This document needs help

WHEN written in Chinese, the word “crisis” is composed of two characters, one represents danger and the other represents opportunity. It sounds counter-intuitive to say that crisis is good, but the current crisis in Nigeria is actually a good one. In fact, what has been unhealthy for so many years is the negative peace. A long silence from a section of the society who know they are been cheated but wrongly believe they have no recourse. What many people know, but only few could say, has finally been blown wide open. This administration since its inception,has emboldened the “born to rule” elements, who erroneously believed that political control exclusively resides in a particular part of the country. We have the current crisis to thank for making the over-tolerant, long-suffering people wake up. They have nothing left in their tanks and they are now crying foul. This is good.

Now let’s clear the cloud, because the cow invasion of the South by the northern cattle nomads actually obscures more than it reveals. The nomads did not suddenly discover the farmlands of the south, it’s because this administration presents the most opportune time for the nomads to make their move boldly. True, the insecurity in the country is despicable, but the deeper driver of insecurity and instability in the country is the fraudulent document upon which the fragile union is anchored. The 1999 Constitution is not only anti-development but is also a severely divisive document. It is a federal constitution in name only, most of the provisions are unitary. It is not clear whether those who sworn to it ever read it. In fact, you don’t need a legal mind to comprehend many sections of the document. Here is a case in point. In 1967, when the old Kano State was created, it had 16 local government councils. At the same time, the then Northwestern State was created with 20 local government councils. Lagos State was also created with 20 local government councils. Fast forward to 1991, the old Northwestern State, headquartered in Sokoto was “balkanised” into four different states with a total of 82 local governments.

Meanwhile, Lagos State officially remained stagnant at 20 local governments till today. In the meantime, the old Kano State with a much smaller local governments than Lagos state in 1967, now has a total of 44 local governments spread across two states. We all know these local governments are arbitrarily created. But are we supposed to believe that Lagos state population and space, have been shrinking since 1967 while those of the old Kano and Northwestern States have been expanding? An inquiring mind wants to know the rationale.  Would any objective observer conclude that the city of Kano is more populated than the city of Lagos or Ibadan? This is an insult to our collective intelligence.

Ridiculously, this is the situation that the Yoruba people seems to have accepted without any push back. To make this flagrant injustice permanent, the power that be included the names and locations of the local governments in the constitution. Why? The simple answer is money and power! Nigeria is the only federal arrangement in the world, where the federating units are more than two.  Everywhere else, the federating units are between the states and the Federal Government. For the record, how many local government councils that a state has would have been irrelevant to me if they were not listed in the constitution for federal funding. After all, local councils are supposedly created to help states get nearer to the people. A state could create as many as it seems necessary. Where it becomes fraudulent is the provision that sends Federal money to the local governments directly. Such fiscal arrangement is unheard of anywhere. It is a daylight robbery! What makes it more tragic is that for long, the section of the country that are negatively impacted by this anomaly,choose to tolerate it. The opinion leaders did not cry foul. For them personally, life is good!

Another important thing that many people do not know or care to know is that,many of these bad provisions were not even part of the proceedings of the constituent assembly and were not debated. They were simply inserted bymilitary fiat. What should preoccupy the minds of all well-thinking Nigerians, particularly the Yoruba, is not the next election cycle but how to fashion a document that would guarantee equity and fair play for all the different nations that make up Nigeria. It does not matter if a Yoruba candidate or any other candidate wins the next presidential election, an election conducted under the existing constitution would be an endorsement of servitude. There al existential threat to the slogan “one Nigeria” is this constitution and it should be dealt with first and foremost. As Chief Awolowo once stated, “Nigeria is a creation of the constitution,”therefore, tampering with the constitution as they did in 1999 is a dangerous game. A thoroughly reviewed or a brand-new constitution is urgently needed before the next election. We can still make a lemonade out to the lemon we have now.

I appeal to our elected officials and opinion shapers not to trade our cooperate interest for personal benefit. It is time to substitute courage for caution, principle for self-interest and strength for fear. Otherwise, they too would be as guilty, if not more so, as those that sow the seed of discord among us. STOP THE STEAL!

• Fasae, PhD, writes in from Atlanta Georgia.

YOU SHOULD NOT MISS THESE HEADLINES FROM NIGERIAN TRIBUNE

Lagos Is Second Least Liveable City In The World For 2021

Lagos is the second least liveable city in the world for the year 2021. This is according to the most recent annual ranking put together by the Economist Intelligence Unit (EIU)…

FACT CHECK: Did UNICEF Say Blocking Children’s Access To Pornography Constitutes Human Rights’ Infringement?

CLAIM 1: A Twitter user claims UNICEF said any efforts to block children from accessing pornography might infringe their human rights…