Date: 2017-09-28

The ruling All Progressives Congress (APC) committee on true federalism was in Ilorin on Monday where it collated views of stakeholders from Kwara, Kogi and Niger States on the lingering agitation for restructuring of the country. AHMED 'LATEEF writes on the forum held at the Banquet Hall, Government House, Ilorin.

If the preponderance of challenges of separatist agitation, resource control and quit notice (albeit withdrawn) from the East, South and North respectively are anything to go by, then the need to revisit the concept of Nigeria itself is inevitable.

The multitude of calls is also accentuated by clamour for restructuring, the latest in the series of the ongoing hot debate on the review of power sharing formula, allocation of resources, derivation and all other factors that made the central government to be perceived as too powerful.

In the ongoing agitation, the common belief is that the government at the centre wields power than it needs to the detriment of other federating units, especially the allocation of resources where it takes large chunk and leaves the two tiers of states and local governments to feed on crumbs.

One of the factors believed to have conferred undue advantage on the federal government is military intervention in the democratic dispensation following which operation of constitution, a legal document made through collective will of the masses, was kept at bay.

In 1963, three years after independence, Nigeria became a republic and began with a brand new constitution, operating parliamentary system with four regions as a template. Through this method, the North, East, West and Mid-West regions operated independently and developed at one another's pace devoid of undue interference from the government at the centre.

At that time, the power wielded by the central government was less in terms of resource control, security control among others. The period witnessed rapid development of each region where proceeds from cocoa sales in the West, date palm in the East and ground nut pyramid in the North were deployed to attend to their immediate and future needs.

However, in view of the enormity of power at the centre, agitation from right, left and centre had gathered momentum with eminent Nigerians advocating restructuring or what some others referred to as devolution of powers. By devolving powers, it is believed, would enable federating units develop at very fast pace contrary to the current status quo.

In order not be seen as reneging on the promise made ahead of the 2015 general elections to restructure the country if voted into power and coupled with the ceaseless agitation across the country, the All Progressives Congress (APC) recently constituted a committee headed by Governor Nasir Ahmed El-Rufai of Kaduna State to collect views, opinions and thoughts of Nigerians on what they felt is wrong with Nigeria as it is now and what could be done to tackle it headlong.

With urge to deliver on the mandate, the committee has embarked on tour of six geo-political zones of the country. It was the turn of three states of Kwara, Kogi and Niger States under North Central in Ilorin on Monday where stakeholders from the affected states dissected and poured out their minds on some of the problems they conceived were the bane of the country.

Governor Rauf Aregbesola of Osun State, who led the APC committee on True Federalism to Ilorin, said the party set up the committee on true federalism to aggregate the views of Nigerians on how the nation should be governed in line with the electoral promises made to the voting populace.

Aregbesola, who is a member of the committee, said the party made concerted effort to have a robust discussion in moving the country forward rather than forcing certain decisions on Nigerians.

"We have been existing for over 100 years. Before Nigeria was promulgated, there have been sections of Nigeria. We had Southern protectorate, we had the northern protectorate long before 1940 proclamation of Nigeria. This would be the first time that a conscious effort is being made by the political party in Nigeria to aggregate views, opinions and ideas about how we are going to see the Nigeria by ourselves, people of Nigeria.

"I must commend our party, the APC, for bringing up this at this time. We have been moving around to meet our people to voice their opinions on what nature of a nation we desire. It would be wrong of us to impose our views on the population of Nigeria, and that is why it is good do it together.

"Do not spare us your own contribution because we want a robust discussion. We want Nigerians to tell us how we are going to see their nation or federation, and the means and essence of federation is freedom to chart your own way, you must tell us what you desire without anybody forcing you, to go in a particular direction.

"Our party having made commitment during the election, to aggregate views about what nature of nation we want, how do we define our federation and how we could relate with one another. It is only proper for us to organize the public hearing as we have now", Aregbesola said.

In his speech, Kwara State Governor, Alhaji Abdulfatah Ahmed, called for a political economy of federalism that ensures class elevation and egalitarianism.

Ahmed observed that the core of the current agitation for true federalism or restructuring was a drive towards redistributing resources in an equitable manner.

He said any structure that meets the economic, and political aspirations of the majority of citizens will be welcomed.

"This dialogue should explore ways of ensuring the greatest good for the greatest number of our people. That, to me, is what we must address our minds to within the context of our federation or any other structure that we may come up with".

"The nationwide dialogue by APC on true federalism connects with its expressed commitment to making governance more meaningful to the people by changing the way people are governed, especially in terms of access to and allocation of resources.

Speaking through his Special Adviser on Political Matters, Mr Solomon Nyase, Governor Sani Bello of Niger State said the state was not in support of division of the country but for policies that would promote national unity and devolution of powers.

He told the forum that his state had collected the opinions of its stakeholders and resolved to committing to issues of national development.

Presenting the memorandum of Kwara State chapter of Trade Union Congress (TUC), its chairman, Nasir Kolawole Olumo, said it won't augur well for the country if the power is continuously concentrated at the centre.

He said a situation where the central government shares 56.4 percent while other tiers are allocated with the remainders, calls for urgent need to revisit the governance system of the country.

The TUC boss maintained that the weak federal system had given room for ethnicity and biased attitude and had retarded the nation's growth.

Olumo explained that the imbalance system has continually haunted the country with attendant inequity and injustice even among the working force, pointing out that workers at state level were being underpaid because of the prevailing defects in the system.

He said restructuring of the country would be incomplete without addressing issues of devolution of powers, resource control and equity in government.

Olumo also called for acceleration of the process of minimum wage, saying it was being unnecessarily delayed, just as he urged the APC committee on true federalism to include it in its report to the hierarchy of the party.

The representative of the state wing of Nigeria Union of Teachers (NUT), Alhaji Salihu Toyin, also lent credence to the call for upward review of percentages on allocation going to each state of the federation, adding that more powers should be given to states and local government areas.

The union opposed the call for creation of additional states, saying it was in the interest of the country to maintain the current 36 states.

The NUT also urged the federal government to revisit the management of agriculture and primary education and appealed to the federal government to hand them over to the state governments.

In his submission on behalf of the state chapter of Nigeria Union of Local Government Employees (NULGE), its state Deputy President, Mr Oloruntade Ibikunle, stressed the need to fast-track the processes on local government autonomy, declaring that it was heartening that many states, including Kwara, was supporting it.

He said true federalism allows other units to function properly but regretted that reverse was the case in Nigeria.

Ibikunle appealed for real fiscal federalism that would enable states and local government areas deliver optimally, just as he called for the establishment of management board for primary education to reduce unnecessary burden on the federal government.

The Chairman, Kwara State Christians Association of Nigeria (CAN), Professor Timothy Opoola, said there was need to put in place true federalism to douse agitation and ensure peaceful co-existence.

Opoola stated that the restructuring call was like re-negotiation of our existence as a nation, but insisted that the present state structure should be maintained unless the agitation for merger became plausible.

He said devolution of powers should reflect on agriculture and education where the second tier of government takes charge, adding that there was also need to return to parliamentary system (1963 Constitution).

The CAN chairman called on the government to maintain the secularity of Nigeria as it is.

At the end of the session, which lasted for some hours, the APC committee on true federalism led by Governor Aregbesola of Osun State assured that all views and opinions of participants would be chronicled in the final report due for submission to the top organ of the ruling party.