FOR quite some time, the issue of restructuring has dominated discussions in the body politic, with presidential candidates, ethnic groups and key individuals making it the issue ahead of the 2019 general election. The issue, however, is that the subject has become commonly discussed that people are beginning to lose the meaning and import of the word. What do you really think this restructuring entails?
When you look at the word itself, it is a combination of two words; re and structure. When you say ‘re,’ it means taking something back; to return or reverse and that would suggest that there was a location that something was before and you want it back at that location. Structure means some kind of platform or entity.
PDP instigated ASUU strike, NLC, oil marketers’ agitation to cause confusion —APC
The idea of restructuring is, therefore, that Nigeria as a structure was in a particular state immediately after independence. We started with the British rule and our leaders then, Herbert Macauley, Nnamdi Azikiwe, Tafawa Balewa, Obafemi Awolowo, Anthony Enahoro, everybody said ‘look, we need our own independent structure. We cannot continue under British rule forever.’ Then, that structure went the way of having the regions; the British then organised constitutional conferences in London where submissions were made. So, as early as 1953, it had become clear to the British that the Western Region of Nigeria, for instance, was ready for independence. At that time, British citizens and officers were controlling all aspects of public life; education, civil service, judiciary and so on, all sectors were manned by British administrative officers. But because of education, the Western Region was ahead of other regions, because a lot of its citizens had become educated. So many Yoruba people were already well-endowed with knowledge in the various aspects of public life that the British were controlling.
This was what led to the agitation that the region was ready. Even the Eastern Region had also achieved a similar level of education and they also were ready for independence. But the Northern Region, clearly, at that time, did not have enough citizens who were educated enough to take over from the British. So, it stated clearly in the last constitutional conference that it was not ready for independence but conceded that the Western and Eastern Regions should be allowed to go their ways. That was exactly what happened, such that by 1955/56, it was clear that the Western Region was ready.
You will recall that by 1959, Chief Awolowo pioneered the establishment of television broadcasting in Nigeria, the Western Nigeria Broadcasting Corporation. Apart from this; the region already had enough people such as Justice Ibitoye and others who took over the control from the British administrators. So, by 1959 when the North became ready, the British had already handed over the structure to the Western and Eastern Regions and they had established their own structure and government. These regions were already sponsoring themselves, using their resources such as cocoa and palm oil. This was how things were when we got independence in 1960. By then, the Western Region was almost like a nation on its own.
The independence came and the majority agreed that the late Abubakar Tafawa Balewa should take over as prime minister. But in the 1960 constitution, power was in the hands of the regions; the control of the economy was in the hands of the regions, you planned and lived based on what you have. However, the Northern people, seeing the way the Western Region was going in terms of development- I am sorry to say this- but in the way the empowerment of people in the regions was going, the North was far behind. It saw that at that rate, it would never have caught up, especially with the Western Region, so they discovered the idea of joining the military and began to put their people in the military. The region then, in collusion with the British people, used military rule to take over power and cancel the advancement of the regions. They nullified the idea of federal system, installed a unitary system that centralised every other thing. For instance, as I said earlier, the Western Region before independence, had advanced greatly in broadcasting but when the military came, it cannibalised that system and replaced it with the Nigerian Broadcasting Service. It brought in the Nigerian Television Authority, acquired all the broadcasting and advertising rights and went back to the system that operated during the British rule where administration of these things was centralised. This was done so that the Western and Eastern Regions would be slowed down in order for the North to have time to begin to educate their people. This was the secret of what happened to Nigeria.
Before Nigerians knew it, the military brought something it called Exclusive Legislative List under the constitution; by that it means only the Federal Government can regulate aviation; admiralty, that is the passage of ship on the high sea; oil and gas, mining. You can imagine, only the Federal Government can regulate the mining of gold, which we have in Ilesa, Osun State. Only the Federal Government can regulate agriculture. Only the Federal Government can regulate even education; it set up the Joint Admissions and Matriculation Board (JAMB). It centralised education; whereas the Western Region had already established the Obafemi Awolowo University way back in 1962. What they then did was to introduce Federal Character and ensured that the people in the Northern part of the country would take advantage over and above those who were already advanced in education. That was how gradually the Federal Government developed the issue of Federal Capital Territory (FCT) by which every item of development was nationalised and all the institutions were situated in the Northern part of the country. Go to any state in the North today, any place that you can see that is generating income is for the Federal Government. The private companies are moving to the South but everything federal is domiciled in the North and it is deliberate. But these cannot work. That was how the issue of agitation for restructuring came about and people took up the struggle. Isaac Adaka Boroh made the Kaiama Declaration and said people should be allowed to control their resources and he started to mobilise the people of the Niger Delta. After his death, Ken Saro Wiwa took up the struggle and you would recall that Chief Awolowo had been addressing this issue for a long time.
But what does this restructuring really entail?
When we say restructuring, we are saying true fiscal federalism, that we should abandon this unitary system by which a judge of Oyo State will be appointed by the National Judicial Council in Abuja and be forced on the governor as a judge to be paying his salary, yet only the NJC can remove him. We have a system in which Ondo State cannot regulate cocoa production or bitumen exploration and Osun State cannot regulate the mining of gold in Ilesa. How can we have a system like that where Delta State cannot regulate its own resources and crude oil and these same resources are being captured and used to develop other places? We cannot have justice in such a system. So, we are advocating a restructured system. By restructuring, we are saying go let us go back to the original plan of the forefathers.
What plan of the forefathers? When people talk about restructuring, they mention fiscal federalism and regionalism but Nigeria is already where it is with 36 states structure and agitation for more and the challenges that follow. How easy will it be to return to regionalism or to practise most of the things restructuring preaches, without balkanising Nigeria or disuniting it?
No, no, no. We are not calling for the balkanisation of the country. You see, what is fuelling corruption in Nigeria today is the federal system. Once resources are communalised, there is no sense of ownership; people treat it like something that belongs to all and have this mentality of let us steal and wreck it. But if you allow Akure, for instance, to control its cocoa and other resources, there will be a sense of belonging. When we say restructuring and talk about going back to regionalism, we do not mean that we should collapse the federation. What we mean is that there no way the Federal Government can be regulating television in this modern age; it will not work. We are not saying that we should cancel the Federal Government, what we mean simply is devolution of powers. That what what the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC) when it was seeking power in 2015; if you check their manifesto. Even if you check their website, as of today, it is there. Number one, they promised devolution of powers and said they would amend the constitution; this is what we mean by restructuring. We are saying cancel that Exclusive Legislative List and let the Federal Government be involved like FIFA, which just regulates football but does not tell countries who to field. They only give the rules and regulate and allow the countries’ football federations to decide how their football will grow, who to appoint as coach and who to represent them. But FIFA still exists as a body that gives regulation and control on football. So, what we mean by restructuring is that we will still have the federal system but it will no longer control the economy; it should no longer control the resources of the people or dictate the administrative paces of the states. Why should the Federal Government be appointing the Commissioners of Police in states? Why? Why would a president who is the Commander-in-Chief of the whole federation be the chief executive of Oyo State again? When the governor of Lagos State gives a directive to the Commissioner of Police in his state, he does not take it; he only takes directive from the Inspector-General of Police, who was appointed by the president. Why should a sitting president be the one to appoint members of the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) in an election in which he is going to be a contestant? All these things happen in the current system. But why can’t we have a system in which citizens would be automatically be entitled to get admission in their states? Why should the Federal Government be regulating admissions and be forcing universities to admit people who do not qualify for the admission just because they are educationally-disadvantaged? But look at the trick here sir; if you want to introduce Federal Character, then make it go across board. When you go to the military today for enlistment into the Nigerian Army, there is no Federal Character. If it were to be working, it means that people from the South should be enlisted into the Army above those who are from the North. But the reverse is the case; the larger population of the military personnel is still from the North and people from the South are disadvantaged to be enlisted into the military. But when it comes to education, they turn it round and say the Northerners are educationally-disadvantaged; why won’t the Yoruba be considered disadvantaged when they want to join the Army, the Air Force and all that? It is injustice and inequality and we cannot continue to force ourselves to be together.
So, we are saying that in spite of the glaring disadvantages, if we want to perpetuate our existence; let us correct these things. We are saying that this Exclusive Legislative List cannot continue to operate forever. The military introduced a command system and centralised everything in Nigeria, which is a reversal of what obtained from 1953 up to the time we got independence. That we are saying all these does not mean we want to cancel the Federal Government. What we are saying is that power should be devolved to the states; let us have state police, let even local governments be able to generate electricity and let states be able to have their own power plants. Let states develop their economies at their own pace. Let the states that have the power introduce their own universities. Is not Pastor David Oyedepo that is organising Covenant University and the place is becoming one of the best in the world? We cannot continue like this, centralising admissions and frustrating millions of youths, who are now fleeing to Europe and America daily because they are being rejected in the universities and they are dying on the high sea. Our call for restructuring is that everyone should be allowed to develop at his own pace.
In the past, there had been clamour for a Sovereign National Conference and then later, it was agreed that even if it would not be sovereign, there should be a conference but nothing decisive has been achieved. Today, there is much talk about restructuring and it appears to still be all talks and no action. When do you think Nigerians will be able to force the country’s leaders to action?
The unfortunate thing is that when you make peaceful change impossible, you make violent change inevitable. The orgy of violence that you are witnessing in the land; kidnapping in the South, terrorism in the North, armed robberies are products of the failure of our leaders to listen to the voice of reason. The violence will escalate, because when poverty has consumed a people, the poor will begin to eat the rich. It is inevitable and that is what we are seeing now; there is nobody in this country who is rich and is not a victim. You receive not less than 10 text messages daily with account details; people are pleading for school fees, medical fees or one thing or the other. We have got to that point of emergency that we do not really need to force the people. There is no senator in this country that the people of his constituency are not milking him every day, because there is no development.
So, it is not a matter of just talking about restructuring, sir. Our leaders themselves will soon become victims of their own greed. The politicians, who are corrupting the system today because their own greed and personal aggrandisement and are refusing to listen to the voice of reason will soon become victims. Already, with the chain of events and the confusion happening in the political parties, the reality is already dawning on us that restructuring is inevitable; that a conference of our people, where we will throw away the unitary system and the Exclusive Legislative List and go back to federalism is inevitable. I believe that 2019 is just waiting to explode in our faces what we have been dodging. It is not about the elections; it is not about APC or PDP, it is about the freedom of our people to enjoy true federalism, to be able to develop at their pace and become citizens in their own land rather than victims.
and then