DEBATING DANGOTE 

It is NOT about Dangote. It is about the system that creates the absurdity. Nigerians should Debate the system in light of the absurdity and similar occurrences, and not Dangote per se. If 25% of the social media hours that Nigerians devoted to debating Biden vs Trump are devoted to debating the anomalies that encapsulate closure of our borders, Abuja will consider a rethink or review the measure by now. Cattle Colony was not taken off the table because the faceless authors of the policy at the Ministry of Agriculture consider it repugnant. It happened because you said no - NOT in my backyard. So, my friends, it's time we - individually and collectively - rethink and rebel against our capacity for tolerance. 

Mr. El'Rufai and Gen. Buhari when President Goodluck Jonathan and Lt. Gen. Azubuike Ihejirika

Sir, how do you factor in the success story recorded by the Chadian troops who invaded Nigeria and killed thousands of the Boko Haram sect about a year ago as well as the near annihilation of the sect recorded by Lt. Gen. Azubuike Ihejirika (Rtd) before he was removed by President Jonathan as CAS into your clueless treatise? I still remember vividly the threat from Mr. El'Rufai to bundle Ihejirika before the World Court at the Hague for a war crime prosecution. So, my friend, I firmly believe that there are ample proofs to support the conclusion that the Boko Haram scourge is surmountable. If we remove the appeasement factor and are willing to deal with the sect as enemy combatants, and wage a true war of conquest reminiscent of the 1967/70 civil war, the sect will not last more than a month in the hands of Nigerian troops. 

I think that President Buhari and those managing the war against the sect cherish the life of the sect more than they cherish the life of the Nigerian men and women they are sending to the war front to fight. The "fifth columnists, or saboteurs that we cannot easily identify", are within the leadership of the Nigerian Armed Forces. The first step is for President Buhari to sack the Service Chiefs. Then, the entire leadership of the Nigerian Armed Forces MUST reflect Federal Character. By Federal Character, it goes beyond Yoruba, Igbo, and Hausa. What about Officers from the minority tribes? I recommend that the President appoint a minority Officer as the Chief of Army Staff and another minority to be in charge of recruitment and head of the frontal attack against the sect and insurgent terrorising the North Central region.

Truth is, on the war against the sect, I don't trust President Buhari and all the President Men in charge of the war. A picture of the cadaver or of a dead Boko Haram sect member irritates them. And that explains the enormity of the vituperation unleashed by Mr. El'Rufai and Gen. Buhari when President Goodluck Jonathan and Lt. Gen. Azubuike Ihejirika were fighting the sect. In other words, ethnic and religious factors are real. Unless we are willing to accept that premise, the theory of cluelessness in the war against the set will continue to gain traction, and we will continue to waste the precious lives of those we are sending to fight our war, and deplete our hard currency on unserviceable weapons in the process.

A Review of Governor Fayemi's Speech at Arewa House, Kaduna on October 31, 2020.

A few years ago, Governor El'Rufai came to Lagos for a conference, and he took the opportunity to lecture Lagosians on how to overthrow a godfather. It made major headlines at the time. It still does today. And no one is in a hurry to forget the speech. A few days ago, however, Dr. Fayemi, the Governor of Ekiti State, was invited to Kaduna by the "Centre for Historical Documentation and Research (Arewa House), Kaduna", as the 2020 speaker. And thanks to Governor El'Rufai of Kaduna State, I reproduced the speech verbatim and my Wall.

In the past few days, I searched for the speech on WhatsApp groups and on Facebook to see if it was making the rounds as usual, but nothing popped up. Hate him or love him, when Governor El'Rufai went to Lagos to lecture them on how to overthrow a godfather, it wasn't for the fun of it or because he so much loves Lagosians. It was in the fulfilment of work in progress, of a power grab at the centre that he envisioned, and to demystify a major challenger ahead of time.

So, when Dr Kayode travel to Kaduna to drum the overdue concept of True Federalism and equitable sharing formula of our natural resources into the ears of the Arewa Power Brokers, one expects the public affairs analyst of the Southern intelligentsia elite to give it the same wide coverage they gave Governor El-Rufai's sermon on the demolition of a godfather? Chances are that they didn't see or read the essay, or that it is too long to be worth their while, or data/wifi usage.

First, most Southern public affairs commentators lack or are highly deficient in the proper True Federalism or Restructuring narrative, and when they see one who does, they're easily distracted, or simply believe he has nothing to teach them.

Show me another Southerner in government today who, in recent times, had the audacity or the intellectual wherewithal to dwell on restructuring and power-sharing formula as vigorously and extensively as Governor Fayemi did a few days ago in Kaduna State? It is not just that he did or that he did it vigorously, but for the fact that he took the message to the major adversaries of True Federalism. They have a team, and they speak in one voice and take a stand. We assemble a team on an ad hoc basis, and we are not adept at fighting to win. We give press conferences without taking a stand. And that's why what we have and who we are as a nation-state are the true definitions of what they want.

First, we must learn to cherish creditable work when we see it. Until we learn to embrace others and take concrete steps to overcome our Mr. Know It All Syndrome, we will not be able to garner a concerted synergy to wage a formidable battle for the culmination of what we truly want out of the geographical expression called Nigeria.

Please, find below some excerpts from "UNFINISHED GREATNESS: Towards a More Perfect Union in Nigeria." Text of the Address by His Excellency, Dr. Kayode Fayemi, CON, Governor, Ekiti State, Nigeria and Chairman, Nigeria Governors’ Forum on the 50th Anniversary of the Centre for Historical Documentation and Research (Arewa House), Kaduna, Nigeria | Saturday, October 31, 2020

"Precisely because we have refrained from heeding the wise counsel of Shehu Usumanu Dan Fodiye in his book Bayan Wujub al-Hijra “One of the swiftest ways of destroying a State is to give preference to one particular tribe over another or to show favour to one group of people rather than another.” Reading through the research conducted by the Arewa Research Development Project, one of the foremost, contemporary research projects in Northern Nigeria, I was struck by the conclusion on one of the research projects, “In the contemporary world, issues of nation-building are increasingly being centred around citizenship rights and equality in accessing these rights, special and conscious efforts to safeguard minorities and disadvantaged groups, gender equality in political and socio-economic spheres of a nation, protection of cultural assets….” These are indeed conditions that will ensure political integration and progressive development."

"The evolution of Nigeria’s federalism has not served our best interests, and it is not surprising that there have been protests and attempts at constitutional reengineering. Two prominent examples were the 2005 Constitutional Reform Conference convened by President Obasanjo’s administration and the 2014 National Conference at the instance of President Jonathan’s administration. In the two conferences, one recurrent and topical issue remains how to remake and allocate powers and resources."

"However, the truth is that in a democratic dispensation, roots and branch structural changes (like region or state creation) would appear to be unrealistic as we cannot easily go back to the pre-1966 regional structure nor is the 54 federating units proposal of the 2014 conference realistic, no matter the appeal or attraction. Rather, our preoccupations should be, how can we better organise, mobilise, and collaborate for the inevitable task of stability, nation-building, and economic productivity?"

"Even at that, the more contentious parts of our quest for a more perfect union resonate/revolve around devolution of powers – that is, re-allocation of powers and resources and reconfiguring the country’s federating units. The reasons for this are not far-fetched. First, long years of military rule have produced a concentration of powers and resources at the centre to the detriment of the federating units. Two, the 1999 constitution, as has been argued by several observers, was hurriedly put together by the departing military authority and was not a product of sufficient inclusiveness. Part of the focus of the reconfiguring exercise should be: what items should remain on the exclusive legislative list and which ones should be transferred to the concurrent and residual lists? Other topical issues include derivation principle; fiscal federalism and revenue allocation; land tenure, local government creation, and autonomy, etc."

"Again, in arriving at a position on what ought to be in the quest for a more perfect union, I wish to further say that my sentiments are more associated with strengthening the sub-national units in the reallocation of powers and resources. The assignment of functions that would be consistent with a devolved but strengthened federal system would have a short, exclusive federal list focusing on national defence and security, macroeconomy, foreign affairs, customs, and excise; joint responsibility in respect of certain functions that are currently assigned exclusively to the federal government (for example, internal security and policing) and primary responsibility of the sub-national governments in respect of the other functions in the second schedule of the 1999 constitution whilst the remaining powers devolve to states."

"On revenue collection and sharing, the position of the Nigeria Governors’ Forum bears restating. It is that the sharing formula should be reviewed in favour of the states, especially given the argument of devolved responsibilities to the sub-nationals. In the context of the proposed new Federal structure, Governors have argued for a formula along the lines of 42% to states, 35% to the Federal government, and 23% to Local Governments."

"Remaking Nigeria through the devolution of powers and reorganisation of the federating units is an idea whose time has come. To quote Professor Attahiru Jega, again,, “by working hard and rationally, scientifically, to remove all the distortions in our federal system, we would have a better functioning federation with only states as federating units; with a conscious commitment to zonal cooperation among contiguous states, with local governments subsumed under states…with substantial devolution of power, responsibilities, and resources from the federal government to the states, and with mechanisms of ensuring greater equality of opportunity for all and affirmative action for the inclusion of the marginalised, minorities and groups discriminated against in the country…”[Jega:2017]"

"Equity, fairness, and justice are imperatives of a prosperous and progressive society. Peace is definitely not the absence of conflicts within a polity but indeed the presence of social justice. Excellencies, Royal Highnesses, Distinguished Guests, I leave you with another famous quotation from Shehu Usmanu Dan Fodiyo, which I understand had been the guiding principle of Sardauna’s leadership style in life. In his book, Bayan Wujub al-Hijra, the great Islamic reformer said, “A kingdom can endure with unbelief, but it cannot endure with injustice.” May we have the courage and the conviction to confront injustice in our country. I thank you for listening."

Dr. Kayode Fayemi, CON

Governor, Ekiti State, Nigeria

Chairman, Nigeria Governors’ Forum

Kaduna, Nigeria

October 31, 2020.