Tinubu’s indifference to restructuring
Tinubu’s indifference to restructuring
IT is not the best of times for the proponents of restructuring in Nigeria. Uncomfortable with this, the pan-Yoruba socio-cultural organisation, Afenifere, again recently called on President Bola Tinubu to put machinery in motion to dismantle the flawed political system and restructure Nigeria. It is disappointing that after spending more than eight months in office, Tinubu has to be reminded about the restructuring of the country to reflect its natural federal status.
In the communiqué at the end of Afenifere’s meeting held at the Akure, Ondo State base of its leader, Reuben Fasoranti, the body said the unfortunate blast in Ibadan clearly underscored the need to allow the federating units in the country to control the mineral resources in their respective domains with particular reference to mining and exploration.
The reasoning behind this was that if states were in control of mining, the Oyo State Government was likely to know how explosives were being moved around.
Apart from the centre being in control of mining, several other provisions in the 1999 Constitution are antithetical to the letter and spirit of federalism. The brazen killings across the country reflect the flawed security system.
Before Tinubu assumed office, he was seen as an advocate of restructuring. Variously called “a democrat and federalist,” Nigerians thought he would drive the country’s quest for true federalism in which groups would have self-determination within the context of one country that is genuinely democratic. So far, his indifference on this has been loud.
In 2014, when then President Goodluck Jonathan convened a national conference to rework Nigeria, Tinubu said he did not attend because “it was not in the interest of the Yoruba people,” a veiled reference to the lack of restructuring on the agenda.
As governor of Lagos (1999-2007), he and the then President Olusegun Obasanjo had a bitter face-off when he created 37 Local Council Development Areas, which eventually provoked Obasanjo to seize the state’s LG allocations.
In a normal federation, the states are in charge of LGs. Nigeria’s inverted federalism is mainly the reason the country is failing. It is a surprise that the President, who tasted this aberration, has been silent on restructuring the system to reflect the true tenets of federalism.
Several thought leaders, including Afe Babalola (SAN), Wole Soyinka, and this newspaper, have been calling for the restructuring of Nigeria as a panacea for political peace and economic progress. Shortly after his victory in the February 25, 2023 election, Soyinka had said Tinubu would fail if he did not restructure the country.
In the current arrangement, the Federal Government receives 52.6 per cent of Nigeria’s income; the 36 states and LGs share the rest. It is unreasonable that one entity will share this much out of the resources of the country. Therefore, there must be fiscal federalism if the country is to arrest the current economic drift.
In fairness, under Obasanjo, the oil-producing states started receiving the 13 per cent derivation fund, but this is not enough.
Like in the First Republic, states (then regions) must be allowed to control their own resources and contribute an agreed percentage to the federal purse. The idea of going every month, cap in hand, to Abuja, begs the question of their existence as federating units.
Undoubtedly, policing should be local. The centre must drive the creation of state police. The single federal police cannot make a dent on the banditry, Fulani herdsmen rapine, terrorism, kidnapping and sundry crimes ravaging the country.
With restructuring, tension will ease. It will make the states become more creative and competitive since they know they will only survive on the revenue they are able to generate.