RESTRUCTURING NIGERIA USING THE POWER OF THE CITIZENS PART 2

 

RESTRUCTURING NIGERIA using THE POWER OF THE CITIZENS

By LT

  PART 2: “OUT OF SIGHT, OUT OF MIND”

 

                                

 

CITIZENS & GOVERNANCE

 

Nigeria is a country with very complex domestic situations, re-enforced by the decreasing political ability,  tone-deaf leadership and in some cases selfish or vested interest persons, to identify systemic dangers with our many diversities, mostly related to concerns around justice, equity, religion, ethnicity, rights, nepotism, land conflicts, corruption, security, self-determination and agitation.  

 

Additionally, the majority of citizens don't even know what their elected officials stand for or believe in, let alone what or how the policies of elected officials will affect them.

 

To compound the existing, citizens have few or no opportunities to communicate and influence governance and policy. 

 

Resulting in a wider gap of citizens and government becoming mutually incompatible in terms of the country’s administration.

 

As more Government policies are introduced and implemented, that seem to be far from the daily realities of most citizens. The citizens and country continue to “take  the heat”. Take for example, the impact on the value of the Naira or hardship on citizens with the implementation of the new Naira policy, just before the 2023 elections.

 

The Supreme Court's ruling around March 3rd, 2023 confirms this, by indicating that, the CBN's Naira policy was an infraction of process and creating hardship on the nation. Protesters were reported at the CBN offices as recently as today, May 3, 2023, calling for the resignation of the Governor.

 

As with many other cases, policies  by leadership often seem, like a fly-by-night operation. Nigeria needs a new model of governance in which government and political leadership is based, not only on competency, accountability and result-orientated.

But most importantly, the citizen participation in the process, to assist in shaping policy and governance.

 

Chapter 2 section 14 (2) of the 1999 constitution, empowers us as citizens for such participation, stating:

 

“The Federal Republic of Nigeria shall be a State based on the principles of democracy and social justice.

 

It is hereby, accordingly, declared that:

a)      Sovereignty belongs to the people of Nigeria from whom government through this constitution derives all its powers and authority.

 

b)     The security and welfare of the people shall be the primary purpose of government

 

c)      The *participation by the people in their government shall be ensured in accordance with the provisions of this Constitution.*

 

In other words, citizens have absolutely no reason to rest on their laurels and wait for the political elite, special interest and foreign interest groups, to fix the country on our behalf.

 

This is particularly true with the current democratic environment and technology era, where we have access to more information than ever before, empowering citizens but yearning for greater organization of the citizens, to insist on shifting the balance of power back to the people.

 

To change our current system of governance and federalism requires that push, from better organised citizens, who are now witnessing the power of their votes. More so, what better way to utilise and concentrate all the effort, we see being expended by citizens on different Social Media platforms.

 

 

*Nigeria’s  Federalism*

Lets use the clarification of the Nigerian supreme court, for our definition of Federalism. Which came about due to one of the issues between the state and federal government, stated as follows:

 

Supreme Court in A.G. Federation v. A.G. Lagos State held that :

"Federalism is an arrangement whereby powers of government within a country are shared between a national, countrywide government and a number of regionalised (i.e., territorially localized) governments in such a way *that each exists as a government separately and independently from others,* *operating directly on persons and property within its territorial area, with *a will of its own and its own apparatus for the conduct of its affairs.”*

 

These powers of government In Nigeria are contained in the legislative lists, to include:

a)      The Federal Government's exclusive legislative list of powers.

 

b)     The Federal and Sub-national legislative lists of powers.

 

c)      The residual legislative list includes the Sub-national.

 

To put it another way, the concurrent legislative lists allow the federal government and the sub-national (States, regions), to both make laws, whereas the exclusive legislative lists only allow the federal government to do so.

 

But since 1960, the Federal government has increasingly taken power away from sub-national administration.

 

Further aggravating many of our divisive issues and largely without the involvement or participation of the people, whether as a result of an autocratic regime or a lack of proper communication channels.

 

Consider how many authority-wielding functions have been transferred from sub-national (the people) to the federal government, even going back further:

 

a)      Items in the Exclusive legislative list of the 1954 Constitution were 43, Concurrent list 34.

 

b)     *Items in the Exclusive legislative list of the 1960 Constitution were 44. Concurrent list 28*

 

c)      Items in the Exclusive legislative list of the 1963 Constitution were 45. Concurrent list 29.

 

d)     Items in the Exclusive legislative list of the 1999 Constitution were 68, Concurrent list 30. (Without removing the recent constitutional alterations by PMB, in 2023).

 

Even a quick glance at a few of the items that were moved from the concurrent list to the exclusive legislative list, dating back as far as 1960, demonstrates how the pendulum has gradually shifted in favour of the Federal over the subnational levels:

1)     Arms & ammunition

2)     Commercial and industrial monopolies

3)     Finger prints,

4)     Drugs and poisons,

5)     Registration of business names,

6)     Police and other security services (bureau of intelligence and investigation),

7)     Prisons,

8)     Census,

9)     Control of the voluntary movement of persons,

10) Labour (conditions of  industrial relations, trade unions and welfare of labour) were all under the concurrent legislative lists.

 

As if the powers at the federal level were not enough, the last government under PMB, put forward a bill to the house of representatives and senate to move more powers from the States to the Federal  level, with the controversial National Water Resources Bill, which sought to transfer the control of water resources from the states to the Federal Government.

 

So basically all water resources (surface and underground) and the banks of water anywhere, will then be under the purview of faceless federal agencies like National Council on Water Resources, Nigeria Water Resources Regulatory Commission, River Basin Development Authorities, Nigeria Hydrological Services Agency, and the National Water Resources Institute.

 

This is at a time, when more are clamouring  or requesting for more autonomy and away from the bloated overarching federal agencies, with no interest in the success of States. Thankfully, this bill was rejected in the Senate around June 2023

 

So, at the very least, the above items ought to serve as the foundation or point of departure for our conversations with our political and government elite, on the restoration of the pre-existing regional powers. This is in addition to some of the recommendations from the Confab  and various other reports on issues such as:

 

a)      Religion

b)     Land Tenure Act

c)      Anti-corruption

d)     Independent Candidacy

e)      Immunity Clause

f)       Resource Control/Derivation Principle/Fiscal Federalism

g)      Public Finance/Revenue Allocation etc.

 

Below are some of the items the Federal government ONLY, can legislate on:

1.      Accounts of the government of the federation.

2.      Arms, ammunition, and explosives.

3.      Aviation (including airports).

4.      Awards of honours and decoration.

5.      Bankruptcy and insolvency.

6.      Banks, banking, bills of exchange, and promissory notes.

7.      Borrowing monies inside and outside Nigeria for the purposes of the federation or any state.

8.      Census.

9.      Citizenship, naturalization, and aliens.

10. Commercial and industrial monopolies.

11. Construction and maintenance of federal trunk roads.

12. Control of capital issues.

13. Copyrights.

14. Creation of states.

15. Currency, coinage, and legal tender.

16. Customs and excise duties.

17. Defence.

18. Diplomatic, consular, and trade representation.

19. Drugs and poisons.

20. Election to offices of president and vice-president, governor, or deputy governor.

21. Evidence.

22. Exchange control.

23. Export duties.

24. External affairs.

25. Extradition.

26. Immigration and emigration.

27. Implementation of treaties.

28. Insurance.

29. Incorporation, Regulation, and winding up of corporate bodies other than those established by a law enacted by the state Houses of Assembly.

30. Labour.

31. Maritime shipping and navigation.

32. Meteorology.

33. Military (army, navy, and air force).

34. Mines and minerals.

35. National parks.

36. Nuclear energy.

37. Passports and visas.

38. Patents, trademarks, trade, or business names.

39. Pensions and gratuities payable out of the public funds of the federation.

40. Police and other government security services established by law.

41. Posts, telegraphs and telephones.

42. Powers of the federal National Assembly and the privileges and immunities of its members.

43. Prisons.

44. Public debts.

45. Public holidays.

46. Public service of the federation.

47. Quarantine.

48. Railways.

49. Regulation of political parties.

50. Service and execution in civil and criminal processes, judgments, decrees, and other decisions of any court of law inside or outside Nigeria, except for laws made by the state.

51. Stamp duties.

52. Taxation of incomes.

53. Profits and capital gains, as provided by the Constitution.

54. Trade and commerce.

55. Traffic on federal trunk roads.

56. Water from sources declared by the National Assembly to affect more than one state.

57. Weights and measures.

58. Wireless, broadcasting, and television other than those owned by states.

 

*Mining Rights*

One item, worth mentioning and deemed most controversial, in the exclusive list is the mining rights at the sub-national level, in which we, the citizens should also be allowed to have a say in.

 

Currently, proceeds from mining by the federal government, such as oil and gas, from whatever state it was mined from, are paid into the federation account and shared through FAAC.  

The inequity observed over the years is that the majority of revenue allocation goes to northern states based on population, and with the continued population expansion in the northern states, another warning and issue to add, with such unsustainable population growth. The remaining revenue allotment is split between the Eastern and Western states.

 

The state which produced the resource, receives a mining derivation of  13%, on the value of any minerals mined in the state.

 

Interestingly, state governments may also engage in mining via special purpose vehicles (SPVs), not as state governments, but rather as business entities that can collaborate with other entities.

 

These corporate entities then require licences from the Federal government for any mining  or exploration. But since the only federal government issues these licenses, there are still significant obstacles at both the federal, the state and local government levels. Asides the accusations of unfairness, the impact of these layers on the "ease of doing business" is up to you to judge.

 

A quick overview of the *Petroleum Act,* which governs a key resource in contention, provides for the exploration of petroleum from Nigeria's territorial waters and continental shelf, as well as the ownership of all on-shore and off-shore revenue from petroleum resources in the hands of the federal government. It includes the following:

 

a)      Oil Exploration Licences

b)     Oil Prospection Licenses and Oil Mining Licenses

c)      Rights of Pre-Emption

d)     Repeals and Transitional And Savings Provisions.

 

However, in order to resolve the disparities and injustices inherent in the respective states over the control, autonomy and income from resources in its geo-location, the need for distributive justice, equity, fairness, and the concept of equitable derivation needs to be re-addressed.

 

Even the debated 1999 constitution, has the principle of derivation as encapsulated under the proviso to Section 162 (2) of the Constitution as amended, provides the principle of derivation and is intended to compensate producers of natural resources for the Nigerian State's expropriation and sequestration of those producer’s rights to control and manage those resources. It also allows for an increase of the current 13% payable.

 

The cry for unfairness become more obvious when the present rate of 13% is contrasted with the 100% and much later 50% paid to regions of the federation that produced solid minerals prior to the commercial discovery of oil.

 

*“Be careful that the decisions you make are not forging the chains that you cannot unmake because those are the chains, that will eventually unmake you.”* ― Craig D. Lounsbrough

 

In truth and with the current configuration, accountability at the central government largely remains a faceless exercise, with most citizens holding the President accountable for most excesses at the bloated federal level. Rather than making our local or subnational leadership more responsible and accountable to its citizens.

 

In May 16th, 2023, the papers were flooded with some unusual home realities, quoting the Minister of education Malam Adamu, as stating “The Federal Government has said that the *present education backwardness being witnessed in the northern part of the country was caused by people of the region.*” 

 

The education minister deserves praise for his brutal honesty. He may be perfectly aware that education has always been and will continue to be the driving force behind any national progress.

 

This is also one of the reasons the Tertiary Education Trust Fund (TETFund) which was set up by the Federal Government of Nigeria, to ostensibly  arrest the rot and deterioration in the educational infrastructure but also to encourage participation.

 

So, from 1998-2018, a total of about N1 trillion has been paid to universities, polytechnics and colleges of education across the country. With the highest figure of N320bn disbursed in 2023 by PMB.

 

If we then consider, that Education is placed on the concurrent legislative list and also that the main source of income available to the TetFund is the 2.5% education tax, paid from the assessable profit of *all companies registered in Nigeria*.  This is even as the Guardian reported, as far back in 2017, that at least “26 Federal and State tertiary institutions in the Northwest have benefitted from the ongoing sensitisation and awareness exercise.

 

The Constitution shared the responsibility for education amongst the three tiers of government, the Federal, State and Local Governments but vested more at the Federal than the states in the areas of

a)      Post primary,

b)     Professional,

c)      Technological and placed university education under its control.

 

It is no more news, even to the retarded, that Nigeria as a country is made up of several ethnic groups with different orientations in terms of values, beliefs system, attitude, ideas etc. So restating that more or larger autonomy is given to the sub-national to develop their educational systems and policies based on their collective ideologies, beliefs in partnership with the federal, is the way to go.

 

And since many like me, still have faith in the future and greatness of this country , then our actions as citizens should be seen, in collectively coming together, to compel the political establishment and the government into taking action on whatever issues we deem as priority, using the technologies at our fingertips for purposes other than merely the hottest stories, assisting with the spread of propaganda or confronting each other, as the recently concluded 2023 elections, has demonstrated.

 

And for the true cynics who might be concerned that states would become more autocratic if handed back the powers they formerly enjoyed, they should consider whether or not this is not already happening at the bloated federal level, with monumental wastage by faceless individuals.

 

This will, at the very least, be handled locally and won't interfere with the nation's overall development. 

 

Additionally, a more informed and empowered local citizenry will be better able to mitigate abuses of power, closer to home.

 

 

*CONCLUSION*

To this end, we have established two routes for citizens to expedite action or at the very least, it can serve as a communication channel between citizens and governance, closing the communication gap:

 

1.      To join your States Pressure group, Download  the Telegram messaging application and search for Nigerian Citizens Pressure Groups Organisation  OR visit the link:

 

 https://t.me/NigcitizenPG ,

 

to find the different State pressure groups.

 

a.      In the case where you cannot locate your state pressure group link then please message admin at but bear in mind, the constraints of opening this many groups, which we will eventually resolve.

 

b.      Telegram was chosen due to its features and capacity to accommodate 200,000 Citizens per State and more.

 

 

2.      A petition has also been created and is available for citizens to sign and share. If we the citizens, genuinely want some form of restructuring in Nigeria. See petition link: 

 

https://www.gopetition.com/petitions/restructuring-nigeria-citizens-call-to-action.html

 

 

 

 

Lekan Thomas

Is a Business Analyst and Electronic Engineer (with extensive expertise in assisting both public and private organizations accomplish their goals), writes from Lagos.

 

Twitter: @LekanThomas_Esq

Insta: @lekanthomaz

 

 

 #FoodforThought

#CitizenEmpowerment

#Regionalautonomy

#Restructuring