By Polycarp Onwubiko
I listened to Dr. Olisa
Agbakoba, a Senior Advocate of Nigeria (SAN), during his presentation titled
"Agbakoba shakes the table before Tinubu" and humbly offer my
observations as follows.
(1) It is not in contestation
that Agbakoba is a legal icon and intelligent. Sadly, in his presentation, he
skirted around the core issues on how to reinvent Nigeria. Why resort to sheer
"merry-go-round" covertly to please Mr. President?
(2) There are thousands of
Agbakobas in all the ethnic nationalities in Nigeria. If that is the case, why
can't they be nominated by their people for another National Conference to either?
(a) Review the 1960 Independence
Constitution later renamed the Republican Constitution to be in sync with the
realistic principles of federal systems of government, aligning with what is
obtained in other Federations in the world today; or
(b) Embark on a fresh Constitution with the
principles of federal systems of government called "True Federalism"
(the actual meaning of "true federalism," to my analytical
conviction, is those principles of federal systems of government enshrined in
the 1960 Constitution, which was later renamed the 1963 Republican
Constitution. These principles of federal systems of government WERE AGREED
upon by the representatives of the ethnic nationalities in Constitutional
Conferences held in Nigeria and London before they were enshrined as part of
the Independence Constitution. To be frank and forthright, there was nothing
WRONG with those principles of federal systems of government. Other Federations
have variants of federalism, BUT the ethnic nationalities' representatives settled
for those principles, and they were being practiced, and Nigeria was
progressing, hence the term "Competitive Federalism," to the joy of
every ethnic nationality.
The implementations were good,
and the Regional Governments were progressing, formulating policies,
programmes, and projects that satisfied the deep yearnings and aspirations of
their people. The respective Regional Governments explored and exploited the
vast natural and mineral resources within their respective jurisdictions,
creating massive employment and wealth hence the term "Competitive
Federalism," as said above, whereby the respective Regional Governments
were leveraging on the natural and mineral resources within their respective
jurisdictions and created wealth and massive employment. It was a section of
the country that destroyed the principles of federal systems of government for
self-serving preferences to impose their decadent value system. This is a CLEAR
AND UNAMBIGUOUS FACT.
(3) The Original Federal
Constitution is MADE BY THE ETHNIC NATIONALITIES while amendments are within
the constitutional responsibility of the national and state assemblies. The
Federal Constitution is never made by the military jackboots, and for the
National Assembly to amend the military-imposed constitution cannot be
tolerated by other ethnic nationalities because the Constitution was not made
by the ethnic nationalities.
The National Assembly is
lopsided courtesy of the discreditable "Dasuki Local Government
Reform" during the military regime where the Northern political and
traditional elites used the opportunity to create surplus local government
councils in the north while none was created in the south.
The military regime further
used the local government councils as the basis for Federal Constituencies,
which was a conscious plan to make the north have a preponderance majority of
members in the National Assembly at the expense and detriment of the south.
Again contrary to the principles of federal systems of government as practiced
worldwide, the Dasuki Local Government Reform made local government a THIRD
TIER so that humongous financial resources from the Statutory Federation
Account will be channeled to the north at the expense and detriment of the
south. During that time, the southern elites had no power to challenge the
military jackboots.
No person who knows about
FEDERALISM cannot contradict this salient fact. The 1999 CONSTITUTION was not
made by the ethnic nationalities; rather, it was made by the military regime.
The clownish posturing going on for over ten years in the National Assembly in
the name of Amendments does not impress those of us who have made intensive and
extensive research on FEDERALISM with respect to Nigeria.
My book titled "320
EXTRAPOLATIONS ON THE FUNDAMENTALS OF FEDERALISM IN NIGERIA (2021)" is the
most authoritative political science textbook in Nigeria today. I am not
boastful about that. It was twelve years of research work, containing virtually
everything that those versed in the politics of Nigeria have said and written
about the categorical imperative of going back to the 1960 Independence
Constitution later renamed the 1963 Republican Constitution, which
Restructuring the lopsided Federation is ALL ABOUT.
On this score, it is
unfortunate that Agbakoba should be skirting around, perhaps to please the
powers that be, namely the Tinubu Administration and the faceless coterie and
phalanx who have stamped their feet on the ground to resist the country going
back to the principles of the federal system of government as enshrined in the
REPUBLICAN CONSTITUTION? Really, I was NOT impressed with Agbakoba's
presentation. I have been one of his fans, closely following his public
utterances and writings on governance in Nigeria. In fact, to say that he has
'expired' as far as reinventing Nigeria is concerned is merely stating the
obvious; I have much respect for him, but he has disappointed me with the
presentation before President Tinubu.
It's not everyone that you can
mesmerize with such abstract reasoning, pontification laced with oratorical
flourish. Without sounding immodest, my book cited above remains a watershed to
rely upon or be consulted for any information on Nigeria as far as FEDERALISM
is concerned. I didn't put down my opinions; rather, what I put down were the enlightened
researched accounts of enlightened Nigerians and political scientists. There is
nothing one can say to contradict the minds of Nigerians to deviate from the
principles of the federal system of government that worked perfectly in the
First Republic.
The question again is: WHO IS
AFRAID OF NIGERIA REINVENTING THE PRINCIPLES OF FEDERAL SYSTEM OF GOVERNMENT AS
PRACTICED IN THE FIRST REPUBLIC? Who is fooling whom? Southerners should stop
being bootlickers of the so-called "Northern Political Emirates Establishment,"
sounding sycophantic to please them for material well-being. It amounts to
brazen-faced deception to allow the LOPSIDED NATIONAL ASSEMBLY to amend the
1999 Constitution, which was fraudulent and deeply flawed, shamelessly lying in
the PREAMBLE that "We Nigerians give to ourselves this Constitution"!
How shameful for some people to
support a clearly lopsided National Assembly to amend a constitution that was
made to favor a section of the country, the Northern Moslems? And to allow the
National Assembly, which was crafted in such a way to have a majority of
members from the Northern part of the country, as said above, courtesy of the
discreditable "Dasuki Local Government Reform" of 1976, which
brazenly bastardized the principles of the federal system of government and
went the extra mile to make the Nigeria Federation A THREE-TIER SYSTEM, which
is out of sync with the practice of federalism the world over?
Yes, there are VARIANTS of
FEDERALISM worldwide, BUT the TRUE FEDERALISM we are talking about is the
PRINCIPLES OF FEDERAL SYSTEM OF GOVERNMENT FASHIONED BY THE REPRESENTATIVES OF
THE ETHNIC NATIONALITIES IN THE SERIES OF CONSTITUTIONAL CONFERENCES BEFORE THE
ENACTMENT OF THE 1960 CONSTITUTION LATER RENAMED REPUBLICAN CONSTITUTION.
Agbakoba said that he doesn't
want to use the word "Restructuring" but prefers using the word
"Devolution of powers." Then the question remains: who will do that
Devolution of powers; President Tinubu or the lopsided National Assembly which
will return the country to the Unitary-Federal contraption because the majority
of members are from the section of the country that hates anything like
Restructuring the lopsided Federation and multi-level policing? When the Bill
on Devolution of powers from the president gets to the National Assembly, the
majority members from the "core north" will vote against anything that
is closer to TRUE FEDERALISM.
An example is the Committee on
Constitution Amendment which brazenly rejected State Police, which the majority
of Nigerians want as the only panacea for effective and efficient security
architecture as an integral part of restructuring of the lopsided Federation
(remember my definition of TRUE FEDERALISM is going back to the principles of
the federal system of government as practiced in the first republic but was
destroyed through the vaulting and vaunting ambition of the Northern Moslems to
breathe down on the other ethnic nationalities so that they would impose their
decadent, primitive culture of values on the rest of the country.
Why hide this stark fact by
pretenders who want to massage the ego of the shadowy characters that have
sworn to keep the country in the Unitary-Federal contraption backed with the
1999 Constitution supposedly under Amendments ostensibly to continue in subtle
ways to maintain the dysfunctional centralized governance template which has
completely destroyed the country. Agbakoba further said that the federal
government should "invite traditional rulers, leaders of ethnic
nationalities" to seek how to get peace in Nigeria. That is out rightly
discreditable, an unfortunate pontification.
What criteria will President
Tinubu use in inviting or selecting the traditional rulers to decide what
Nigerians want in Federalism? Is it not to select clowns and court jesters who
will be given a template to work on? Where on earth have sane and sanitized
Federations included traditional rulers in government and discussions on modern
governance?
Haba, Nigeria! Why are we
shying away from the enlightened suggestion for another National Conference of
ethnic nationalities (as was done for the independence constitution) to
brainstorm on PEOPLE'S CONSTITUTION, FISCAL FEDERALISM, and more poignantly, to
allow the representatives of ethnic nationalities to articulate HOW NIGERIA
WILL BE GOVERNED, satisfying the deep yearnings and aspirations of ALL
NIGERIANS? Without being immodest, I can challenge Agbakoba to a debate, and I
will outshine him as far as Nigerian FEDERALISM is concerned.
The solution to the monumental
challenges facing Nigeria is simple; we must GO BACK TO THE PRINCIPLES OF
FEDERAL SYSTEM OF GOVERNMENT AS PRACTICED IN THE FIRST REPUBLIC. Agbakoba's
suggestion for a constitutional provision for traditional rulers is most
unexpected from an enlightened personage. How many of the traditional rulers
are literate, let alone aware of the issues in governance? The occupation of
the traditional rulership in preponderant places is based on primitive culture
and tradition, in addition to being a fixed tenure until death, even as moneybags
covet the throne and use crass impunity and mindless monstrosities in
intimidating their people while the Government is helpless.
How many advanced countries in
the world, especially sane and sanitized Federations, have traditional rulers
in governance, as mentioned above? Why should the revered legal icon indulge in
sycophantic posturing to please 'peacock' traditional rulers just to court
their favor or title? He could not tell President Tinubu, who was present at
the forum, the unvarnished truth because he adopted sycophantic posturing to
please him and may be 'eyeing' a juicy political appointment. He could not tell
him point-blank about the immediate need to decentralize security architecture
and drive away the terrorists masquerading as herdsmen and their families who
have occupied the ancestral lands of the people of southern Kaduna, inching
into middle belt states while the people are languishing in makeshift refugee
resettlement and dying in droves while the federal government looks away as if
it is not a problem.
Multi-level policing remains
the ONLY panacea for effective and efficient security architecture as an
integral part of restructuring, which resonates with what obtains in the
Federations around the world. Of course, he could not have done that for fear
of courting the repulse of the shadowy figures that claim the 'ownership' of
Nigeria and whose stand on national issues must be respected and implemented
through the lopsided National Assembly.
In fact, I was sorely
exasperated with his presentation, although having kept a close eye on his
positions on national issues for some years, I came to the conclusion that it
is not the vibrant Olisa Agbakoba I knew in realistically dissecting critical
national issues and staking his life on issues that present nightmares to the
Igbo people. Political scientists know the difference between RESTRUCTURING
GOVERNANCE AND DEVOLUTION OF POWERS. The former goes hand in hand with a
National Conference of ethnic nationalities to brainstorm and fashion an ORIGINAL
CONSTITUTION with realistic principles of a federal system of government that
SUITS their country. This was done before the Independence Constitution. In
other words, the ORIGINAL CONSTITUTION is the handiwork of ethnic nationalities
and NOT military jackboots or the National Assembly.
When the principles of the
federal system of government are agreed upon by the representatives of ethnic
nationalities, they are embedded in the Federal Constitution. On the contrary,
DEVOLUTION OF POWERS is at the behest of the president and a compliant National
Assembly, which can be abolished at any time by any president in cahoots with a
compliant National Assembly. Somebody has said that the 10th National Assembly
is the worst Legislature.
More importantly, the present
National Assembly is lopsided in favor of the northern Moslems and senile and
timid representatives from the middle belt states who are comfortable with the
Unitary-Federal contraption backed with the equally contraption called the 1999
Constitution supposedly under Amendments to favor the preferences of the
Caliphate hegemonists who stridently kicked against Restructuring the lopsided
Federation because of grossly unprincipled and selfish calculations to
perpetuate their stranglehold in Nigeria at the expense and detriment of the
ethnic nationalities.
By Polycarp Onwubiko JP, Author, and public policy analyst
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