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Follow Us on Google DiscoverWELL, we cannot really say that the states have failed. The issues go beyond emotions and platitudes. It just shows that we have left the most important issues undone, and now, the chicken has come home to roost. Two things are very important here: one is the structural construct of Nigeria itself and we can’t stop talking about that. The second issue is what we became as a people. We became indulgent and profligate, and in the midst of that, we stopped working. Hard work became alien to our cultural orientation and here we are. What can be done to strengthen these weak states?
I am also very uncomfortable when we narrow issues of state viability to that of paying workers’ wages. Important as that is, it also goes to show how low we have sunk in the larger national productivity conversation. Workers must be paid, but also, must schools be built, hospitals well equipped, roads constructed and other social infrastructure attended to. The issue that is staring us in the face right now is how to get out of trouble and how our states can become viable, become strategic frontiers for development, be on the pathway to sustainability and contribute to the gross national competitiveness
Many people have championed the issue of fiscal federalism and I think we need to put that in the centre of national priority. If you consider the obtuse nature of the revenue sharing formula, whereby the central government takes the lion share, when in the real sense of the word, the agents of national productivity reside primarily in the states, and then, you would understand that we needed to do a re-think.
Secondly, the states themselves must be prepared at this stage for the hardwork that their viability requires. The reality is that those days are gone when they would leave their assets and endowments idle and be chasing federal allocation from Abuja. Any wise state now should immediately adjust its expectations from statutory transfers and settle down to uncovering its latent assets and endowments and mobilise the talent and enterprise of its people for state-level productivity. Part of that reality is that, whether formally declared or not, we are in a state of austerity and that’s not bad news. Nations have managed through austerity by simply recognising that reality and working hard to overcome their difficulties.
Would you consider going back to the First Republic regional arrangement? I agree that we have to restructure Nigeria for progress and sustainable development, but I don’t think the issue is stricto sensus; going back to the model of the First Republic regional arrangement. Of course, that served us very well. But that may be a bit far-fetched now in view of what Nigeria has willy-nilly imposed on all of us. I think the important thing is to recognise regionalism and organising for regional development as a national competitiveness imperative, and not mere political jargons or activist fancies. I am convinced that organising for regional-led development is the way to go. Let’s not deceive ourselves. The states as they are, are too atomised to make any meaningful sense. It is a waste of time to ignore the argument of scale and insist on remaining the way we are. Even the best of efforts or endeavours from individual states would result in sub-optimal results. If you look to bridge developmental disproportions and create a new value agenda for sustainable progress, regional organisation is the way to go.
Fortunately, Nigeria is naturally structured along regional zones and we must stop running from that fact, rather we should aim at optimising the capabilities that scale and synergy offer.
Moreover, our endowments are often regional, so also are much of our afflictions and only regional solutions make ultimate sense. It is heartwarming to note, however, that some form of consensus may be building along this line.
