Yesterday I presented the arguments for and against restructuring Nigeria where I put forward the positions held by groups calling for restructuring the nation in the direction desires by each. Let me attempt to shorten the debate today.
Firstly, on whether or not we should go back to federalism as existed between 1960 to 66 and return Kaduna as the headquarters of Northern region, Enugu for the Eastern region and Ibadan for the Western region, I will not accept this because it will amount to sending me to Kaduna for ‘everything’ when Yola and Fufore are nearer home. I reject this because geographically speaking I don’t have anything to do with Kaduna and will therefore not accept this argument.
I also reject the forth group’s calls for dismemberment of Nigeria, the largest settlement of the black race.
Articles by Sadiq Ibrahim Dasin
What I agree with is a mixture of the third and fourth group’s proposal that we need to devolve power to states and to the 774 Local Governments Areas while the Federal Government be responsible for overseeing our defence against external aggression, external affairs, aviation, currency, customs, external borrowing, and shipping, etc. This is all the federal government located in Abuja should be doing. So solution 2 and 3 perfectly fit in the proposal that we tinker, amend or adjust certain provisions of our constitution to accommodate new thoughts as mechanism to sustain and, with time, strengthen our democracy.
Therefore Abuja must let each state exploit and ultimately control its resources and be self-sustaining by developing its infrastructure and critical amenities such as healthcare, education, agriculture, etc.
Thus the federal government in Abuja must not have any business to do with how Adamawa treat its livestock and crop agriculture, water resources and even our roads except the interstate highways. Abuja should hands off our local security and allow us to creat state police and local vigilante to protect our people.
Most of our young people who are proponents of dismemberment of this great country compare or want Nigeria to be like America in a day. Most of these guys do not know that America became independent on July 4, 1776 which was 246 years ago but still America has not perfected its democracy.
Democracy is an experience of a life time. Unbroken transfer of power from one civilian administration to another started in Nigeria only on May 29, 1999 when we ended multiple decades of military rule that began in 1966 and interrupted only by a brief period of democracy from 1979 to 1983. Nigeria has therefore been a democracy for about 27 years only.
Though I must accept that we ought not be where we are today in terms of economic development, but you must also concede that there is the need to take our strides as our legs would carry us. This is why I am certainly not with the fourth group that say Nigeria is a joke. Nigeria is not a joke. I have traveled far and wide and I know what other nationals endure. You will not know the value of the little you have until you lose all.
I must also concede that our present constitution is not perfect. But there is no such thing as a perfect constitution anywhere in the world. For instance because of its imperfections, the American constitution has been amended twenty seven times. The 27th Amendment was only ratified on May 20, 1992. Just in 1992. Here in Nigeria, because we can’t restructure our foolishness, we want a new constitution when in fact we operated this constitution for 27 years only, for Goodness sake!
On the other hand India, which is the largest democracy on earth, has amended its constitution 104 times; the latest amendment became effective on 25 January, 2020. In fact many of us do not know that Britain does not even have a constitution.
Let us therefore conclude by mentioning some of our latest foolishness that we need to restructure or abandon than throwing our constitution away or dismemberment of the country.
First is our attitude. I don’t need to dwell on this much because everyone of us knows what they do not do right. Let us all resolve from today to start doing the right thing. Period.
Second, let each state control its local resources, devolve power and financial autonomy to local governments as well as give financial autonomy to state Houses of Assembly and the state judiciary. This the most important thing to do. I voted for all these when I was in the state Assembly and in the National Assembly.
But because most of our educated elites do not care to participate in politics, the rural poor and majority urban people keep voting the wrong people such that today we are left with members of State Assemblies who rejected their own financial autonomy.
Governors that we voted for who are even lawyers have refused to give financial autonomy to their state judiciary.
Today, Governors sit on money meant for the state judiciary. Governors buy a Prado Jeep for a State Chief Judge with money meant for the Judiciary and the Chief Judge rushes to the Government House to thank the Governor.
It is therefore not surprising that when president Buhari signed an Executive Order that offered State Legislatures and the State Judiciary financial autonomy on Friday 23rd May, 2020, the Governors refused to comply. Members of state Assemblies and staff of the judiciary kept mute until recently.
How then do you expect that electorates who consistently vote in Governors who refused to pay money to the real owners i.e Local Governments, State Judiciary and the State Legislature, but consistently ask for structuring Nigeria, would do anything better to a restructured Nigeria if it is eventually restructured?
We like blaming everybody but ourselves. We blame everything but our fault. Is it the fault of our constitution that we do not do the right thing or the fault is in attitude? No doubt, as I have said, our constitution is not perfect. But there is no perfect constitution anywhere.
What we need to do is to develop our democracy by gradually amending our constitution since our constitution has provided the modalities for its own amendment in section 9 (2) thereof.
Only if we change our attitude and then continue to amend our constitution gradually to accommodate new thoughts, shall we strengthen our democracy and perfect our union.
- Dasin is a former member of House of Representatives from Adamawa State
