Secretary of the National Democratic Coalition(NADECO) Chief Ayo Opadokun, has said that only a return to the practice of True federalism as practised in the first republic with the 1960 independent constitution can solve the myriad of crisis in the country.
In a lecture he delivered today at the 5th memorial lecture in Honour of late activist, Mr Baba Omojola, titled ‘Solution to Nigerian Crisis-Restoration to Federalism’, he said that the nation will continue to move in circles until she faced the reality of her diversities which only true federalism can address.
Chief Opadokun, who cited the case of the defunct Union of Soviet Socialist Republic(USSR), said it is futile to force diverse nations together without addressing their differences which a return to true federalism could achieve.
Said he,”You cannot continue to force people together because this millennium we are in now all over the world is a millennium for self determination”.
Chief Ayo Opadokun
He said why there is disaffection and instability over all Nigeria is the forceful together of the diverse nationalities that made up the nation without recognizing the inherent diversities which true federalism could achieve.
“The solution is for us to return to true federalism in order to move the nation forward and solve its diverse problems.
He also identify the faulty education system as responsible for it’s technological backwardness noting that until our education system is impacted through indigenous languages nothing much could ever be achieved because use of foreign language as a means of instruction is alien to the indigenous culture of the people.
He observed that the state of the nations economy and the social upheavals and unrest is a function of the prevailing and unrealistic political leadership system which is not geared towards addressing the multi-various nature of the country adding,”Nigeria is in a precarious state and the fact that all efforts made to sanitize it has not yielded any
result is the more reason why we have to sanitize the system”.
He also disclosed that the true story of the NADECO struggle against military dictatorship and the effort to enthrone democracy between 1993 and 1998 which ironically led to the emergence in power of those who never supported the enthronement of democracy in the country would soon be unveiled in his new book soon to be published.
Read his full speech below:
BABA OMOJOLA 5TH YEAR MEMORIAL LECTURE SOLUTION TO NIGERIAN NATIONAL CRISIS: RESTORATION TO FEDERALISM.
BABARINDE OLUWIDE ADEWOLE (OMOJOLA)
A brief and very short commentary on my friend, colleague and confidant, who departed to the great beyond about 1,803 days ago. Baba Omojola was his chosen name label to outfoxed and outpaced Nigerian Security Agencies. Baba was truly a humanist, revolutionary, nationalist, democrat, social crusader, fearless, dependable, honest, loyal, humble, unassuming and unbelievably humble. Many writers have written interesting and exciting tributes on Baba that I don’t want to repeat at all. Those who are interested in the testimonial can read “BABA IN THE EYES OF THE PEOPLE” which was a compendium of Tributes that people paid to Baba when he died in 2013.
Baba was born of an Anglican revered clergy, Rev. CANON EMMANUEL OLAJUYITAN AJIBOLA of the Cathedral Church, but he became a practicing traditional African religionist. It was the latter who officiated at his spectacularly educative and instructive funeral service inside a big hall at the National Stadium, Surulere Lagos. Baba’s legacy is evergreen because, he came, saw, acted and conquered before he translated to the other address.
“National Restructuring” has been given different interpretations by commentators and opinion leaders including well-meaning people and mischief makers to satisfy their predilections and prejudices. I don’t want to join or enter the unnecessary debates as to the correctness or otherwise of each definition.
Let it be re-stated that:
Nigerian is an heterogeneous people of diverse ethnic nationalities who had occupied and dominated their various geographical space with absolute and undisturbed control of their lands, water, trees, mineral resources, cultures, traditions, artefacts, folklores, mores, religious, languages until the invading colonial masters, nay imperialist Great Britain exploited their superior fire power/war arsenals to conquer the diverse peoples which they forcefully married into co-habitation in a newly created land mass which Lord Lugard’s wife nee Shaw called Nigeria after the biggest river they later came to know during their various conquests of the key traditional kingdoms and empires – Dosumu of Lagos, Qverami of Benin, Jaja of Opobo, Attahiru of Sokoto, Mai of Kaanem Bornu, Alafin of Oyo and others.
Nigeria’s Independence Struggle was led by diverse nationalist leaders including Sir Herbert Samuel Heelas Macaulay, Dr. Nnamdi Azikiwe, Chief Obafemi Awolowo, Sir Raji Abdallah, Sir Tafawa Balewa, Chief Anthony Enahoro and Trade Union and Professional Associations as well as the emerging media platforms.
The major campaigners for Nigerian independence were representatives of the main ethnic nationalities, Leaders of Trade Unions and Professional Organizations and they were united in a common front against the continuity of the British occupation and administration of Nigeria.
The Nationalists compromised among themselves and negotiated for a Federal Constitutional Governance having regard to the compelling reality that the new country is made up of heterogeneous peoples. So, the 1960 Independence and the 1963 Republican Constitutions were therefore federal constitutions. In them, there were three sections, Exclusive, Concurrent and Residual powers. Exclusive for Central, Concurrent for Regions while Residual was common for the use of the two tiers of government, Federal and Regional Governments between 1951 – 1966. Nigerian pioneer Political Rulers performed fairly well in governance as beginners and there were healthy competitions among the various governments e.g. free education, establishment of pioneer tertiary institutions, development of farm settlements, river basin, media institutions, first minimum wage etc.
The Constitutional provisions were of great assistance to the two tiers of government i.e. Central and Regional Governments. In both constitutions, each region kept 50% of proceeds from its natural and economic resources to itself, contributed 20% to the Federal Government and put 30% into the distributable account which were shared out among the regions on the basis of need. FISCAL FEDERALISM was a constitutional order.
But as soon as the military overthrew the civilian government of Alhaji Tafawa Balewa, as Prime Minister, the Federal Constitution was the first casualty as it was suspended with the Constitution (Suspension and Modification) Decree No. 1 of 1966” dated January 17, 1966 but not published in the official Gazette until March 4, 1966. Within the shortest possible time, the Military Government had appropriated to the Central Government, about 68% of powers and authorities that were within the competence and authority of the Regional Governments. The Military Rulers equally appropriated to itself the major means of raising resources in the regions to the central military government. And since the Military Governors were agents of their bosses on military postings to the Regions/States, they were bound to comply with the decrees and directives of the ruling military rulers.
Again, the Military had Balkanized Nigeria into very unviable component units and thereby effectively weaken the component units and unproductively increased the Recurrent expenditure to finance the Nigerian bureaucracy to about 80% of our total national income till date. Nigeria has therefore been left with less than 20% for capital expenses. Nigerians can now appreciate why there had been no commensurable meaningful development related to the humongous earning of Nigeria from petrol dollars which is above 400 billion USD in the last 50years. Our global ratings in Human Development Index, Infant mortality Rate and Gross Domestic products index/analysis do not correspond with the huge receipt. These three statistics/analysis expose Nigeria to be within the ranks of war ravaged areas like Sudan, Afghanistan, Somalia etc.
It can therefore be safely said that since the military overthrew the civilian government on January 1966, they have imposed a Centralist and Unitarist government to which they have appropriated disproportionate national resource at the expense of the component units.
The Military Government led by Gen. Olusegun Obasanjo has unrestrainedly and tragically nationalized justly acquired regional possessions for which the Military Rulers paid no compensations and significantly ruined, despoiled and ran down most of those regional possessions with grossly inadequate funding and centrally imposed incompetent managements. They included educational and media institutions, river basins and other infrastructures. Thus, Nigeria has been under developing rather than developing since the mid-80s. Furthermore, because of the disproportionate share of the national income collected by the central government, the urge to take over running of the central government by any means including through military insurrection and discredited elections have been very appealing to the military and civilian politicians.
Nigeria has been running a mono-economy i.e. exportation of crude oil until the recent spirited efforts of President Buhari to meaningfully diversify the economy. The efforts of the President Mohammadu Buhari are manifesting in Agriculture (Central Bank Anchor Programme) restoring the national efforts on Textile and Leather etc. productions of agricultural produce including the value chains, the open support to use Arts and Tourism to provide needed impetus for youth potentials to be adequately unleashed etc.
The centralization and unitarisation of governance since 1966 has led to extreme injustice, inequity and unfairness in the allocation of socio-economic and political appointments in spite of the clear provision in Chapter 11 of the 1999 Constitution dealing with Fundamental Objectives and Directive Principle of State Policy particularly section 14:3 which provides “The composition of the Government of the Federation or any of its agencies and the conduct of its affairs shall be carried out in such a manner as to reflect the federal character of Nigeria and the need to promote national unity, and also to command national loyalty, thereby ensuring that there shall be no predominance of persons from a few States or from a few ethnic or other sectional groups in that Government or in any of its agencies”.
The Federal character Commission remains a charade, thereby leading to unending National incohesion, mutual national mistrust and regular political instability and disunity which are traceable to the centralist and unitarist constitution. But the Nigerian state has continued with the false claim that we are running a federal government. The acceptable and equitable solution to the National crisis for majority of Nigerians is to return to the Federal Constitutional Arrangement upon which Nigeria secured its independence. And this is because, Nigerian witnessed its golden age in terms of progress and development and much more political collaboration when the Federal Constitutional Governance was operating.
As of today, four zones of Nigeria as well as the ethnic National nationalities which were the building blocks upon which Nigeria edifice was constructed are united and determined to campaign aggressively for Nigeria to restore to Federalism.
Let it be said without sounding alarmist that the Nigerian State has been held together by the force of arms, first by the imperialist Great Britain and later since the Nigerian Army illegally supplanted the constitutional order in existence on January 15, 1966 and have since replaced the negotiated Federal Constitution with their various decrees and the militarily programmed various constitutional orders which are usually brought into existence by decrees, the last being Decree 24, of 1999 which brought into existence, the current 1999 Constitution.
Let’s also note that almost all nation states formerly held together by force of arms have virtually disintegrated. Today, there is no more USSR or YUGOSLAVIA on the world map. Even the mercenary imperial master, Great Britain had to concede significant freedom and independence to Ireland and Scotland in the Good Friday Accord before there could be some negotiated peace.
It is human to prefer being governed by your people and that is why SELF DETERMINATION is the anthem of this new millennium.
It is the prevailing centralist and unitarist agenda that is responsible for the retardation and under development of Nigeria in spite of our God-given human and natural endowment. Return to Federalism will not break up Nigeria. The civil war which was avoidable except for the personal ego of the military leaders did not settle the Nigerian National Question.
But the fact that matters to me is that Nigerian secured its independence on a Federal Constitutional Order. The military politicians treasonably and unwisely overthrew the existing order with their decrees which essentially abrogated the existing federal constitution. The Unitarist and Centrist Military Governments and their successor “civilian governments” have retained the centralist/unitarist constitutions usually brought into existence by decrees. The centralist and unitarist agenda has created injustice, inequality, unfairness thereby generating national mutual suspicion, political instability and incohesion thereby halting and stunting Nigeria’s growth and development. We cannot make progress nor develop until we return to the negotiated federal constitutional order. Then Nigeria will be able to creditably respond to her manifest destiny as the Leader of the black race to which we have remained a great disappointment till date. Let’s stop being a giant with a feet of clay.
Baba was always the leading light of many ideological struggles for Nigeria’s genuine emancipation from imperialist exploitation; against the neo-colonialist agents collaboration with the foreign invaders and the various efforts of educating, informing, conscentizing, and mobilizing Nigerians of different cadres to jointly work together to build an egalitarian society in our country.
The last was his unadvertised leading coordinating roles in the Peoples representative assembly to write an all-inclusive constitution for Nigeria, called PRONACO. He in fact died on active service at Akure in the process of presenting the PRONACO draft to Senator Femi Okunrounmu’s public hearing for the South West. Baba should have died hereafter because he remains irreplaceable because of his unique characteristic. May his soul continue to rest in peace.
AYO OPADOKUN
