THE LEGAL FRAMEWORK AND ISSUES FOR RESTRUCTURING
NIGERIA FOR DEVELOPMENT:
THE CHALLENGES AND SUSTAINABLE SOLUTIONS
PRESENTATION BY MRS ‘FUNKE ADEKOYA SAN – CLASS OF ’74*
TO THE CLASS OF ’91 AT ITS 25TH YEAR REUNION
HOLDING AT THE UNIVERSITY OF IFE
ILE-IFE, OSUN STATE
ON 7TH OCTOBER 2016
1.0 Protocols
1.1 ‘Restructuring Nigeria’ seems to be the latest ‘hot topic’ in Nigerian discourse. With Nigeria celebrating yet another independence anniversary, the topic has again regained its position on the front burner. Everyone speaks about it, although it is not clear whether all contributors to the debate mean the same thing when they talk about the need to ‘restructure’ Nigeria.
1.2 Former Vice President Atiku Abubakar during the presentation of a book titled “We are all Biafrans” stressed the need for Nigeria to be restructured. In his words, “our current structure and the practices it has encouraged have been a major impediment to the economic and political development of our country… The call for restructuring is even more relevant today in the light of the governance and economic challenges facing us…”
1.3 His speech focused on two aspects – ‘current structure and the practices it has encouraged’ – possibly the same as the later reference to ‘governance’ and the ‘economic challenges’. If we accept his premise as correct, restructuring must be in two areas, our governance structure and our economic policies.
1.4 However before a case for restructuring can be validly made, we must first identify why the need to restructure arises, and what it is that requires a restructuring exercise.
2.0 Nigeria’s Federal System
2.1 There is a consensus that federalism as currently practiced in Nigeria does not provide the opportunity for optimal development of all parts of the country. Nigeria was granted full independence on October 1, 1960, under a federal system of government with a constitution that provided for a parliamentary government and a substantial measure of self-government for the country’s then three regions. The 1960 Constitution shared legislative power between the Federal and Regional governments and the Regional governments had a substantial amount of autonomy and financial independence. So how did we get to where we are today?
2.2 In the 1960 Constitution, 44 items were on the exclusive list, while 28 were on the concurrent list. In the 1963 Republican constitution, the items on the exclusive list had increased to 45, while 29 were on the concurrent list – an increase of one each. By 1979 however, a shift of focus concentrated power at the center, as the 1979 constitution had 67 items on the exclusive list, while only 12 were on the concurrent list. This increased in the 1999 constitution, with 68 items reserved for federal legislative power on the exclusive list, while 12 items remained on the concurrent legislative list. The amendments to the 1999 Constitution to date have not affected the legislative lists.
2.3 The advent of the military in Nigerian governance resulted in a unitary system of government with a concentration of power at the centre. Revenue was dispensed to the States by the Federal government, and nearly all development projects and initiatives were federally instituted and promoted. Today, so many state governments cannot pay salaries or embark on any development projects without support from the Federal government.
2.4 Specifically, a large number of Nigerians from the oil-producing areas of the South-South believe that their part of the country has contributed far more to the Federal purse than they have received in return. They point to the environmental degradation and neglect of the Niger-Delta area as compared with the expansive and continuous construction works in Abuja, the Federal Capital Territory. Another belief is that due to underdevelopment, certain parts of the country that have contributed relatively little to the Federal purse by way of trade, commerce or natural resources are receiving what other parts of the country perceive as more than a fair share of Federal revenue and attention, by way of Federal appointments based on the Federal Character principle. These parts of the country
believe that the development and contribution of their ethnic groups at the federal level is hindered by the federal character principle, where merit often takes a back seat in order to ensure the inclusion of all other parts of the country, irrespective of the rate of development that exists in those specific areas.
2.5 Those who argue for restructuring propose a form of political and financial restructuring that would result in resources being owned and managed at the state, regional or zonal level and revenue contributions be made by the subnational units to the Federal Government for the maintenance of federal structures and the carrying out of federally assumed responsibilities at an agreed ratio. The result will be that the focus of development will shift to the geo-political zones and communities. Government will be decentralized with each subnational government bearing the responsibility for the welfare of the people within its territorial jurisdiction.
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