• VP: Nigeria’s fiscal woes stem from poor resource management, not federal structure
• ‘Shettima projecting interest of the North against restructuring’ 

From Seye Olumide (Lagos) and Terhemba Daka (Abuja)
 
Vice President Kashim Shettima’s assertion yesterday that corruption, not the absence of true federalism, is the country’s major problem evoked discordant tunes, drawing flak among stakeholders on Shettima’s prognosis of the country’s situation.
   
Shettima, who spoke as the keynote speaker at the 17th edition of the Leadership Annual Conference and Award, held at the State House Banquet Hall, Abuja, noted that Nigeria’s biggest challenge in its federal system lies not in its structure, but in a pervasive deficit of fiscal responsibility across all tiers of government as the mismanagement of the country’s resources had retarded the nation’s progress over the years.
   
The VP, however, declared that the President Bola Tinubu-led administration is committed to bold reforms designed to foster a more functional as well as people-centered federal system. A key pillar of this effort, Shettima noted, is the administration’s push for local government autonomy.
   
“There is no doubt that the Nigerian challenge, when carefully considered, lies less in the structure of our federalism and more in the deficit of our collective fiscal responsibility. The problems we attribute to our federal system often stem from the poor management of what is already within our grasp, not from any inherent flaw in our constitutional architecture,” he said.
   
Cautioning against the wholesale importation of foreign federalism models, the Vice President cited examples from Canada, Germany, and Spain to highlight that every federation evolves according to its unique socio-political realities.
   
“No federal system is perfect. Each adapts to its own context. We must resist the temptation to romanticise foreign systems or prescribe imported solutions that fail to account for our distinct social, ethnic, and demographic complexities,” he said.
   
Shettima stressed the importance of tailoring Nigeria’s federal structure to meet national aspirations, just as he called for sincere dialogue and collective reform. He pointed to recent policy initiatives such as fuel subsidy removal as well as tax reform legislation as evidence of the government’s commitment to building a fiscally responsible federation.
   
“What matters most to everyday Nigerians—whether in Owerri or Sokoto—is not the abstract theory of federalism but whether governance delivers water, electricity, schools, roads, and hospitals,” he added.
   
The Vice President urged stakeholders at all levels—federal, state, and local—to manage resources with prudence and transparency.  
 
 However, some stakeholders disagreed with Shettima’s prognosis, lambasting him for his stance that corruption, and not the present skewed federalism, is the problem of the country.
   
While some accused the vice president of working at variance with the ideals and ideologies of the President Tinubu’s administration, which has set in motion constitutional review towards regionalism, state police, local government autonomy, others said Shettima being a former governor of Borno State and one time senator, is not just repeating himself but making the position of the region he represents loud and clear to the nation.
   
The President of the Yoruba Ronu Leadership Forum, Akin Malaolu, said the VP should not be blamed for his timid position in relation to true federalism. He is stating the position of the North and their objections to certain advantages they have always enjoyed. 
   
“To proponents of true federalism, they must not sleep or retire from their ambitions to get Nigeria evolved in managing her affairs through resource control amongst others. The autonomy granted to local government and the creation of state police to fight criminality are aspects of true federalism, which the North doesn’t want. More local governments for Lagos State are also objected to.  
 
“The Vice President should be made to understand what true federalism connotes, which is for every region to manage its resources and contribute to the centre a certain percentage of their earnings. True federalism will curb corruption and self-centeredness, which are the pivots turning the Nation within the doldrums of stunted growth. The present system promotes more corruption due to various insertions in our 1999 constitution.  If Nigeria must grow, the constitution must have to be tinkered with to accommodate deserved dignity in management of human and capital resources.”
   
Also, former spokesman of Pan Niger Delta Forum (PANDEF), Ken Robinson, knocked Shettima for his position, accusing him of not being sincere with the realities confronting the country. He also said President Tinubu should intermittently watch his back for fifth columnists in his government who don’t want Nigeria’s present skewed system to change because of what they were benefiting from it.
   
“To me, while the vice president is focusing on financial corruption, what about the electoral corruption and other forms of corruption, imbalance in the distribution of wealth of Nigeria, which the 1999 Constitution seriously encouraged and facilitated,” he said.  
   
Robinson noted that the vice president has only said what his belief is from his own point of understanding and not what Nigeria really is. He said every challenge facing Nigeria today stems from the badly written 1999 Constitution. 
 
“There is no way corruption can stop under the present system of government. To put it succinctly, this Constitution and the current system of government encourages corruption, protects those perpetrating corruption and it also encourages division and sectional suspicion among the various ethnic nationalities.”
   
In his remarks, Achike Chude, national general secretary of the Nigerian Union of Journalists (NUJ) and human rights activist, tackled the vice president, saying the former governor of Borno State is not sincere about the realities confronting the country.
   
According to him, “corruption is just one aspect of the myriads of problems facilitated by the skewed federal structure. If we tame financial corruption, will that stop electoral corruption? The Northern elements, which he represents are against efforts to restructure Nigeria and it is not a surprise the vice president of speaking in that direction.”
   
He also said the position of the vice president indicated the seriousness of the incumbent administration on retooling Nigeria to true federalism. “I really do not see the sincerity in the ongoing constitution amendment on state police, regionalism and others if a core figure in an administration is speaking the way Shettima has been speaking. ”
   
He, therefore, urged President Tinubu to go the whole hog in changing the 1999 Constitution instead of the piecemeal approach of review it is embarking on.
   
Also reacting, Yoruba socio-political organisation, Afenifere, said while it agreed that corruption has undeniably undermined development and eroded public trust, it differed with the assertion that structural imbalance plays no significant role in Nigeria’s current predicament.
   
Speaking, National Organising Secretary of Afenifere, Abagun Kole Omololu, said: “It is our considered view that the over-centralised nature of governance in Nigeria has long impeded local ingenuity, suppressed sub-national development, and fostered dependency rather than self-reliance among the federating units. True federalism is not a mere aspiration, it is the requisite framework for equity, inclusivity and efficiency in a diverse polity such as ours.
 
“To dismiss the consequences of structural dysfunction is to overlook the enabling environment that allows both mismanagement and corruption to flourish. When states and local governments lack control over their own resources, security architecture, and administrative autonomy, inefficiencies are bound to persist, irrespective of good intentions at the centre.
 
“It is particularly discordant to hear such remarks at a time when the administration of President Tinubu is making demonstrable efforts to pursue genuine federalist reforms. Afenifere applauds President Tinubu’s resolve in this regard. While we are yet to fully realise local government autonomy, the President’s direction is one we recognise as sincere and worthy of support.”
 
The group said reforms such as state policing, resource control, and constitutional devolution should not be undermined by narratives that downplay the foundational flaws in our current federal arrangement. “We must simultaneously confront both corruption and structural imbalance to secure enduring transformation.
 
“Afenifere remains steadfast in its commitment to a Nigeria governed by the principles of equity, justice, and true federalism. We urge all organs of government to align their public pronouncements with the urgent need for constitutional restructuring and the delivery of substantive reforms,” it said.
   
In same vein, Annkio Briggs, convener of the Niger Delta Self Determination Movement (NDSM), has faulted the Vice President on his submission that corruption other than federalism is the biggest threat to Nigeria.
   
Reacting to the VP’s position on Tuesday, Briggs said that the lack of true federalism is the reason why corruption thrives in the country, adding that because politicians feed fat on corruption, they find it difficult to make a process for federalism.
   
She said it is only safe to say that corruption is part of the country’s problem but that with true federalism at all levels of governance, Nigeria will be a better place.
   
“I disagree with Shettima. Corruption is only part of our problems. What we need in this country is true federalism. This is what we have been fighting for many years. Isaac Adaka Boro fought for it. The Ogonis fought for it. With true federalism, corruption will reduce drastically”, she said.
   
The spokesperson of the Ijaw Republican Assembly (IRA) said that true federalism indicates that people should keep their resources and use them to develop their areas. “It is only in such a situation that you can see a semblance of good society.”
   
According to her, “the young military rulers in the Sahel region of West Africa have come to see this reason, which is why they were able to force France out of their territory after many years of exploitation. That is how it should be.
   
“What we want is true federalism. True federalism will, in turn, deal with corruption in its own way. We want to control our resources so that we can use that to develop our region,” she said.