National Conference: North, South on collision course
There are strong indications that delegates from the North at the ongoing National Conference in Abuja are set to shoot down any demand for resource control at the conference.
This may be the first major area of
conflict at the conference inaugurated by President Goodluck Jonathan on
Monday as delegates from the South- South, South-West and other parts
of the country are hell-bent on pushing for fiscal federalism.
Delegates from the South-West, South-South and South-East, in separate interviews with Saturday PUNCH on
Wednesday, said that they would press for resource control and strong
federating units, describing them as the bedrock of equity, fairness
and good governance in the country.
But their counterparts from the North
said the region would oppose any demand for fiscal federalism and
resource control, saying demanding such could lead to the disintegration
of the country.
A northern delegate and former
spokesperson for the Arewa Consultative Forum, Mr. Anthony Sani, said
the North would not support the idea of having a weak centre and
strong federating units, saying this would
be confederation.
Sani warned that allowing states to control their resources which will lead to a weak centre would disintegrate the country.
He said, “Those in favour of allowing the
geopolitical zones to become federating units that have their own state
police and local governments as well as control their resources are
those agitating for a weak centre – a confederation arrangement – that
can presage the split of this country and it is selfish.
“I believe any arrangement which can lead
to the splitting of the country should be avoided. Given purposeful
leadership that is determined to bring out the best in everyone,
Nigerians will be better off in a one united and strong country than in a
fragmented one.”
Sani, however, explained that the North was never opposed to tampering with the exclusive and concurrent lists.
He said what the North was opposed to was
what would lead to the fragmentation of Nigeria, noting that the
country would be better-off “in a united and strong country than in a
fragmented one.”
The former ACF spokesman said, “the North
is not opposed to tampering with the exclusive and concurrent lists in
such manner that the centre is balanced by appropriate state level
power. This should be such that the centre is strong enough to keep the
country one and united but not too strong that the country can tilt
towards a unitary system.”
Another northern delegate to the
conference, Mohammed Kumalia, said that he would join other
northerners to kick against agitations for resource control.
Kumalia who is from Borno State, in a
telephone interview with one of our correspondents in Abuja, said that
those advocating for resource control have selfish intentions.
He said, “There is no part of the country
that has not been endowed with resources, if anybody wants resource
control, fine, but develop other resources first.
“Let the country invest the same
resources expended on developing petroleum resources in other
resources in the country, after this is done and these other resources
are developed, then every region can control its resources.
“For you to say from today, let every
region begin to control its resources will not be fair. It is like
cheating people from other places who used their sweat and labour to
develop the petroleum resources. They went to farm using traditional
implement to produce groundnuts, cotton and cocoa; it was through hard
labour not mechanised agriculture and this was how they got money to
prospect for oil. Now you have oil which is nobody’s sweat and some
people are now talking about resource control; it is not fair.”
But one of the representatives of the
South-South at the conference, Prof. Kimse Okoko, in an interview with
one of our correspondents in Port Harcourt, said that the zone was at
the conference to canvass for resource control by the federating units
of the country.
Okoko said that the nation could only
move forward under true federalism. The delegate explained that resource
control was subsumed under true federalism.
Okoko, a former president of the Ijaw
National Congress, noted that the centre should not be stronger than
the federating units in a true federal system of government.
He added that it was wrong for any state in Nigeria to be looking up to the centre for its share of the nation’s revenue.
He stated, “There is a broad consensus in
this country that what we are practising is not federalism. If there
is this kind of consensus, we must find a way of reverting to the
practice of true federalism.
“For example, in the 1999 Constitution,
the Federal Government is assigned about 68 functions out of 90
functions and the remaining functions have been placed under a
Concurrent List, which means that they (remaining functions) are for
both the federal and the state governments.
“The system is over-centralised so much
that the states are virtually mere vassals to the centre. We cannot make
any progress with that kind of structure. Our hope is to restructure
the Nigerian system along the line of a true federal system, where the
component units own and control resources and pay appropriate taxes to
the centre.”
According to him, the over-dependence of
the federating units on the Federal Government for funds does not
encourage competition.
He added that rather than promote
competition, federalism as currently being practised in Nigeria, had
been encouraging indolence and killing creativity.
Okoko described resource control as one
of the realities of a federal system of government, maintaining that
states should only pay taxes to the centre in a true federalism.
He said, “The federal system is noted for
certain realities and resource control is one of them. Resource control
simply means that the federating units own and control their resources
under a federal system.
“What the entire federating units do is
to pay their appropriate taxes. So, if we do not restructure this
country along the line of true federalism, we will continue to face
serious challenges.
“You will note that most of the states
are not economically viable. They have killed the spirit of competition.
Across the various facets of the economy in this country, there is no
competition.
“People are just waiting to get their
share at the end of the month, then they go back, wait until 30 days,
and then come back again. We cannot run the system like that if we want
to move forward as a country.”
A delegate from the South-West, Mr.
Yinka Odumakin, said that the zone would canvass true federalism that
would ensure that the federating units were strong.
Odumakin, who is also the spokesperson
for the Yoruba socio-political group, Afenifere, stated that the
South-West would convince delegates from other zones to support true
federalism and resource control.
“Since federalism consists of a centre
and federating units, we should guarantee autonomy of the federating
units . We should allow them a measure of control over their
resources,” he said.
On his part, a South-East delegate, Dr.
Joe Nwaorgu, said that the zone would canvass for a weak centre and
strong federating units.
Nwaorgu, who is also the Secretary
General of the Ohanaeze Ndigbo, however, said that the position of the
South-East on fiscal federalism differed from that of the
South-South.
Nwaorgu said that the South-East was not
totally in support of the South-South’s agenda of having a weak centre
and stronger federating units.
He, however, said that the South-East
could eventually throw its weight behind the South-South if the issues
that would be raised at the conference concerning fiscal federalism and
resource control were “favourable” to Ndigbo.
Nwaorgu stated, “We want a weak centre
and stronger federating units, but that does not mean that our position
is the same as the South-South people.
“No doubt, that is what we are going for and that is what the conference is all about, but it is too early for me to tell.
“The arguments that would be raised at the conference concerning these issues will eventually determine our decision.”
He said, “All these are in the template
for discussion. Above all, we want equity and justice for all Nigerians.
In other words, we are carrying a Nigerian template that will benefit
all Nigerians.”
In an interview with one of our
correspondents, the President and Chairman of Council, Nigerian
Institute of Management (Chartered), Dr. Nelson Uwaga, said
professional bodies stand for equity, fairness, justice and good
governance at the conference. He said these principles would enhance
the quality of lives of Nigerians.
Uwaga, who is also a delegate at the
conference, believes that Nigeria is practising unitary federalism,
noting that the nation’s professional groups are of the opinion that the
centre should be weak while the confederating units are strong.
He said, “The sharing
formula has to change; it should tilt more towards the states and local
governments so that the people can feel the impact of governance more.
In all honesty, the sharing formula is currently too tilted to the
centre.’’ He however said that the centre should be allowed to manage
critical areas such as security.
Source: The Punch