True federalism remains solution to insecurity, unemployment, inequality ― Falana

Human Right Activist and lawyer, Femi Falana, on Thursday, re-echoed his call for stronger and autonomous states in the country’s federal system with some powers devolved to the states.

Falana stated this while delivering a lecture to mark the 3rd-anniversary lecture and book presentation of the Governor Rotimi Akeredolu’s administration in the state, with the title, “The Nigerian Federalism Imbroglio: A Pragmatic Approach.”

He frowned over the inability of the APC led government in the country to fulfil its promises to embrace restructuring as contained in its manifestoes, noting that federalism would help to provide a solution to insecurity, unemployment and inequality plaguing the nation.

He advocated for the devolution of power and restructuring of the country without further delay and said: “When we are talking of restructuring or returning to true federalism, we must all appreciate that it is a national crisis.”

He said: “The debate of political restructuring had become very diversionary and misleading and I intend to make a case for horizontal and vertical restructuring for political power and redistribution of the commonwealth in the overall interest of the majority of our people who are the actual victims of marginalisation.

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“I support the demand for devolution of political power from the centre to federating unit, provided that the people will be economically empowered to live a life of dignity in our country.

“In our own case of federalism, our fathers who led the campaign for political independence insisted that Nigeria will fair batter under the arrangement to share power between the Federal Government and the regional government, taking into consideration its multi-ethnic and multi-religion character.

According to him, the nation’s federalism suffers a setback with the intrusion of the military saying that “federalism is an arrangement whereby powers of government within a country are shared between the National government and the regional government but military intervention has turned Nigeria to a unitary state and there is need to return to federalism.”

Falana traced the underdevelopment privatisation while he said: “We have also invested so much in the energy sector. Power under President Obasanjo, about $16b was alleged to have been invested into darkness.

“The basis of demanding for federalism is to enable the federating units to control their own resources with a view to funding certain services.

“From 1951 to 1959, the government of the western, eastern and northern regions led by Awolowo, Azikwe and Ahmadu Bello introduced welfare programme and policies which were funded from the revenue generated from taxes and agriculture.

“Even though the colonial regime was in charge of the funding of the economy, the regions carried that developmental projects with the judicious manage for public service.

“In particular, public buildings and roads were not constructed by contractors but by the public works department and some of those roads were far better than what we have today.

“It was Awolowo that insisted that every child must go to school and so the pride of the West today is the Awolowo legacy but after 60 years of free education, some governors decided to levy primary school.”

The Chairman of the event, Governor of Kebbi State and the Chairman of the Progressives Governors Forum, Abubakar Atiku Bagudu, disclosed that the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC) under the aegis of Progressive Governors Forum (PGF) would soon revisit the governor Nasir el-Rufai Committee recommendations on true federalism.

Bagudu who agreed that the APC led government had not lived up to its manifestoes said the APC governor’s under the aegis of Progressive Governors Forum (PGF) will soon revisit and look into the recommendations to turn around the country.