The political pawn called ‘zoning’ is suddenly writ large. It’s a seasonal anthem sung among politicians and their supporters. It simply means allowing power to rotate among ethnic nationalities, regions, senatorial districts, etc. Zoning has been reduced to a pawn in Nigeria’s political chess board. You toss it when it suits you. And when it doesn’t swing the fortunes in your favour, you find the nearest quicksand to bury it. You simply sacrifice it. Zoning or rotation of power draws its strength from the principle of Federal Character as enshrined in the Constitution.
For emphasis, the constitution states unequivocally that the Federal Character Commission (FCC) shall have the power to “work out an equitable formula subject to the approval of the National Assembly for the distribution of all cadres of posts in the public service of the Federation and of the states, the Armed Forces of the Federation, the Nigeria Police Force and other government security agencies, government owned companies and parastatals of the states.”
The constitution also gives the Commission the power to “promote, monitor and enforce compliance with the principles of proportional sharing of all bureaucratic, economic, media and political posts at all levels of government.” The powers include the power to take legal action and prosecute the head or staff of any agency of government who fails to comply with the principles of Federal Character.
The above is the law, even the Constitution. But how much have Nigerian oligarchs and power brokers observed this basic constitutional provision which seeks to promote inclusivity as well as harness the strength of the nation’s diversity?
Why, for instance, is the principle of Federal Character not observed in the military, police, the Nigeria Customs Service, Immigration, Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN), Nigeria Ports Authority and other revenue-generating agencies? And why is the FCC not enforcing compliance of Federal Character principles in these institutions of government?
Now, election season is upon us. And merchants of zoning are strutting the space. Those who claim it’s their turn want all the principles of zoning adhered to. At the centre, they want power to shift to the south after Muhammadu Buhari, a Katsina man of northern Nigeria, now on the last lap of his second term. Remember it was this same zoning that knocked President Goodluck Jonathan off the stage. He could not continue in office after his first term because the north felt he was usurping their time, the term of the late Umaru Yar’Adua.
On the strength of the argument of zoning, some northern governors, especially from the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), Jonathan’s party, openly worked against his re-election. They played the ethnic card and in what looked like political hoodooism, these northern governors turned Goodluck to bad luck. And Jonathan lost to a northerner: Muhammadu Buhari. But the magic of turning Goodluck to bad luck and aborting the re-election of a sitting president, the first time in Nigeria’s democratic history, was not only made possible by northern governors. Many southerners – governors, ministers and all – aided the process. Jonathan must go for promising to do one term but suddenly decided to seek re-election. They had their way.
While it’s hard to fault their argument – in the first place, Jonathan was crafty for going against his own unforced promise of one-term – it’s also hard to fault the counter-argument that the north has not in principle respected the concept of zoning, rotation of power or Federal Character, all of which seek to promote inclusivity and husband our peculiar diversity. Not in the military, Customs, et al.
But there is a more toxic hypocrisy in the zoning hullabaloo. The front row protagonists of zoning at the centre never practised such in their states. Some politicians who make the most noise about zoning of presidency are from states where the principle of zoning is abused, never respected. The Federal Character principle from where zoning draws a somewhat moral legitimacy recommends and recognizes “principles of proportional sharing of all bureaucratic, economic, media and political posts at all levels of government.” Meaning, while we split hairs over zoning of presidency at the centre, the same should apply to positions of governor, senator, minister, representative at the House or even the State Assembly. It should also apply to local government chairmen and other public appointments. Yet among those who mount the soapbox to scream zoning of presidency are politicians who have allocated most political positions in their states to their wives, children, in-laws, siblings and cronies. In some states, successive governors have come from a particular ethnic group or senatorial district despite the obvious diversity and plurality of such states.
For a young democracy, zoning was conceived to help firm up the frail structures of constitutional government. There is nothing wrong with that. But if we must stick to zoning, it must apply in the states and even local governments. Trumpeting zoning only at the centre, the Presidency, is arrant hypocrisy. And, hey, perish the asinine argument that zoning promotes mediocrity. Never. Every part of Nigeria has competent and capable people to lead the country even better than those who have misgoverned and are still misgoverning the nation, just as every part of every state has men and women who can effectively do the job.
Personally, I have nothing against zoning at this inchoate stage of our democracy. But I have a strong aversion for the hypocrisy of politicians who promote zoning only when it suits their creepy whims. Any politician who has not allowed zoning to flower and flourish in his state should not come to the centre to hawk it. Charity begins at home. And if you must come to equity at the centre, be sure your hands are clean at home. To do so is to abuse the sensibilities of those who propounded the principle. It’s the same abuse that has coursed through recruitment into the military and paramilitary; and employment in the civil service.
While some politicians are busy shouting zoning, even when they do not have the moral ground to do so, the constitutional principle of Federal Character is being abused in the civil service. The result is a bloated public sector skewed in favour of a particular zone. And the loser is Nigeria. And it’s all because the National Assembly is either too timid in its oversight duties or it’s simply mischievous and has pretended not to notice the obvious abuse of the constitutionally prescribed Federal Character principle.
Here’s wisdom: any politician who has not respected zoning in his state should not come to the centre to preach it. The essence of zoning is to promote equity, fairness and justice. It must start from our various homes: the states. Any homily outside this is nothing but vexatious hypocrisy.