1: Some have posited that Nigeria is too diverse and remains the only one of the big British colonies to remain one nation. They refer to India from whence Pakistan, Bangladesh, Myanmar, Sri Lanka, etc came out from at one time or the other.
2: Some have also posited that the African does not have sufficient skills to run largely populated, multi-ethnic nations.
3: I propose in this paper to discuss the applicability of these two postulations and to suggest that Nigeria does not need to break up.
4: That rather, what Nigeria needs is structural. That is, a major turn-around by constitutional amendment to reduce the number of Federating Units from Thirty-Six to Twelve and then devolve more powers to the Federating Units along the operational lines of the 1st Republic 3 (and later 4) regional structure.
5: Indeed, the postulation that the African has deficit skills for managing largely populated, multi-ethnic nations, is answered by devolving more powers to Federating Units so that each Unit becomes a mini-republic within a commonwealth of Nigeria.
6: The devolution of powers I have in mind will transform Nigeria into a Union of States with all the trappings of independence for each state but sharing the following commonalities:
a. Common Name (proposed to be Federal Regions of Nigeria),
b. Common Defence Forces,
c. Common Monetary Policy,
d. Common Foreign Affairs,
7: Each Federating Unit retains its own preferred features while federating with other units within Nigeria. Those features may include minimum or maximum wage payable to workers within each Federating Unit, Court Systems, Educational Systems, etc.
8: To give a simple even if unimportant example; High Court Rules differ from state to state and a lawyer who goes to court in another state or jurisdiction arms himself/herself with the High Court Rules of that other jurisdiction.
The legal profession in one Federating Unit may stipulate white (or other colour) traditional robes as dressing for courtroom appearances for lawyers, while those in another Federating Unit may choose to wear the English-bequeathed wig and gown, and yet another may choose to wear the gown without the wig, etc.
The federal courts may then formulate their own dress code as precondition for lawyers’ right of audience in those courts.
9: Dress code for lawyers’ appearance in court is certainly not the major problem in Nigeria but I chose it as an example to covey the thought of quasi-independence of Federating Units. The example actually crystallised in my mind after listening to a Supreme Court Justice at the induction ceremony for new Senior Advocates in 2021 tell of the difficulties the common folk in his State have with the colour black in relation to lawyers dressing. But it is a simple, uncomplicated example to convey the idea expressed in this paper nonetheless.
10: In the New Nigeria I speak of, each Federating Unit has its own hierarchy of courts, and its own constitution regulating its internal affairs. Each Unit also has its own wage policy, so that what is minimum wage in Lagos is not necessarily the minimum wage in Yobe even for governments. What is good for the East may not be good for the West, and vice versa.
11: It is against this backdrop I wish to consider the various calls for partition of Nigeria. Attractive as these calls may seem to her proponents, many of the proposed new republics out of Nigeria will suffer the South Sudan experience of failing and falling into civil war due to inter and intra-ethnic factors.
12: For example, two Igbo States, Enugu, and Abia, have at one time or the other, expelled ‘non-indigenes’ from their respective States’ civil service even when those non-indigenes were also Igbo! To the best of my knowledge, no other ethnic nationality in Nigeria has taken this step to purge their States’ civil service from other nationalities, how much more their own homogenous tribe. Thankfully, those actions were eventually reversed, after months and years.
13: As one who is ethnically defined as Ibo or Igbo, my view is that in the light of our investments all over the federation, it is in our enlightened self-interest to pursue massive devolution of powers. No other ethnic nationality has economic investments all over Nigeria like the Igbo. It is in fact arguable that by the ease with which the Igbo make investments all over Nigeria, the Igbo are the number one believers in Nigeria. What the Igbo requires is a level playing field to invest and get returns on the investment.
14: However, this should not be taken to construe that because of economic considerations the Igbo and other ethnic nationalities should accept institutional injustices.
15: Nigeria as is, is a unitary state with federal features. Every building needs to have a good foundation or it will collapse sooner or later. The Nigerian foundation as negotiated in the days heading towards independence between the British colonial masters and the various ethnic nationalities making up Nigeria, provided for regionalism- mini-nations within a commonwealth of Nigeria sharing certain common facilities. However, military coups in Nigeria led to the command culture of the military becoming institutionalised in our politics. Under military rule, the General who emerged as Head of State appointed the Military Governors of the Federating Units, who thereafter took instructions from the centre including allocation of revenue, irrespective of what each Federating Unit produced. Worse, the military adventurists created Federating Units whimsically without regard to necessity or affinity.
16: Indeed, it would seem as if the United Kingdom handed over a Nigeria built along the lines of England, Wales. Scotland and Northern Ireland. That is, Eastern Region, Northern Region, and the Western Region. At independence, the Nigerian parliament created a 4th – MidWest Region but the military truncated this original covenant as negotiated by the people of Nigeria in the days heading to independence.
17: It is hereby proposed that Nigeria returns to the regional structure. However, Nigeria cannot return to those original three or four regions, having overgrown them in practical experience.
18: If Nigeria does not handle her structure, perceived institutionalised injustices soon enough, positive restructuring may be too late. It is morning yet on creation day. A stitch in time saves nine, and we should set forth at dawn as the title of Wole Soyinka’s biography directs.
19: CONCLUSION
I draw my conclusion from the Punch Newspaper editorial of 21 March 2016
https://punchng.com/reality-of-regional-autonomy-dawns/.
Nigeria had three regions until the parliament created the Mid-Western Region in 1963. This partly addressed the challenge posed by centrifugal forces, with the regions playing a major role in the affairs of the nation. The regions generated and kept the bulk of their revenues and contributed an agreed percentage to the centre. It worked until military intervention destroyed the structure. As a result of the progressive vitiation, there are 68 items on the Exclusive Legislative List in the 1999 Constitution. This has eroded the power of the states and made the Federal Government too powerful. Items 39 (mines and minerals), 45 (police) and 48 (prisons), and others on the exclusive list are incongruous with federalism, and fuel the persistent agitation for the creation of states.
Federalism is designed primarily to protect the minorities, take care of diversity, distribute power vertically, and give priority to the aspirations of the people at the grassroots since the federating units are closer to the people than the government at the centre. Why would universities owned by state governments and private investors admit students mainly through the Federal Government’s Joint Admissions and Matriculation Board? This is anomalous in federalism. Because of Australia’s devolution of power, Victoria was the first state to implement the law on the wearing of seatbelts, while in the United States, Nebraska is the only state out of 50 that operates a unicameral parliament.
In practice, there is really no federalism anymore in Nigeria. The central government has hijacked almost everything. One index to measure this is the upside-down allocation of resources, which are located in the states but are controlled and distributed by the Federal Government. Weirdly, the states beg to share from the revenue they generate. In the present formula, the Federal Government receives 52.68 percent; the 36 states share 26.70 percent; and the local governments take 20.60 percent. The oil-producing states are entitled to 13 percent as derivation.
Unreasonably, the constitution lists local governments as the third tier of government. In other federal climes, LGs are answerable to the federating units, which are the states. Some states have created local council development areas, which won’t receive federal funding. There is so much overlap that even the Federal Government is running the Unity Colleges and the Universal Basic Education and so-called Almajiri schools in parts of the North.
The return to regionalism may not be attractive to those who are benefitting from the present arrangement, but economic reality makes it imperative. There should be a progressive increase in the allocation and derivation to the states, while repealing the First Schedule of the constitution about LGs, and control given to the federating units.
To give a sense of belonging to all entities, devolution, and state police are non-negotiable. Germany, the US, Canada, and Australia all operate the decentralised police structure. Fortunately, the final answer is available. The present harsh economic reality, ethnic convulsions, and past national political conferences offer fresh opportunities for all patriotic stakeholders in an attempt to forge a virile, competitive union free from the shackles imposed by the current skewed structure.
Ultimately, the solution lies in creating an agreeable and limited number of regions that will effectively reduce the cost of running government, while addressing the issue of ethnicity at the same time.
May the Lord grant us the Might to do the Right.
Ikeazor Akaraiwe, February 28, 2023
