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The desiderata of restructuring

By Louis Okoroma
15 August 2016   |   4:19 am
A Dogged and committed Nigerian that he is, Atiku Abubakar, the Turakin Adamawa and former Vice President of Nigeria has remained in the political arena throwing in salient issues for national political discussion.
Former Vice President, Atiku Abubakar

Former Vice President, Atiku Abubakar

A Dogged and committed Nigerian that he is, Atiku Abubakar, the Turakin Adamawa and former Vice President of Nigeria has remained in the political arena throwing in salient issues for national political discussion. These are in addition to his many philanthropic and entrepreneurial activities which are not only creating jobs, but keeping thousands of Nigerians in paid employment.

It is doubtful whether for now, President Muhammadu Buhari and his party man, the Turaki would be on the same page on this restructuring issue which the former Vice President threw to the Nigerian people recently at a well-attended book launch in Abuja. However, this writer believes like many Nigerians that President Buhari’s deep concern for a corruption free and transparent Nigeria and for economic diversification puts him and the Turaki, on the same page.

This is so because the aim of restructuring is to make the nation more efficient, more productive, and better governed in such a way that no tier of government takes more than it can handle efficiently for the general good of the people. Interestingly also, the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC) party to which both of them belong is not opposed to restructuring bearing in mind that the party manifesto referred to the issue.

Atiku spoke the other day in Kaduna on the topic, ‘Restructuring Nigeria for Greater National Integration and Democratic Stability’ at a lecture in honour of the late General Hassan Usman Katsina of blessed memory. Turaki’s paper was well received by many in the distinguished audience while most who in the past would have shouted blue murder at the mention of restructuring which to them means disintegration, stayed glued to their seats.

A friend who was at the event opined that the calm and reflective reception of the restructuring message by those present could to a large extent be attributed to the realities unfolded about the country by Buhari, and the stark realities of the sorry state of finance and governance in most of the 36 states of the federation, many of which can no longer pay workers’ salaries! The question then arises whether it is reasonable to hold on to a 36-state federal structure when most of the states exist for the simple reason that they do not render much service to their people on account of dwindling revenue.

Even the ghost of that eminent statesman, Hassan Usman Katsina in whose honour the lecture was held would cringe at what has become of his beloved Northern Nigeria that made enviable strides in development with an economy based on agriculture to what obtains today where the spectacular groundnut pyramids found in many parts of North with Kano as epicenter has all but disappeared!

The constituent parts of the federation for good measure, may cease to be the present 36 states which were not originally the federating parts of the nation. Though the elite of the various states and their representatives might kick at the prospect of losing their power bases if restructuring were to take place. However, the prevailing situation where many states cannot pay workers’ salaries nor embark on the provision of social amenities and infrastructure and employment for their growing populations portend a great danger to the survival of the coveted centres of power.

The call for restructuring demands fast thinking on the part of the elite. States might need to come together to be able to provide the expertise, financial muscle and competence to extract their natural resources and control their destiny. The spoon-feeding by the central government as one can see now is undependable and in lean times, can lead to the collapse of governance.

Another issue which restructuring will address for the good of the nation which will enhance national unity, stability and security is the struggle for power at the centre. When geo-political zones become constituent parts of the federation with viable economic activities under their control while paying taxes and royalties to the central government, the desire to be President and the power of a President to control the lives of everyone would be reduced.

The situation would now arise where before a President takes or contemplates critical decisions, he would consult with and seek the support of the Premiers or Governors’ of the constituent parts. As time goes on, devolution would have so relaxed the minds of the citizenry that there may be no need in the long run for the criminally-expensive national elections organised by INEC that leads to the emergence of rapacious characters as leaders.

Therefore, the call by the Turaki and other prominent Nigerians is a call for a better nation. Restructuring has many ramifications and it is only when a majority of Nigerians understand it and buy into it that the decision would emerge through consensus. Okoroma is a Public Affairs analyst from Abuja.

5 Comments

  • Author’s gravatar

    Restructuring is an idea whose time has come.

  • Author’s gravatar

    The long and short (advantages) of the discussions about ‘restructuring Nigeria’ is predicated on the obvious fact that the exercise will enable those sectors/ sections of Nigeria that want to develop and advance to do so than continue to be trapped and stifled by the weakness in the Constitutional arrangements and the Electoral Act which make (creates) difficulty for you to elect the kind of leaderships that can think rationally and particularly how to improve your lot in the Polity – Nigeria! Somebody should let you people know what DEVOLUTION and SEPARATION of powers mean and how these aspects of governance help to promote good governance for development for both the economy and the laws of any country! I heard the President harp on use of separation of powers last month or so; how his administration is going to employ it for effective management of processes in Nigeria and I wonder how this can be possible after reading the report about the influence of Alhaji Abba Kayri – the Chief of Staff in Aso Rock Villa! No gain saying this other than to help you – there is no way you can get it right like others have done until the effect of SEPARATION of powers is allowed or seen to have taken root in the administrative spectrum in Nigeria! Somebody should tell you people what it means and how it works and of course the advantages for country like Nigeria, folks!

  • Author’s gravatar

    Restructuring is the way to go and the time to RESTRUCTURE is now.

  • Author’s gravatar

    Unless Nigeria restructure, it will eventually collapse as a country in its present structure. To me as a Nigerian, I see no future for the majority of Nigerians in its present structure, where more than 25% of the country’s budget is spent on the legislative arm of the government alone. The country need to have a week central and strong regional government structure, without any of the region depending on the central government for anything except for the case of external affairs. Let the country be structured into 6 independent regions with each regional government headed by a first minister and the regional cabinet.The population of each region can hold the government of the region accountable. Each region will have equal representations at the central government in terms of the army, navy and the air-force. The head of these forces will be purely rotational and each region will have equal number in the military ranking as well as in any form of representations in the central government.Unless something is done very fast, the present Nigeria may not survive the nest decade. As for me I see myself first as a Yoruba before considering myself as a Nigerian.

  • Author’s gravatar

    Turaki is on course