A return to regional structure

DEFINITELY, we are at cross roads and perhaps
at a cuI-de-sac. This explains why we have been
vacillating over our choice of system of

government, heated arguments over revenue
sharing formula, creation of more states, more
local government councils, resource control and
so on.
We become more incensed each passing day as
we haplessly see our economy collapsing rapidly
in addition to the massive decay of our
infrastructure, the unprecedented plundering of
our national economy by the managers of the
economy who rail roaded their way to power
either through the barrel of the gun or callous
rigging of elections. Also, the raging violence on
the land has conspired with all these to
compound our problems.
These man made problems have placed us in a
quagmire, constructing a way out becomes a
major problem. This is why public commentators
at various fora, proffer several solutions on the
way forward. Even in beer parlours, offices,
motor parks the debate continues endlessly as
the frustrations of the down trodden slides
deeper.
Reverting to the regional structure recently
brought to the fore by Chief Emeka Anyaoku, a
highly respected statesment and a patriot to the
core, needs to be examined. Advancing his
reasons in nostalgia like others who had
previously favoured this argument, recalled the
tremendous achievements recorded under that
arrangement, which was practiced in a very
competitive and exciting years of Nigeria’s
golden era of Federalism. He reminded us that
the nation was developing better unlike under the
present 36 states arrangement where many
states remain unviable and unable to pay salaries
of civil servants.
The former Secretary General of the
Commonwealth, reasoned that the 36 states
structure is burdensome because of the huge
resources spent on governance catering for 36
states houses of assembly and 36 judiciary
services. No one doubts the argument of our
statesman, but returning to the former regional
structure, will defmitely return us to the polemics
of the past, the cry of marginaliation, the a
gitation of more states that dominated the last
decade of the struggle for independence. Then
as the nationalists, clamoured for independence,
the northern and southern minorities were also
agitating for more states coupled with the Niger
Delta politicians asking for a fair deal. These
demands were the safety values the minorities
asked for hinged on wider participation in
governance.
With the 36 states created, there is wider
participation in governance not withstanding
some inherent man made problems. Going back
to the huge success of the former regions
before and after independence, we should not
forget that the regions were allowed to legislate
on the appropriate legislative lists approved by
the constitution.
The Federal Government then, legislated on
exclusive list, the regions legislated on
concurrent list along with the central
government, while the local governments were
left with the residual list. The governments of
the regions were resourceful, encouraged
agricultural development and export of
groundnut, cotton, hides and skin from the North,
cocoa, timber, rubber, palm products from the
west and East regions respectively. Revenue
from these sustained their regions, universities;
hospitals and several kilometres of roads were
built by the regional governments. The funding of
free education by the western region government
was solely from cocoa export.
The North also spent its resources to educate
northerners in its strive to bridge the wide
education gap between the North and the south.
The local governments recorded resounding
success, building and maintaining dispensaries,
rural feeder roads, don’t forget PWD of that era.
All these were possible when we had
constitutionalism at work, not now when we have
unitary government masquerading as federalism.
One can recall when late Chief Obafemi
Awolowo, the flag bearer of Unity Party of
Nigeria and his rival, late Dr. Nnamdi Azikiwe of
Nigerian Peoples Party replayed their rivalry of
the past when Chief A wolowo boasted that his
region had highest primary and secondary school
enrolment in the country while Zik boasted his
region built more kilometres of road.
That was Federalism at work. This is where the
failure of the 36 states was planned and
executed by the unpatriotic intrusion of the
military in national politics, a development, the
civilian regimes of the second Republic 1979 -
1983 and the current civilian regimes of 1999 to
date have been unable to reverses for the good
of the country.
The situation we found ourselves today is
painful, a situation that truncated the orderly
developments started by our founding fathers.
This is the making of our managers of resources,
the visionless, the scoundrels and buccaneers in
government who allowed the nation to careen.
The state and local governments cannot
generate fund, but go to the Abuja Santa Clause
for statutory allocation which is far more than
their Internally Generated Revenue (IGR).
A return to genuine and full federalism is the
panacea that will extricate us from this
quandary. Constitutionalism should be allowed to
thrive for rapid growth of Nigeria.
In this regard, all tiers of government - central,
States and Local Governments should share
powers as stipulated in the 1999 constitution.
The Local Governments should be freed from the
State governments’ mindless expropriation of its
powers as stated in Schedule Four of the
constitution.
Mr. Paul Orie, editor -in-chief , West Coast
Trader, wrote from Lagos.