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The Nobel Laureate, Prof. Wole Soyinka, has again reiterated his call for restructuring Nigeria. The renowned dramatist, who made the call at a lecture marking the 50th anniversary of The Punch newspapers, in Lagos, moved for the reconfiguration and decentralization of Nigeria. However, he preferred to use the word ‘decentralisation’ because of the diverse meanings people attach to restructuring
Soyinka added, “Let me state quite clearly that no one has ever claimed that decentralization – a precise word I personally prefer – will end hunger in the land or terminate religious conflicts and other forms of malaise.” What he meant was that decentralization was central to the sustainable development of the country. He said the Biafran war of secession offered us a constant springboard for a rethink, saying, “All we have to ask is the question: is that war over?”
The Nobel Laureate didn’t start the call for restructuring today. On many occasions in the past, he had made similar calls. In 2021, Soyinka warned, in an interview he granted Arise Television, that “if a nation is on a suicide slide, the people who feel that they do not deserve that kind of suicidal plunge have a right to say they are getting off this plane before it nosedives.”
Many other prominent citizens had aligned their thoughts with that of Soyinka. Among them are former President Olusegun Obasanjo, the General Overseer of the Redeemed Christian Church of God, Pastor Enoch Adeboye; and former Vice-President of Nigeria and Presidential candidate of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) in the 2023 election, Alhaji Atiku Abubakar. Socio-cultural groups such as Afenifere, Ohanaeze Ndigbo, the Southern and Middle Belt Leaders Forum and the Northern Elders Forum had at one point or the other demanded restructuring.
Even the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC) had promised to restructure Nigeria in its manifesto before the general election of 2015. It set up a Nasir el-Rufai-led committee soon after it assumed power to harmonise issues around restructuring. Unfortunately, ex-President Muhammadu Buhari was not comfortable with it. His presidency described the calls for restructuring as unwarranted and unpatriotic.
Soyinka’s latest call came at the right time when the country is already considering the idea of a state police. It is obvious that the country cannot survive with the system it is running currently. There are 68 items in the exclusive legislative list. This does not ensure a balanced federation. The earlier we devolve power from the centre to the federating units, the better for the country.
In practical terms, restructuring entails that we practise true federalism. Mineral exploitation, for instance, should be handled by the region or state where the mineral is found or domiciled. The regions, in turn, can now pay royalty to the centre. Perhaps, the absence of this arrangement is what has fuelled illegal mining in Nigeria.
No doubt, the country developed better when it practised regional system of government in the 1960s. There was healthy competition among the various regions. There was groundnut pyramid in the North, palm oil in the East and cocoa boom in the South. Proceeds of these resources were well utilised to develop the regions.
Today, the reverse is the case. With the advent of crude oil, the regions abandoned their natural resources. The succeeding military governments created states and abandoned the regional arrangement. Power became concentrated at the centre. People abandoned regional development and started struggling for power at the centre.
Last year, the National Democratic Coalition (NADECO) called on President Bola Tinubu to return Nigeria to true federalism. According to the coalition, the 1979 and 1999 constitutions imposed on Nigerians by the military is the bane of the country’s backwardness. It said a return to the Independence/Republican Constitution would restore responsive and responsible government in the country.
We agree with this position. We need to go back to the regional arrangement. Police, railway and many other institutions should be decentralised. This will reduce the ‘do-or-die’ struggle for power at the centre. Luckily, we have the 1995 draft constitution and the 2014 national conference report to serve as a guide.
Above every other thing, we need transformational leadership. The talk for restructuring came about because we started having national leaders who do not think beyond their regions. The immediate past administration of Muhammadu Buhari thrived on nepotism. The current administration has not grown above this malady.
The National Assembly has a lot of work to do. It should begin to initiate bills and the enabling laws to engender the necessary changes. Alternatively, the Federal Government should heed the call of the former Commonwealth Secretary-General, Chief Emeka Anyaoku, that it should convene a National Constituent Assembly whose representatives would be directly elected on a non-party basis to discuss and agree to a new constitution for Nigeria. The collective interest of the country should be uppermost in the minds of every Nigerian. We must all work towards a balanced federation. It will engender lasting peace in the country and prevent us going the way of Yugoslavia, Czechoslovakia and Soviet Union that were once strong indivisible nations but are now fragmented into different countries.
