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Restructuring and the Yoruba agenda
The submission of the former Vice President Alhaji Atiku Abubakar, GCON on the restructuring of the Nigerian political system is very instructive.
Likewise are the submissions also of Pastor Tunde Bakare, General Alani Ipoola Akinrinade (Rtd.), Mohammed Haruna, Senator Musa Adede, Bishop Mike Okonkwo, Chief Wole Olanipekun, Chief Chukwuemeka Ezeife, Chief Ayo Adebanjo, Senator Femi Okunronmu and others.
I have read the four books by Colonel Tony Nyiam (Rtd.) especially his 169-page book on “TRUE FEDERAL DEMOCRACY OR AWAITING IMPLOSION?” I agree with his suggestion on the need for the creation for a National Institute for the strategic management of Nigeria’s Security. And those who know Nigeria well enough don’t joke with the views of Colonel Nyiam.
During the tenure of General Sani Abacha, leaders and Obas in Lagos, Oyo, Osun, Ondo and Ogun met on April 6, 1994 in Abeokuta. At the end of the meeting a draft memorandum was prepared by a committee. As a follow up of the Abeokuta meeting, a memorandum was prepared and approved at a meeting held on May 11 1994 in Akure. The memorandum was adopted by acclamation at the Akure meeting. That memorandum represented the soul and authoritative views of all the Obas, Chiefs, Leaders of Thought and the entire People of Lagos, Ogun, Ondo, Osun and Oyo states of the Federal Republic of Nigeria.
To me the views represents till today the authentic views of the Yoruba people on the issue of restructuring.
They declared” We are convinced that the cause of Nigeria’s federalism will be well and truly advanced if we return to the pre-1996 evolutionary path: a balanced federal structure which recognizes fully the legitimate claims of all ethnic groups for self-determination and where no single entity among the federating units will be strong or powerful enough to hold the others to ransom, but where each of the federating units is large enough, both in terms of size and population as well as of resources, to be viable, self-reliant and dynamic. Other relevant factors include the homogeneity of each federating unit, geographic contiguity among the units of a region and demonstrable willingness to be together. In pursuance of the principle of self-determination and in the interest of the sustainability, any state or community shall have the opportunity to decide, through the democratic process, the region of its choice in the light of these criteria. In the light of the foregoing criteria, we propose the restructuring of Nigeria into six federating units to be known as regions. The six regions shall be Western, Eastern, Southern, North-Western, North-Eastern and Middle Belt Regions. The Western Region will group together the following States: Lagos, Ogun, Ondo, Osun and Oyo and all other Yoruba-speaking communities wherever they may be in the federation. The states that will constitute the other regions will be decided by their people subject to the observation of the principle of self-determination”. With the restructuring into six viable and potentially dynamic and prosperous regions, individually and collectively serving as a countervailing force to the centralizing tendencies of the centre, Nigeria will be constituted a federation of six regions. Each would have the power to prepare its own constitution and determine its political structure, its legislative organs and the structure of its executive, provided that nothing in the constitution of the regions conflicts with the fundamental tenets of federalism and with principles of the federal constitution.
The function of the federal government must be clearly spelt out. Residual powers must lie with the regions. The federal government shall have no power to interfere in or take over any function of the regional government. Similarly, it shall have no power to interfere with the operations of any regional government. Each region shall determine the number functions and power of its constituent institutions.
The National Assembly shall be bi-cameral: House of the People and the Upper House. Members shall be elected or designated for a period of four years with the possibility of re-election. Membership of the House of the People shall be by universal suffrage with constituencies delineated on the basis of population, contiguity, homogeneity and territorial expanse. Each region shall send an equal number of representatives to the Upper House, one-quarter of whom must be traditional ruler from within that region. Each region will be free to determine the basis and method of election/selection of its representative to that House.
The Head of Government shall be the Prime Minister who shall be appointed by the President. The person to be so appointed, shall be the leader of the party or of a coalition of parties which has the support of the majority of the members of the House of the People. Whenever he loses such support, he shall resign or be dismissed. The Prime Minister shall be free to form his government which must receive the immediate endorsement of the House of the people through a vote of confidence. The Prime Minister shall resign or be dismissed whenever the majority of the House of the People withdraws its support.
There shall be provision for power-sharing in the constitution. Power configuration shall be accorded a zoning status on rotational basis. For this purpose, five key portfolios (such as Internal Affairs and Petroleum) in addition to the office of the Prime Minister, shall be identified in the constitution and be assigned to five Deputy Prime Ministers drawn from the five regions, other than region from which the Prime Minster hails. For avoidance of doubt, the Prime Minister, the Deputy Prime Ministers and all members of government shall be elected members of the House of the People.”
“The principle of derivation in which each region will retain an overwhelming share, if not all, of the revenue accruing from the tax imposed on the natural resources within its territory, shall apply. Revenue from the exploitation and custom duties shall be put in distributable pool account to be shared between the federal and the regional governments in accordance with an agreed formula, but with special consideration being given to the region(s) where the facilities for their collection are located. Every effort must be made to achieve self-reliance in mobilizing resources by all the regions and the federation. In particular, no region must take proportionally more than what it contributes to the federation financially. There shall be no direct federal allocation to state local governments. With regard to the power of personal and direct taxation, such as personal income tax, capital-gains tax, sales tax and property tax, governments shall have the right to levy them that provided that, in order to ensure efficiency, a uniform tax base should be applied and tax rate split between the federal and regional governments. The rate of tax can differ from region to region so that regional revenue can be enhanced to respond to the special needs of a particular region and in accordance with the ability and willingness if the citizens to pay higher taxes”.
These were the views expressed 22 years ago. These views are still being re-echoed today because they are important and vital to our co-existence as a nation. The question is no longer whether restructuring is desired or not; we have passed that stage. The issue is when and how it will be implemented without amending the present presidential constitution that is in use. Will the present legislators and the executives allow for such an amendment knowing fully well that the present system benefits them?
The Crisis rocks Niger Delta Avengers
All is not well within the rank and file of the Niger Delta Avengers (NDA) which has been claiming responsibility for the rash of bomb attacks on oil and gas installations in the Southsouth over the last few months.
Splinter group from NDA styled Reformed Niger Delta Avengers (RNDA) announced its birth yesterday citing call for peace in the region by the immediate past President Goodluck Jonathan and the resolve of the Buhari Administration to clean up areas devastated by oil and gas exploration.
It also said it is now convinced about the genuineness of the peace initiative of the Movement for the Emancipation of the Niger Delta (MEND).
The Spokesman for the RNDA,Cynthia White in a statement quoted by Sahara Reporters yesterday threatened to expose the brains behind the recent resurgence of violence in the Niger Delta which brought oil production down to 1.2million barrels per day from almost 1.8million barrels.
It offered to join the MEND Aaron Team 2 peace initiative “through the clearing house of Niger Delta Dialogue and Contact Group (NDDCG) headed by HRH King Alfred Diette-Spiff.”
Besides,it pledged cooperation with government by “exposing the identities of our comrades who remain stubborn in their insistence to continue attacks.
”The RNDA added: “it will shock the nation to know the Jekyll and Hyde personality behind the pseudonym ‘Brigadier General Murdoch Aginibo’ and our sponsors.
He advised the Indigenous People of Biafra (IPOB) to also embrace peace by accepting the concession secured by MEND for the release of the detained Biafran agitator,Nnamdi Kanu,saying those advising Kanu to reject the renunciation of Biafra as a condition for his release “do not love him or appreciate the level of treason this simple act of common sense humility can extricate him from.”
He also warned the IPOB that the Niger Delta will “no longer be your proxy in a war to achieve your ambition,” and the NDA to “stop being defiant and embrace peace and the wise counsel we all received from former President Goodluck Jonathan.
Jonathan on a visit to his successor,president Muhammadu Buhari on Wednesday had said he was working with traditional rulers,elders and opinion leaders in the region to restore peace following the recent resurgence of violence.
He said he remained firmly against the balkanization of Nigeria because according to him : “So many countries produce more oil than Nigeria,nobody notices them;we are great because of our size,the human resources we have,the diversity we have.If we fragmentize the country into small components,we will be forgotten by the world.”
