

Making one of the strongest arguments for the State Police that day, Amaechi said: “I used Rivers resources to train 300 policemen; these policemen were trainedIndeed 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 to abrogate 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. by the Israelis. We had an understanding with the police authorities in Abuja that they would remain in Rivers for some time after their training. But the moment a certain IGP came, just because he did not like a certain Amaechi, he posted the policemen out. But if we have State police, such a thing will never happen.” True Federalism: The plots of our governors - Vanguard, August 22, 2010.

There is nothing wrong with the views that Mr. Rotimi propounded here, but why is he reluctant now to speak up? Again, I have no clue.

In the opinion of Governor El'Rufai: “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 El'Rufai - Sahara Reporters, May 10, 2012. Hate him or love him, Mallam El’Ruffai, a Northern Fulani Muslim, has not deviated one bit from his position on True Federalism.

In principle, there is nothing wrong with federalism or the federal system of government. Ours became an aberration because the concept was abused, distorted, and manipulated by every administration at the national level since the end of the civil war and the crude oil windfall. However, after a repeated perusal of the opinions of Fashola, Amaechi, and El'Rufai on the subject, I'm still short of words to explain my perplexity over President Buhari's demurral in organizing a national conference and decentralizing the system accordingly. In the words of Pastor Adeboye, "We all know that we must restructure. It is either we restructure, or we break up, you don’t have to be a prophet to know that.

MOVING FORWARD

For true federalism and decentralization to take hold and subsist in Nigeria, resource control and the introduction of the State Police Commthe Federal Government cannot police and protect our people, and our wealth, and at the same time lacks the ability and the wherewithal to manage and apply the wealth for sustainable use are the first steps.

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 to 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. That brings us to the highlight 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 the resultant structural decay. They are 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 you and me. Because maintaining the status quo is the shortest distance to anarchy, disintegration, or a bloody revolution. It is the structure that breeds leadership with questionable character. Fix the structure, and you fix the leadership crisis. And it must start with the decentralization of Abuja.

With the rue federalism or semi-autonomous status for the federating states as envisaged by our Founding Fathers, coupled with the decentralization of power at the centre, the struggle for the control of Aso Rock would diminish drastically. In other words, if we decentralize the power and the resources under the control of Aso Rock; and create the right incentives for the federating states within the union to manage their people and the natural resources within their geographical boundaries, the animosity wrecking our political system, and the "do or die" approach that encapsulates pursuit of power at the federal level would ebb significantly. It is that simple.

ON STATE POLICE

With the evolution of true federalism (semi-autonomy for the federating states), State Police would be a welcome development. In that case, Mobile Police and Highway Patrol (Federal Trooper) should remain under the exclusive control of the Federal Government. Highway Patrol should be merged with the Federal Road Safety Commission to manage Federal Institutions, Foreign offices and Institutions, and Federal Highways. The Mobile Police Unit should be transformed into a SWAT TEAM for rapid response assignments nationwide. On the other hand, the regular Police should now be under the control and command of the respective State Governments. The respective states and local government councils, should, as necessary, set up their own special forces for emergency deployment.  

ON RESOURCE CONTROL

Given that crude oil is the mainstay of our economy, it would be disingenuous on our part to demand or suggest that the oil-producing states should assume exclusive control and ownership of the mineral resources (oil and gas) in their respective states at this stage. That would be economically suicidal for some states, especially in some parts of the country where there is 100% reliance on the federal government for their sustenance. Presently, in most parts of the country where natural resource deposits do exist, they lack the funding and technical capacity to embark on exploratory activities at a commercial scale. It requires massive capital infusion, an efficient labour force, and planning. We cannot rule out the accommodation of Private Public Partnership (PPP) initiatives and Foreign Direct Investment (FDI) by the states in this category. 

Therefore, we suggest that the oil-producing states exercise control of the Onshore Mineral deposits in their respective states. The same standard should apply as well in other states in the federation regarding the ownership and control of mineral resources. On the other hand, Offshore Mineral deposits (oil and gas) within a certain limit of our Economic Exclusion Zone or Continental Shelf should be under the exclusive control and ownership of the federal government - that is part of the Nigerian territorial water, which should not belong to the coastal states.

Mr. Alex Ehi Aidaghese