Finally, we have reached a near-consensus on the need to dissolve the present 36 states in Nigeria and create only six. Support for the six-zone structure has come from all corners of the country including delegates to the ongoing National Conference. At last, the idea first canvassed by former vice president Dr Alex Ekwueme at the 1995 conference has been accepted. Structural reform – that’s what our leaders should carry out before it’s too late. Former aviation minister Femi Fani- Kayode couldn’t have been acting alone when he lamented for Oduduwa republic in one of his recent essays; it was the battle cry of the OPC until 1999 when the presidency of the country was “zoned” to the south-west. That the quest is being renewed through Fani-Kayode should not be viewed as an accident: in the media, many are already queuing behind him. For its part, MASSOB (Movement for the Actualisation of the Sovereign State of Biafra) gathered at the Ojukwu Memorial Centre in Owerri, on Friday, to mark the 47th anniversary of Ojukwu’s declaration of the Republic of Biafra. On the occasion, MASSOB leader Ralph Uwazuruike requested “independence” for each of the six geopolitical zones to assuage the “deep-rooted hatred among the major ethnic nationalities in Nigeria”. Besides, I have not met anybody from Benue, Kogi or Plateau, in the last five years, who has not kicked against the concept of “one north”. Whenever the word “secession” is mentioned, it pours ice- cold water on some people. It’s not my wish to see this country balkanised, but those who are opposing reform are making secession inevitable in the end. Let our leaders understand that chief among the factors driving these quests is the mass poverty and unemployment in the land today. The middle class is no more – you are either rich or poor. You would not hear the very rich – with assets and concubines scattered in every zone – lamenting that Nigeria has failed. They want the status quo to remain. It’s from the depths of misery and despair that one struggles to find an explanation for his frustration. That’s why some have been beating the drumbeats for secession as if autonomy would solve all their problems. It has taken better understanding for some of us that are poor to still believe in one Nigeria. Left to me, we should be expanding into ECOWAS. In a more perfect confederation, the part of Cameroon that broke off from Nigeria in 1961 would be glad to be reunited with their kith and kin; the Bakassi problem would be solved! And there would be no question of deporting illegal aliens from Niger and Chad on the suspicion that they are fuelling Boko Haram. Vision is one ingredient that is lacking in our leadership. Why delay for 50 years what can be implemented now? I know the National Conference may include the six-zone structure in its final recommendations but, as usual, our unproductive lawmakers will strive to frustrate it by not putting in place a legislation to subject the confab’s report to a referendum. Already, the election bells are ringing. But, as I have always demanded, President Jonathan has to play the statesman for once – this year. We don’t need 36 distressed states; we need states that are semi- independent as was the case in the First Republic. I’m aware of the distortions that oil has brought, but let’s start somewhere. Those of us from the south-south and south-east can accommodate our compatriots by sharing our oil wealth with them even for the next 10 years. But the current revenue-allocation formula must change: there is need for a weak centre, strong states and no allocation to local governments. Under such federal arrangement, each state would decide how it wants to elect its leaders. And each would be forced to extract the resources that God has endowed it with. Each would have its police and other security agencies as well as contribute troops for strong armed forces to be maintained by the central government. Perhaps, the north- east could choose to surrender power to Boko Haram! That’s the beauty of true federalism. The president keeps talking about holding elections next year as if he doesn’t empathise with compatriots in the north. Any transformation agenda that doesn’t include redressing the country’s structural imbalance can never succeed. So, the politicians should quickly do something and spare us more bloodshed. Changing the constitution shouldn’t take time. Or, how many people sat in one room to give us the 1999 Constitution? We can afford to live under a state of emergency for four months from May 29, 2015, if only to get a new constitution that would take effect from October 1.
Posted on: Thu, 05 Jun 2014 19:47:36 +0000