Readings In Yar’Adua’s Federal Character Compliance

Taiwo Adisa, Group Politics Editor

President Umar Yara'dua Application of the Federal Character principle enshrined in the 1999 Constitution has always come with controversy. And this is not strange. The constitutional provision itself is aimed at addressing a controversial issue.

In promoting federal character, people have talked about the possibility of relegating merit and promoting mediocrity. There is also the possibility that the implementation of the policy could further breed division among the ethnic groups, rather than cement them as the proponents had planned.

For instance, there is the valid belief that a negative feeling about the country would be implanted into the psyche of a child who, after scoring impressive marks at a common entrance examination, is denied admission, while his compatriots from other zones who scored lesser marks are admitted.

 Such a child could grow up with the feeling that the country does not encourage excellence, and that could have negative implications for the future of the country.

The Federal Character principle as enshrined in the 1999 Constitution is targeted at ensuring unity and sense of belonging among the ethnic groupings that make up the country. While it may not be a necessary ingredient in processing admissions into the unity schools or even the Universities, but the improvisation of educationally less advantaged states has meant that the principle of Federal Character would become a norm in educational matters.

While the principle is being adopted religiously (with attendant criticisms) in the educational sector, those implementing government policy have found ways around its implementation in the political sector, an area where many would contend is actually the target of the constitutional provision.

Section 14 (3) of the 1999 Constitution which makes Federal Character a state policy indicates thus: “The composition of the Government of the Federation or any of its agencies and the conduct of its affairs shall be carried out in such a manner as to reflect the federal character of Nigeria and the need to promote national unity, and also to command national loyalty, thereby ensuring that there shall be no predominance of persons from a few State or from a few ethnic or other sectional groups in that government or in any of its agencies.”

The Constitution also goes further in Section 14(4) to state that: “The composition of the government of a state, a local government council, or any of the agencies of such Government or council, and the conduct of the affairs of the Government or council or such agencies shall be carried out in such manner as to recognise the diversity of the people within its area of authority and the need to promote a sense of belonging and loyalty among all the people of the Federation.”

To further guarantee stability and engender a sense of belonging among Nigerians, the drafters of the constitution also included Section 15 which reads: “15. (1) The motto of the Federal Republic of Nigeria shall be Unity and Faith, Peace and Progress.

(2) Accordingly, national integration shall be actively encouraged, whilst discrimination on the grounds of place of origin, sex, religion, status, ethnic or linguistic association or ties shall be prohibited.

(3) For the purpose of promoting national integration, it shall be the duty of the State to:

(a) Provide adequate facilities for, and encourage free mobility of people, goods and services throughout the federation.

(b) Secure full residence rights for every citizen in all parts of the federation.”

  Section 14(3) of the Constitution has often been quoted by senators and lawmakers who protest against marginalization of their areas.

During the ministerial screening in the Senate in 2007 and in 2008, senators seized the floor of the Senate to make issues out of the perceived marginalization of their zones through the appointment of some of the nominees.

The appointment of Chief Ojo Maduekwe, the incumbent Minister of Foreign Affairs, was the first to spark off agitation among Abia lawmakers, with senator Enyinnaya Abaribe leading the protest.

The Senators from Abia insisted that Maduekwe was not fit to be appointed minister again, having served in government in different capacities for nearly twenty years. They contended that his reappointment would amount to his being perpetuated in office against the spirit of the Constitution.

In the same vein, the nomination of Mr. Gabriel Adukwu from Kogi drew flaks for the government of President Umaru Yar’Adua, with senator Smart Adeyemi and senator Otaru Ohize insisting that the nomination amounted to marginalization of Kogi West and Central respectively. The list of protesting senators got elongated to the extent that the Senate leadership had to find ingenuous means of ensuring that most of the President’s nominees were not rejected by the Senate on account of Federal Character.
  With such an experience, it was expected that the President would be extremely careful in the implementation of the Federal Character Principle as far as appointments into key positions are concerned.

But the decision to pick the nation’s economic managers from the North West, and especially from Kano and Katsina states has raised further dusts. Newly appointed Governor of the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN), Mr. Sanusi Lamido Sanusi, the Minister of finance, Dr. Muktar Mansur, Minister of National Planning, Dr. Shamsudeen Usman, and the Chief Economic Adviser to the President, Dr. Tanimu Yakubu Kurfi are all from the North West, where the President also hails from.

  While the nation is still savouring the possible implication of that decision, comes the revelation that that no fewer than 20 federal institutions and agencies have violated the sacred provision of the 1999 Constitution as far as the implementation of the Federal Character principle is concerned.

The recruitment policies of the said agencies have been found to violate the principle, just as the policy tend to reflect the character of the man at the helm of affairs.

While the South East took lead positions at the CBN as a result of the governorship of the bank by Prof. Chukwuma Soludo, the zone also cornered the National Communications Commission (NCC) and the Nigeria Energy Commission (NEC).

Besides the three agencies, statistics provided by the relevant agencies indicated that many agencies have violated the Federal Character principle with clear indications that they have upped the ante under Yar’Adua.

The agencies include the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC), the Nigerian Army, the State Security Services (SSS), Nigeria Intelligence Agency (NIA), the Ministry of Internal Affairs, Department of Petroleum Resources (DPR), Nigeria Liquefied Natural Gas Limited (NLNG), the National Salaries and Wages Commission , Federal Medical Centre, Gasau, Federal Medical Centre Birnin-Kebi, the Nigeria Communications Satellite(NIGCOMSAT) ,the Petroleum Technology Development Trust Fund (PTDF) and the National Agency for Food Administration and Control (NAFDAC) .

It would remain incomprehensible that an administration that prides itself of been a believer in the rule of law should fall into the trap of deliberate violations of the constitutional provision.

But the government had chosen to offer an explanation on the appointment of special aides and Advisers of the President last year.

The Special Adviser to the President on Communication, Mr. Olusegun Adeniyi, had said in the wake of hot criticisms on the “Northernisation” policy of the administration that the north actually has fewer appointments as far as presidential aides are concerned than the south.

The statistics he presented then had painted a picture whereby the south is seen as enjoying more room in the President’s kitchen cabinet.  But it has turned out that that is how far the statistics can go.  It has clearly emerged that the President’s inner caucus remains his Katsina loyalists, with a splinter of additions from Kano and one or two states.

Indeed, it has emerged that most appointments in this administration get the blessing of a key figure from Katsina state who is a member of the kitchen cabinet.

Although Segun Adeniyi’s comprehensive reply to critics of his boss’s violation of the Federal Character principle was made exactly a year ago, it still remains relevant as only a few appointments have been made since then, with the statistics remaining largely the same.

The President’s spokesman had said:  ”a verifiable list of all the personal aides, special advisers and other appointees to the Yar’Adua Presidency reveals that the north is actually behind the south. While the President retained about 80 per cent of the personnel from the Obasanjo era, even a cursory glance at the state of origin of the few he himself appointed reveals that majority are actually from the south.

“Records kept by the Office of the Chief of Staff to the President show that out of the 57 political appointees in the Presidency, 31 come from the south and only 26 from the north. A breakdown of Presidential Aides further reveals that of the 19 Senior Special Assistants (SSA), 11 are from the South and eight from the North, while of the 23 Special assistants (SA), 13 are from the South and 10 from the North. There are only four Personal Assistants (PA); three are from the south with only one from the north.”

Notwithstanding the claims that may be contained in the defence by the Presidency, Nigerians have come to distinguish key appointments from just any appointments. Some presidential aides are in charge of agencies where the budget is nearly the size of some ministries, whereas, some others don’t have budgets attached to their offices. In that wise, the number of appointments accruing to each of the zone would not be the only correct yardstick to measure marginalization.

Somehow, Nigerians have come to imbibe the feeling that Yar’Adua’s government is promoting sectionalism. The conduct and actions of some of those who are seen as constituting the kitchen cabinet are doing nothing to alter this feeling.