LOCAL GOVERNMENT AUTONOMY: A Necessity But A Dangerous Decoy & Trojan Horse at This Time.

By Lucky Okoedion

Recently, Southern Nigeria governors officially joined in the agitation for the restructuring of Nigeria to reduce the powers of the over burdened and ever inefficient federal government, and thus transfer the powers to the state government. But the Buhari led presidency through its agents and the Senate president reacted by pointing out that these state governors who are asking for devolution of powers from the federal government to them are the same people who have refused to accent to the local government autonomy bill that would also give the third tier of government freedom from the stranglehold of the state governors.

The situation of local government in Nigeria is indeed scandalous and pathetic given the manner in which its powers are completely handed over to the state governors by the famously fraudulent and evil 1999 constitution of the federal republic of Nigeria. The local governments lack financial autonomy, their elections can easily be rigged by the state governors, the elected local government chairmen can easily be suspended by the governors for any reason, etc. Recently, a state governor decided that those aspiring to run for the post of local government chairmen in the forth coming elections in his state will have to write an exam – treating the local government which ought to be a tier of government on its own as though it is an appendage of the governor’s office.

Worse still, most states in Nigeria are state capital only states. Most government initiatives and social amenities are cited at the state capital. This absence of government presence at the grassroots caused by this problem of a suffocated local government is arguably responsible for many problems such as the ease at which Boko Haram and Bandits are able to recruit people in Northern Nigeria. And it is most likely responsible for the reason why it is easy for large number of people to be kidnapped by terrorists and transported over long distances without the government or law enforcement getting the information on time.

With this and other obvious eyesores in the local government in Nigeria, it is clear that indeed restructuring has to also happen at the state level to bring government closer to the people in the grassroots. Yet to use that as a response to the agitation for restructuring of the nation proves that the Buhari led presidency and its agents do not fully grasp the reality of the nation currently.

Buhari’s federal government seem not to understand that the call for the restructuring of the nation is not a casual or political endeavor aimed at finding a way to make the nation work. It is rather an urgent need that is aimed at preventing a situation that could lead to the country ceasing to exist. Restructuring at the state level is only a necessity but Restructuring at the federal level is a matter of life and death.

Buhari and his men do not seem to know that his extraordinary feats in nepotism and leadership incompetence has already ended Nigeria. He can do well to ask experts to help him feel the pulse of the nation. Then he would realize that Nigeria is more divided now than it was even before and during the Nigeria and Biafra civil war.

The situation has gotten so bad that Nigeria as a nation now has only two options:

1) Disintegration through war or referendum,

2) Restructuring back to regional Government with fully autonomous states and regions in an arrangement where by the states pay tax to the regions, while the regions pay tax to a federal government that is run by an 8 years single term presidency that is rotated between all regions.

Credit to Buhari’s nepotism and the arrogant statements by his Miyetti Allah, there is now a widespread talk about a Fulani expansionist agenda. This incurable suspicion makes it a huge mistake if the Southern Governors go ahead with local government autonomy at this time.

I will not personally redirect my energy from the clamour for restructuring of the nation to clamouring for accent to those presidential orders for restructuring at the state level because I know that the national structure is the root of the problem. And I am very convinced that both the president who signed the orders and those pointing us away from the national restructuring to the state restructuring know the truth that the root of the problem is the concentration of powers at the federal.

I am also convinced that once the National restructuring is achieved, the restructuring at the state will naturally follow suit.

Another flaw in this argument that restructuring should begin in the states is the suspicion that it has hiding in plain sight a worse bondage that will befall other ethnic nationalities because it will make it easy for the “Fulani agenda” to spread because they will be able to divide and exploit states that have been difficult for them to exploit ever since. All they have to do in Edo for example, is to get like 10 corrupt local government chairmen out of the 18 local government areas in the state and use them to undermine the Governor of the state and push their agenda. They can even sponsor conflicts. With the foolish tendencies and greed of some of Southern politicians, it will be easy to achieve this. An example is how Edo state House of Assembly under Oshiomhole voted against their own financial autonomy, probably for some personal Interests.

So, thanks to Buhari’s nepotism, it is generally believed that we must first break away from the Fulani stranglehold before we restructure at the level of the states. Else we will be creating inroads into our states for them by POLITICALLY opening the local governments to them directly.

Lucky Okoedion is a believer of a new Nigeria where true democracy is practiced. He writes from Benin City, Nigeria. He can be reached on +2347038820118.