THE GOVERNMENT OF THE GOVERNMENT, BY THE GOVERNMENT AND FOR THE GOVERNMENT: The way out

It’s been two decades since Nigeria gained its independence after a lengthy influential military regime and Nigeria still, has not reaped the full dividends of democracy. The fundamental tenets of Abraham Lincoln’s definition of democracy juxtaposes the democratic practices in Nigeria.

Over time, present and past government have place their political ambition and self-interest before the needs of the people which has resulted in high levels of corruption and dwindling of Nigeria’s economic resources leaving the country in a cesspool of poverty, dilapidated infrastructure, epileptic power supply, incessant insecurity, high youth unemployment rate, electoral fraud, marginalization, ethnic division, disregard for rule of law among several other challenges. Though most of the blame can be apportioned to the government, the citizens also have a significant share of the blame. The passive nature of most Nigerians encourage corrupt practices among politicians, I hope to elaborate on this sometime in another post so we don’t derail from the subject matter.

Despite the abundant wealth of mineral and human resources in Nigeria’s arsenal, Nigeria is still home to the most impoverished people in the world. According to the National Bureau of Statistics, over 82 million Nigerians live below the poverty line which represents over forty percent of the population. WOW!!! Nigeria lost a booming agrarian economy to the discovery of oil. The Dutch disease have left many scampering to be elected to public office positions to have a bite of the national cake. The sweet promises of good and inclusive governance during election campaigns suddenly evaporates when politicians get into power. This makes public offices a citadel of corruption, power shoves and egomania.

THE PRESCRIPTION

Nigerians can’t keep deceiving themselves that things will take a turn for good with each passing election. The bitter truth is that NIGERIA IS NOT WORKING!!! I will like to lend my voice to the voices of well-meaning Nigerians who have been clamoring for restructuring. Nigeria seems to be practicing democracy and federalism on paper and not in reality. Genuine federalism does not over concentrate power and resources in the hands of the Federal government. Concentration of power with the federal government gives them too power to dictate the affairs of other levels of government. For example, the local government which is supposed to be an engine for grassroots development lacks autonomy and are even considered irrelevant in the administration of Nigeria. The federal government is clearly heavily burdened with a lot of responsibility which ordinarily should be shared with other levels of government. The 36 states and 774 local government that forms the federation rely on the federal account to execute their constitutional duties. I strongly believe decentralization of power will spur rapid development and have a substantial effect on the lives of the people. This will help widen the arms of government to more rural areas and help cushion the effect of religious and ethnic tensions.

Now here is a way out; all states should be made independent of the federal government. Constitutional powers should be given to all states to exploit and control their natural resource endowment while they pay royalties to the federal government. Ondo state for example, has the second largest bitumen deposit in the world. Bitumen is majorly used in the construction of asphalt roads. Also, Nasarawa in the north central part of Nigeria is known for its rich solid minerals. These regions can become industrial hubs if they are given autonomy to harness these resources which in turn provides massive job opportunities and promote economic development. Most states in Nigeria can boast of housing many cash crops; if agriculture is harnessed to full capacity these will provide revenue for state government through exports. Each state should be responsible for its own economic, social and political development. There is no hiding place in this system of governance. It will put pressure on state government to lead from the front, create strategies to move their economies forward and be more proactive. This opens a lot of room for brainstorming and reduces the redundancies of many ministries in government establishments. It also gives power to the people in the sense that people can hold their various state government and local governments more accountable.  

 Restructuring provides a perfect opportunity to diversify the economy with each state focusing on its resource strength. The federal government can shift its focus to issues of national importance such as defense, extradition, migration, foreign policy etc. Restructuring will come with its own evils but there is no doubt it will help solve many of Nigeria’s grassroots problems and gradually develop areas that have been neglected by government over time.