That all hopes of the national conference heralding a new dawn for Nigeria seemed lost as delegates lamentably failed to reach any resolution on the critical issues of federal structure and power devolution is no longer news. Equally not surprising is the erosion of the expectation of a national rebirth, national greatness and national unity, now seemingly defeated on the altar of sectional ego and interests.
Without equivocation, however, the Conference, upon resumption next Monday, has a now-or-never duty to save its face with delegates reaching out on irreconcilable differences especially between northern and southern representatives on core issues, with a view to arriving at what may be the beginning of a truly federal Nigeria. The issues of resource control, derivation principle, five per cent intervention fund for insurgency and internal conflicts and five per cent on mineral exploitation must be resolved in favour of the Nigerian people who desire and deserve a truly federal state.
In passing up the chance to make history and even side-stepping reason by pushing the contentious matters back to the Federal Government as the Conference did, certainly put a question mark on the integrity of the conferees and the judicious use of investment of time and material resources in that project. Unless they remedy the situation on resumption, the delegates would have failed to see clearly the Nigeria that ought to be and thereby failed to seek to build one.
To make Nigeria work through the accommodation of one another in a federal structure is certainly in the collective interest of all citizens and the best step toward progress. Pitching against true Federalism only advertises a lamentable ignorance that can only set the country back in time. The Nigerian structure, as it is now, is a contraption that has little meaning or value and cannot be sustained. For a country as diverse in culture and language as Nigeria, any system that does not draw on the strength of this diversity could only engender a bleak future.
Agreed, the Conference, before adjournment, was in accord on a number of issues to satisfy concerned citizens, such as states’ empowerment to write own constitutions but flowing from and limited by powers devolved to them; formation of regional commissions if so desired; creating state police with checks and balances in relation to the centre; renegotiation of some controversial issues in the exclusive list of the 1999 Constitution to facilitate a shift to the concurrent list. But for the greatness of Nigeria to be realised and for the country to lead Africa and even the world, these are mere tokenisms.
Nigeria has for decades been characterised by distrust among the people and regions, a position rooted in the forced union of the component parts that some have tagged ‘mistakes of 1914’. But a century of that forced union ought to have made all realise its defects and engendered real efforts to correct them. Indeed, had the component units agreed on a truly federal structure in the botched two previous attempts at dialogue under Sani Abacha and Olusegun Obasanjo, Nigeria would have been a better country today.
The country has never really practised true federalism but a warped version that has held it down. Military interventions and other factors in the polity have impacted so negatively to foist a unitary form of government against the people’s wishes. So, it is high time these ills were corrected if Nigerians must live together in prosperity, peace and harmony.
What the country is faced with in content and form is a systemic dysfunction, indeed, an outright farce. A true and sustainable federal structure is very much desirable as it is the only way to get the country out of a self-induced quagmire.
Indeed, federalism in its purest form must be accepted now. It has worked in many climes which Nigeria pretended to copy, and it can work here. Federalism engenders prosperity of all the federating units and even the centre. It allows optimum utilization of resources domiciled in all localities which in turn pay royalties to the centre. Competition is an essential element of federalism. And it breeds competitive development. Contrary to ignorant fears, federalism does not breed disunity. Rather, it strengthens unity. It is instructive that California State, a component of the United States of America, is the fifth largest economy in the world, yet it defers to the central government in core issues bordering on national interest. Nigeria’s case would not be different with true federalism in place.
Nigerian leaders only need to be sincere in their dealings with each other in the interest of the people. The key is in redefining the Nigerian nationhood towards a successful transition to a proper federation as the current defective structure could only leave the country permanently in penury and with a real prospect of destruction. Those who benefit from this rot and are unwilling to give up are well advised to have a rethink because the gains of the present could be lost in no time.
The choices before Nigerians in terms of a philosophical foundation for the State are a true Federation, a Confederation or a Unitary system. At these crossroads, the question remains: which is the best way to transit from the current underdevelopment, disunity and chaos?
The strength of a nation like Nigeria is in its diversity. And only with a truly federal structure in which power is devolved to the federating units, where all pursue a common destiny of unity and prosperity, and each is allowed to pursue a vigorous economic development, can a truly great Nigeria be built. The distinguished delegates, upon resumption next week, still have a chance to re-write history and lay the foundation for a harmonious, more stable, truly federal and prosperous Nigeria.
