Stories by Ibrahim Ramalan
The increasing call for the restructuring of Nigeria to reflect true federalism again got a boost as prominent Nigerians at the weekend attributed the current backwardness of the country and corruption ravaging it to the current structure, which is unitary in nature.
Speaking on Saturday at the launch of the book “Nigeria: The Forsaken Road to Nationhood and Development”, authored by retired ambassador, Humphrey Orjiakor, chairman of the occasion and former Secretary General of the Commonwealth, Chief Emeka Anyaoku, said the nation is shackled by its current structure of 36 mostly unviable states and 774 local governments, which depend heavily on subvention from the Federal government.
He said that the overconcentration of power in the hands of the federal government triggers fractious politics characterized by a do- or- die competition for the control of the centre by different sub-national and interest groups.
He also dispelled the insinuations in some quarters that the call for restructuring would dismember the country, saying that those who harbor such mindset are wrong.
“I think they are wrong, I think the 36 federating units in Nigeria are not working. The country continues to underperform because of the 36 states; no less than 27 of them can longer pay salaries of their workers. The planning of economic development is less efficient on the basis of these non-viable states,’’ he said.
He called for the country to be restructured along the existing six geo-political zones of the country, saying “if we have six federating units you will have more viable places for planning economic development and those who fear that it would mean disintegration of the country are wrong because the country was doing a lot better at the time of its independence. It started with three regions and ended up with four regions before the military intervened.
“This country is living in denial of the basic facts, continuing as we are doing now will lead us nowhere in terms of development and in terms of building a nationhood, which Nigerians should be proud to belong,” he said.
Former Nigeria’s Permanent Representative to the United Nations, Professor Ibrahim Gambari, said that the debate on the restructuring must be orderly and urged Nigerians to imbibe the basic understanding of the principles of federalism. He also criticized those who have debunked the 2014 National Conference report, stressing that the report was comprehensive both in its recommendations and the composition of the conferees.
The author, Humphrey Orjiako, noted that restructuring has become necessary in view of the dis-functionalities associated with the twisted form of federalism caused by the military rule in Nigeria. “Nigeria’s problems are fundamental and have accelerated many other vices. We have been running round and round in circles to redefine the structure of our country and make it work,” he said.
He added that the book is aimed at paradigm shift to restructure the country to allow the constituent units of the federation to take charge of their resources and develop according to their own pace.
The book reviewer, Ambassador Ozo Nwobu, noted that the 289-page book is an intellectual masterpiece that will enrich the discourse as Nigeria grapple with the question of redefining its federal status.
The event was organized by the author of the book in collaboration with the Savannah Center for Diplomacy and Development (SCDD).
