Southern States Must Resist Military's Three-Tier Government Plan Or Face Diminished Autonomy

 

 

 

 

 By Polycarp Onwubiko

(1) The 1960 Independence Constitution which was later renamed 1963 Republican Constitution was or contained the original and realistic principles of federal system of government as obtained in countries that practice federal system of the.

(2) The military Regime of Gen Aguiyi Ironsi out of crass ignorance of the political crises in the First Republic, suspended the Republican Constitution and ruled with Decree which was expected to be abolished when the civilian government would be restored because military rule was expected to be a short-term measure.

(3) Amendments to the original Federal Constitution ought to be effected by a balanced membership of the National Legislature. Military regime cannot amend a Federal Constitution rather it has to govern with Decrees and leave power after restoration of sanity among the political class.

(4) In 1976, the military jackboots teleguided by the supposed"Northern Political Emirate Establishment" constituted the so-called"Dasuki Local Government Council Unification Reform". Curiously, the Southerners were not in the picture or their opinion sought which of course they would have outrightly rejected the proposal because amendments to a Federal Constitution is the constitutional responsibility of a balanced membership of the country's Legislature.

(5) The Northern Oligarchy had a deft plan to shortchange the Southern part of the country in the distribution of the Commonwealth (proceeds from the sale of crude oil and gas which was the only source of National Revenue for sharing. They want a humongous share of the national revenue to be funnelled to the northern part of the country at the expense and detriment of the southern part of the country.

(6) The so-called Dasuki Local Government Reform recommended THREE TIERS OF GOVERNMENT: with Local Government Council as the THIRD TIER contrary to any known practice in countries that practice federal system of government became local administration is the sole responsibility of the State Governments (or called Regional Governments as was in Nigeria in the First Republic).

(7) Following the creation of three tiers of government, the same military teleguided by the northern hegemony, created surplus local government councils in the Northern part of the country without doing same in the Southern part of the country. The Southerners became tongue-tied marrionete because confronting the military autocrats was perceived as suicidal. For instance Lagos and Kano states had 20 local government councils each but with the surplus local government councils in the north, Kano had additional 20 local government councils making it 40 while Lagos state remained 20 local government councils. The Federal-Unitary contraption referred to as the 1999 constitution made it a virtual impossibility for the southern States to create additional local government councils to balance with the north. It made the Senate to block any application from the state governments to create local government councils. Lagos, Anambra and Ebonyi states attempted to create additional local government councils but president Olusegun Obasanjo made sure they were thrown out by the Senate. Tinubu persisted and named his newly created local government councils as "Development Centers" and distributed the monthly statutory allocation of the local government councils to them.

(8) Monthly Statutory Revenue Sharing Formula was made with the newly created THIRD TIER OF GOVERNMENT, Local Government Council having a given percentage hence the Northern part of the country began to have humongous amount of the monthly Statutory allocation at the expense and detriment of the Southern part of the country.

(9) In furtherance to the deft strategy of the northern log to shortchange the Southern part of the country, local government councils were used to create "Federal Constituencies" whereby the North would have majority members in the House of Representatives ostensibly to be having their way in all Bills, Motions and Resolutions again at the expense and detriment of the southern part of the country. During the so-called Amendments to the fundamentally and fraudulent Military Decreed Constitution, the Committee on amendments of course dominated by the north, rejected State Police because the Fulani Feudal Oligarchy don't want it because it would truncate their dream Islamization agenda using the terrorists masquerading as herdsmen from the Sahel region of West Africa to be the foot soldiers of Islamization agenda killing people and forming kidnapping syndicate and extorting millions of Naira from the relatives of the victims while the supposed Nigerian police pretend that they are helpless watching the body language of Aso Villa landlord.

(10) The supreme court judgement on the so-called local government councils autonomy was stage-managed ostensibly to give Filip to the Centralized governance template even as anybody expecting president Tinubu to kickstart restructuring the lopsided Federation is indulging in an illusion. The gimmickry in the National Assembly for the creation of State Police is merely to distract the Southerners as ministry of livestock development has been established to use public funds to further the frontiers of Fulani herdsmen's rapine while the issue of Ranching is a ruse.

(11) Southerners should insist lawfully to have the lopsided Federation Restructured to restore local administration back to the state governments and the country restored to two tiers of government in tandem with the inexorable principles of federal system of government as obtained in the First Republic and other countries that practice federal system of government.

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