• NIIA DG calls for conceptualisation of federalism that works for Nigerian diversity
• Sanwo-Olu, Abiodun laud The Guardian at 40
President Bola Tinubu has promised to devolve more powers to the state and local governments as part of the campaign promises enunciated in his “Renewed Hope Agenda.”
To achieve this, he said he would soon ask the Revenue Mobilisation, Allocation and Fiscal Commission (RMAFC) to have another look at the revenue allocation formula, as promised in his manifesto, to recalibrate the division of funds among the three tiers of government.
Under the current revenue sharing formula, the federal government takes 52.68 per cent, states 26.72 per cent and local governments 20.6 per cent.
The president spoke yesterday at the 40th anniversary lecture of The Guardian and public presentation of ‘The Guardian Federalist Papers,’ titled: Federalism is the Answer. He said that states and local councils deserve more funds to address developmental challenges to fulfill their obligations to the people.
However, he called on the media to expand their monitoring role in ensuring that the states and local councils use the funds received judiciously and wisely to cater for their people, noting that, “there is too much media concentration on the Federal Government, while they pay scant attention on the states and local councils.”
The President, who was represented at the event by his Special Adviser on Information and Strategy, Mr Bayo Onanuga, said he believed that true federalism will solve some of the major problems facing the country, noting that he has spent 34 years in politics as a federalist.
He said: “In all my 34-year involvement in politics, I have been a federalist, a fervent believer in its principles as enunciated by Chief Obafemi Awolowo from 1960 and in his 1966 book, “Thoughts on the Nigerian Constitution,” which he wrote while in prison and the “People’s Republic,” published in 1968.
“Awo believed that only federalism is the best for Nigeria because of the nation’s multi-lingual, multi-religious and multi-ethnic structure, as it will allow the sub-nationals to develop at their own pace, without the intrusion of the central authorities.
“Although the 1999 constitution says in Article 2, Section 2, that ‘Nigeria shall be a federation, consisting of states and a Federal Capital Territory’, many critics are of the view that we have been operating a unitary constitution. As governor of Lagos, my administration challenged some of these assumptions and impediments. We, and sometimes along with states with like-minds, approached the court to wrest some power from the central government and get judicial clarity on certain constitutional provisions.
The former governor of Ogun State, Aremo Segun Osoba, who narrated how he and others worked with the founder of the newspaper, late Alex Ibru, to birth the newspaper in February 1983 as a weekly newspaper but became a daily newspaper in July 1983, chaired the event.
Osoba lauded the vision and tenacity of Mr Ibru to assemble intellectuals to change the face of newspaper business in Nigeria.Giving a keynote/review of The Guardian Federalist papers, the Director General of the Nigerian Institute of International Affairs (NIIA) Prof. Eghosa Osaghae, noted that Nigeria needs federalists to make federalism work and lamented the dearth of federalists in the country.
He also disclosed that federalism as practiced in the United States or other countries may not work in a country like Nigeria with over 250 ethnic groups and advised proponents of federalism to conceptualise federalism that will recognise peculiarities and diversities of the Nigerian state. He said federalism “is not a fixed, static or never changing system that solves problems or provides answers once and for all.”
The Professor of Political Science, who spoke on the theme: ‘If federalism is the answer, what is the question’, held his audience spellbound declaring that, “Federalism does not offer a one-size-fits-all solution; it is a highly contextual variable because what works in one federal system may not work in another – every country has to work out the federal arrangement that works for it. It is on this ground that Livingston posited long ago that the essence of federalism is to be found in the nature of society and the kinds of problems it was intended to serve rather than the constitution.
“Depending on the circumstances and problems to be resolved, federalism can be operated in ways that tend towards unitary or confederal practices – which some may regard as unfederal – without the system losing the status of being federal.
“Thus, military federalism, the supposed contradiction in terms and misnomer that crippled federalism in Nigeria as most commentators argue, did not mean the end of federalism in the country – it only represented one of the more extremely centralised varieties of federalism, just as the pre-military region-centred trajectory represented a highly non-centralised variety.”
To him, achieving true federalism goes beyond making provision for it in the constitution and noted that, “A strictly legal-constitutional approach, if not properly handled, can become counterproductive.”
Osaghae, who has authored many books on federalism, said Nigeria needs new federal instrumentalities that will give the constituent units more powers and make them productive centres and “thereby reduce the tensions, fears and dangers of an over-centralised arrangement where the health of the federation, its wealth, security, and progress depends only on the viability of the federal government.
“We need to undo the desecration of subnational viability by the Irikefe Panel in its argument that viability, the principle which requires states to have autonomous fiscal, administrative and productive capacities to qualify to be constituent units was no longer necessary because the central government, having taken over control of the country’s power and resources, was the master government to which everyone should look up to.
“The master government has run its course as demanded by the nation-centred trajectory of military federalism, but the things have changed, and the demands now are for a state-centred trajectory. Federalism has the answer because it is a responsive system of government, but the answer does not lie only in the constitution.”
In his goodwill address, Lagos State Governor, Babajide Sanwo-Olu, who was represented by the Secretary to the State Government (SSG), Abimbola Salu-Hundeyin stated that the governor has been in the business of reading The Guardian newspaper since 1983.
Sanwo-Olu stated that The Guardian possesses qualities that make it stand out from its peers, making it a household name in Nigeria and Africa at large. He further indicated his solidarity with The Guardian newspaper saying, “The Guardian is a household name in Nigeria and Africa, Lagos is proud to be associated with you and to be your landlord always, I wish you global positive and outstanding increase.”
Ogun State governor, Dapo Abiodun, represented by the deputy governor Noimot Salako-Oyedele, described The Guardian as a “beacon of journalism and ethics in Nigeria.”
She applauded the contributions of the management of the newspaper for their constant and persistent readiness to adapt to digitalisation and willingness to adjust to what’s going on in the society. She stated that The Guardian has played significant roles in upholding facts and championing social justice in the society and media landscape.
Speaking on what has sustained the national newspaper in the last four years, Chairman and Publisher of The Guardian, Lady Maiden Ibru said: “The interlocking and mutually reinforcing fundamental principles of The Guardian were on our intellectual excellence, the balanced coverage of events, consistently upholding the interests of justice, equity and the rule of law, pursuing probity in public life actively promoting the best interests of Nigeria and Africa.
The chairman of the Editorial Board of The Guardian, Prof. Wale Omole, said it is “fundamental to note that the newspaper owes allegiance to no political party, ethnic, community, religious or other interest groups. Its primary commitment is to the integrity and sovereignty of the federation of Nigeria, and beyond that, to the unity and sovereignty of Africa.
“That is why we are launching the federalist papers: We (at the editorial board), are persuaded that the most populous black nation on earth Nigeria would be unable to deal effectively with many existential threats that have held us down unless our leaders muster uncommon political will to restructure our convoluted federation within the context of federalism.
“So, The Guardian federalist papers clearly show that restoration of federalism we lost in 1966 can set the tone for development of various geo-political zones in the country. It is beyond rhetoric that the goal of democracy is to give the people a voice in the decisions, which impact their lives. But how does this work in practice, especially in countries where ‘the people’ mostly live in different regions of the country, and are made up of different ethnic, religious or linguistic groups? You will see in the book that one possible political solution for these diverse groups of people who share the same country, but live in different parts of it, is federalism.
One of the directors of The Guardian, Anita Ibru, while speaking about the future of the newspaper said, “As we look to celebrate 40 years of The Guardian being in existence, we have decided to invest in our shared future with the print assets by enhancing digital capabilities and skills in order to drive The Guardian’s business generating opportunities.
“A robust online presence is not a luxury, it’s a strategic necessity. And I thank my brother for his vision for finding guardian digital. To say it hasn’t come with challenges would be undermining the process. It really has not been easy, but our digital transformation journey coincides with this very important anniversary year. Again, 40 years marks hard work. And so we shall persevere.”
The Managing Director and Editor-in-Chief of the newspaper Mr Martins Oloja welcomed the guests and set the tone for the event, while Editor of The Guardian, Dr Femi Adekoya, traced the history of the paper and efforts to innovate and make The Guardian different.
THEGUARDIAN
