Federalism as the balm

Many (if not most) Nigerians have come to the inevitable conclusion that the eight years of the
Olusegun Obasanjo reign in Nigeria, were wasted years and at best, should be consigned to the dustbins of history.  While I may not differ beyond a certain degree from this positing, there is need for a logical analogy as to why the country is still tottering, after 47 years of independence, desperately fought for by founding leaders of the nation.  To do so, we have to ask and answer some salient questions that dog us by the day. 

Some friends of Obasanjo have come to the conclusion that the Nigerian press is spending too much space complaining about the man being the main problem with Nigeria but even the elder statesman and leader of the Igbo nation, Dim Chukwuemeka Odumegwu Ojukwu is quoted as having said that “Obasanjo is the cancer eating away at Nigeria.  Remove the man and the nation will be healed.”  I am among those who agree with him and make no bones about it.  To be factual, the man has made his way into any history book that can ever be written about Nigeria, having been part of the military and civilian leaderships the country has known since independence.

To set the records straight, Obasanjo was not the first ‘democratically’ elected president in the country.  First, we ran a parliamentary system of government our colonial masters, Britain, bequeathed to us, which saw Dr. Nnamdi Azikiwe as the titular governor general while Abubakar Tafawa Balewa held sway as prime minister.  That regime lasted barely four years before it fell on its face. 

Following the insurrection that greeted the 1965 general elections, it was not unexpected that new tonic needed to be injected into the polity as a palliative, maybe to remind us of what it takes to be self-governed.  The military took over, one from the other, until 1979 when Obasanjo, probably due to his infancy in governance, granted us a new civilian government headed by Alhaji Shehu Shagari.  That government also failed like a poorly constructed culvert, for various reasons – corruption and an attempt to perpetuate itself in power.  The usual resort was inevitable.  The military took over again and changed batons among themselves until 1999 when Obasanjo (this time in civilian garb) took over the helm of affairs.

A calculated look at the chequered history of the independent Nigerian nation shows that Obasanjo has held the reins of power longer than any other Nigerian. 

Out of 47 years, he was in charge for 12 years.  It is for this reason that many Nigerians are quick to point accusing fingers at the retired general for the failure of the nation-state called Nigeria.

For the avoidance of doubt, it is believed that whatever heights he attained were on merit.  To become a general is also no mean feat, considering that you control men, resources, materials and lives.  In the process, one must necessarily possess the gift of situation analysis and ability to decipher probabilities and nuances capable of derailing planned programmes or projects.  From his days as deputy head of state, head of state, retired general, incarcerated Nigerian and then civilian president, any dint of love for his nation would have prompted him to properly diagnose the problems of the country and the best possible cure for its ailments. 

When he assumed office (as civilian president), he met what he himself agreed was a faulty constitution.  He immediately instituted an all-party Presidential Committee for the Review of the Constitution, PCRC, which traversed the lengths and breadth of the country, gathering diverse opinions from Nigerians as to what they expected in the constitution.  After about a year and several millions of naira spent, the report of that committee is still gathering dust on the president’s shelf, as he never bothered sending it to the National Assembly for debate and possible passage.  Apparently jittery about leaving office, he again set up another miniature committee to send certain items for amendment to the Assembly, smuggling a third (or is it life) term agenda into the proposed amendments.  When it was discovered, all the suggested amendments were shelved, sending the nation to where it is now – back to the drawing board.

Many unsuspecting Nigerians had, by now, come to terms with the man’s inability to exhibit a clear sense of honesty, patriotism or nationalism.  How could he preach anti-corruption, when he and his family members wallowed in it?  How could he preach rule of law when he broke the law, or at least disobeyed it, with impunity? 

How could he control state security, when he condoned extra-judicial killings at will?  How could he defend true federalism, when he as much as called Chief Obafemi Awolowo a saboteur for even thinking of it?  Incidentally, these are only a few of the issues tearing the nation apart today.

Now that we, as a nation, have deemed it fit to bequeath ourselves and future generations a proper working document as a constitution, we all need to make our inputs into what it should contain, to remove previous hindrances and get the country of our birth moving again. 

Even the 1999 document known as our constitution, was forced down our throats by the military and so have others before it except that of 1963, which also had its failings.  To me, this is the one that needs revising, not the one created by soldiers.

Since the idea of amending the 1999 document was first mooted, Nigerians have been debating extensively on what should be included or deleted, by way of vox pops and commentaries. Those that attracted the most comments and opinions include removal of the immunity clause, federalism, introduction of state-run police forces, creation of states and local governments, decentralization of federal government powers, among others.   Most of these suggestions may have arisen from past experiences in the effort to find our democracy; but I believe that many are absolutely uncalled for at this stage of our democracy and, if not carefully handled, could plunge the nation deeper into the abyss we now find ourselves. 

The immunity clause, as contained in section 308 of the constitution, for instance, is a necessity.  The fact that our immediate past governors and national leaders abused it does not give enough reason to throw away the baby with the bath water.  Like Afenifere leader, Ayo Adebanjo put it: “…if you think of the repercussion of removing it (the clause), particularly as it affects the smooth running of the government, you will think twice.” 

The problem with what we find as offending in the clause is the result of a faulty electoral process that threw up criminals as leaders, just because they had enough (stolen) money to force a hapless populace to ignore their ignoble track records.  Afterall, we watched some cases, that looked like Nollywood home videos, where confirmed criminals, who should have been in jail, paid their way to freedom and even election into positions of trust.  If we must chart a course, we must find a way to elect only credible persons into positions of authority.  Such persons are less likely to cause mayhem that would necessitate regular litigations that cannot be brought against the state instead of the individual.

During the last administration, some governors advocated for control of the police in their states.  The suggestion is still making the rounds even though it did not go down well with Nigerians who had witnessed how they recklessly used the Force against supposed enemies, to rig elections and intimidate the electorate into giving them a second term in office in 2003.  Some even went to the extent of making police uniforms for thugs who raided polling stations and carted away election materials.  For national security, let the Inspector General take charge of his men.

To me, the most vital issue that requires urgent address is federalism because it is the most fundamental problem of the nation.  As this column has stressed in the past, this is the fulcrum on which the nation can revolve, to understand what its real problems are, because of the diversity of ethnicity, cultures, traditions and beliefs that we have been trying unsuccessfully to weld together.  It is only when you diagnose a problem that you can determine what medication is best suited for the healing.

The longer the sore is ignored, the more difficult it is to heal.