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.