Nigeria: The Sociology of True Federalism

The recent deadlock between the federal government and organized labour, the inefficient allocation of resources and endemic corruption in Nigeria is symptomatic of one thing-Little presence of consciousness on the part of Nigerian citizens. These things didn’t happen overnight, they are a product of many years of deliberate and undelibrate ignorance. It’s reminding of the danger in Longe’s farm, Longe was actually the threat. The grassroots through their ignorance have become their own problem. Many years of indulgence with the political class has cut the political class away from social reality. The people slept on their rights, the political class slept on their duty. One day they say is for the thief, another for the owner. The people of this nation are now awake and are asking questions they ought to have asked since 1999.11years travelled and would never return. It took the removal of fuel subsidy for the owners of this country to ask the occupants of the exalted position to give account of their stewardship. They have asked for this through the series of concurrent protests across the federation. They are actively occupying their own country; the mob is asserting its divine machismo.
The government has through the coordinating minister of the economy Ngozi Okonjo Iweala (NOI),craved the indugence of Nigerians not to imitate Greece in future sufferings and my question is,what more can we suffer?Its only the modern economy that favours multinationals and elites that is thriving, the informal and traditional sectors are not doing well. People are already suffering, Greece is better. Nigerians must occupy the injustice that has romanced them for over 11years.They must no longer brook corruption. They must occupy with accountability and constant probing.Anniko Briggs said we must not only occupy Jonathan, we must occupy the state governors, they are getting so much, yet they are not creating wealth, in the words of Prof. Pat Utomi.Many may not get the point. The point is that the state governors are responsible for our current fuel subsidy woes and many are not aware. They blame Jonathan solely. That’s the sociology of a unitary government in practise. If the roads are bad, or health facilities are not functioning we blame the federal government. The local governments in Nigeria got 7billion naira in 2010; that’s the budget of Rwanda, Togo, and Burkina-Faso and together, they are supposed to stimulate community development and generate wealth, but in the corner of the eyes, state governors invented the state-local joint account, thereby the governors disburse and hold the local councils to ransom. The governors also have a strong hold on the state independent electoral commissions. This way the aspiring chairmen cannot readily express their free and goodwill in serving the local masses. The federal government is a culprit, the governors are greater culprits; the sociology of a unitary government favours and covers their political misdemeanours. Around the world, local governance brings governance to the people; a good product would be readily accessible to you, if the production plant or means of distribution is efficient. How would I know if you are bleeding, if I am not close to you? How would you be a good parent if your child is in United Kingdom and you are in Nigeria? It’s difficult, you would agree. Governance is far from the people, Abuja is not close to Lagos, except through phone calls.
If we are interested in good governance, if we crave for optimal allocation of our resources, we must embrace true federalism. True federalism would ensure that states control their resources. We can also call I fiscal federalism. It’s beyond the economics, beyond the politics. True federalism is sociological in true function. It would ensure that blames go to the right quarters; it would reduce the grand scale sycophancy and rent seeking we have in Abuja. People would find it easy and straight forward to demand accountability. Can protesters easily walk to Abuja.Alausa is not far, if its Lagos.Imo citizens would ask questions from Owerri with convenience. Our eyes would be on these governors who blame Jonathan readily. They shared money from the excess crude account and said they could not pay the minimum wage. They then asked for subsidy removal. Let this government devolve from a unitary one to true and fiscal federalism and let’s see what the governors would do with resources in their various states? It is obvious federal government is not efficient. The federal government should attend to issues of foreign policy, security and monetary policy. The state and local governments should be allowed to ensure rapid development. The sociology of true federalism would then be in force. Citizens of this country can them blame the right people, at the right place, at the right time.

THE SALVATION OF NIGERIA-THE CHEETAH GENERATION VERSUS THE HIPPOS

Generations have come and gone, legacies have been left; good or bad.Today,in Nigeria, like every African country, the problem of bad leadership has left citizens despondent, whether they are conscious of it or not. This piece is a reflection from the thoughts of George Ayitteh, a Ghanaian economist, who is also the founder of Free Africa Foundation. It was at a conference put together by TED, with the theme as marketplace. He opened his speech by asking “Do you think that African leaders would put this type of conference together”. If they decide to do, they would ask for foreign aid. He further explained that Africa’s begging bowl is leaking. He produced facts that Africa loses 148billion dollars annually to corruption, 80 billion to capital flight. For a continent that used to export food; Africa now imports 20billion dollars worth of food. Foreign aid according to him is not bad, but sometimes could be like the blind leading the clueless.
Ayitteh averred that the Cheetahs are the only ones who can save Africa, the cheetahs according to Ayitteh is a new breed of Africans who understand what accountability and democracy means. The salvation of Africa rests on the backs of these Africans. These Cheetahs brook no corruption; they understand how to turn things around. This is against the Hippos-early postcolonial African leaders who led Africa from independence to further dependence on foreign aid whose begging bowl is perpetually leaking. These leaders led Africa into Swiss bank socialism-A form of governance where money of the people ends up in private names in Swiss banks. They can’t reform the system because they benefit from the rot! He recalled how he asked colleagues on an internet forum to name 20 good African leaders from independence. People were only able to come up with 15, Idi Amin of Uganda inclusive. This obviously is a far cry for a continent of 54 countries, with over 204 leaders from independence that has been let loose from the shackles of colonialism for over 5 decades.
The Ghanaian economist explained that pre-colonial Africans despised tyranny and that was why societies like the Igbo, Somali, and Kikuyu were organized in tribes with no central leader. In the Asante kingdom, the leader was surrounded by councils upon councils. In Oyo Empire, democracy was existent with the Alaafin of Oyo, put in checks by the Oyomesi, led by the Bashorun; the Oyomesi was also put in check by the Sango, Esu and Ogboni cults.
There was a form of capitalism in existence, as Timbuktu was noted to be a large marketplace like wise other areas in Africa. The Hippos, instead of going back to pre-colonial Africa, in order to recreate society embraced the aberration of Swiss bank socialism. Ayitteh brandished them with different adjectives such as; an assortment of military fufu heads, crocodile liberators, vampire elites, Swiss bank socialists.
LESSONS FOR NIGERIA
The salvation of Africa cannot be divorced from Nigeria, considering her foreign policy thrust on Africa which has been followed by magnanimity and a great contribution to building of enduring African institutions such as the AU and ECOWAS.The role of Nigeria in the anti-apartheid movement cannot be underscored. With countries like Botswana, South-Africa and Ghana thriving in their democracies, Nigeria obviously has a lot to do. This is the time of the Cheetahs. The time of those who want to occupy Nigeria with the recent and fraudulent removal of subsidy. It is time to wrest Nigeria from the hands of the Hippos. Enough is Enough! They claim our economy would suffer, if government keeps subsidizing fuel. What happens if government keeps subsidizing political office holders with VP Sambo getting 45milllion naira for newspapers in 2012 alone, Patience Jonathan collecting billions to build a complex; when the constitution does not even recognize her role? Would our future be better when Jonathan feeds 1billion in 2012 and many Nigerians go to sleep without food or garri in their stomach? Its obvious that Nigeria has become a a Vampire state, where the leaders share the wealth with their cronies and kinsmen, leaving every other person to suffer. In many cases according to George Ayitteh, the leader is the chief bandit. The buck stops on Jonathan’s table, he should be blamed. What happens when the cabal has been pardoned, when Dimeji Bankole’s case has no head, where Akala and Gbenga Daniel are smiling with their stolen billions and the weight of the law has not fallen upon them? If we can’t trust them with little, how can we trust them with more? According to Fela Durotoye, does more money make one prudent? Would a rotten brain function, after a nice hair cut? Nigerian youths, enough is enough. We must occupy.
The onus falls on the Cheetahs to get themselves involved in creative capitalism; social business. From there we can start showing the Hippos in our society that the Cheetahs who brook no nonsense are in town. Let the Hippos face justice, Let the Cheetahs prevail. Occupy Nigeria!
Cheetah Onikoyi Babatope Falade
ARE YOU A CHEETAH OR HIPPO IN THE MAKING?
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