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THE FACADE IN THE NIGERIA’S RESTRUCTURING AGENDA: A futility of ignorance deceit and evasion

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THE FACADE IN THE NIGERIA’S RESTRUCTURING AGENDA: A futility of ignorance deceit and evasion

One of the issues that took centre stage especially by the opposition and the southern political divide during the campaign for political power in the 2019 elections was the restructuring agenda.

Indeed, the clamour for restructuring, the spate of insurgency and the call for secession has become unending and a re-occurring decimal in the political space of the Nigerian project. These permutations have again resurfaced as the country edges towards another election in 2023 with an added dimension that the presidency must move to the South under the rotation arrangement.

Understandably, these agitations have become so loud and intense to the extent that aggrieved elements are threatening fire and brimstone on the cooperate existence of the country.

It is an incontrovertible fact that the Nigerian state with the exception of the civil war in the 60s and the insurgency in the North- East has never being so challenged to its very foundation.

A graphic picture of the mood of the country was aptly captured way back in the year 2002 by Adebayo Williams, a literary giant when he stated that the ‘Nigerian project was a space craft strutting to an unknown destination with the potential of exploding into an inferno mid air’.

This is the situation that we have found ourselves today and it is unfortunate that the debate on the future of Nigeria has generated more heat than light. The worrisome aspect of this scenario is that the intelligentsia particularly the political scientists, whose trade is to clarify and purify issues on the Nigeria’s political development, but verily, our learned senior practitioners have refused to effectively display their craft and have unwittingly ‘taken refuge in cold complicity and sometimes mute passivity’ in distilling the problems besetting the Nigerian State and proffering solutions and the way forward. They have allowed the debate to be reduced between ‘mediocrity and competence, confrontation between the North and South and to our detractors, between Christianity and Islam’ on issues of political marginalization economic deprivation, good governance and the quest for social justice as well as an egalitarian society that will meet the expectations and aspirations of the masses of the country.

The disaffection against the Nigerian state as perceived by the self proclaimed apostles of restructuring, true federalism, devolution of power and secession stem from the presumed dominance of the Northern oligarchy and the ‘continuation of the political status quo in the midst of glaring inequalities’.

A perception that sees the Nigerian state as a colonial forebear, an alien construct, divorced and dismembered from collective and individual aspiration of constituting nationalities often imposing its malevolent imperial will on the people.

In as much as one could lend credence to this assertion, the Nigerian state should also be seen from its historical contraption in the context of its nature and character.

Given its compradorial character, it can be clearly stated that it is not interested in any form of equality good governance and true representation.

What these agitators fail to realize however, is that the Nigerian state as conceived by its beholders and benefactors has the primary purpose of creating the necessary atmosphere for the extraction and expropriation of Nigerian resources for international capital as against the dominant interest of the citizens who are wallowing in abject poverty and under development. It is historically designed ‘to protect, expand and sustain the exploitative relationship and oppression of Nigerians on behalf of the international Capital’ as it is not interested in any form of equality social justice and good governance.

Read also: Aisha Yesufu, the hijab-wearing revolutionary

Therefore the quest for the reconfiguration of Nigerian through devolution of power, true federalism and restructuring in order to address the seemingly injustices as advocated by the apostle of change can be perceived as a myth and misnomer. These agitators who have been sidelined from the scheme of things are merely seeking relevance by fanning the embers disharmony through restructuring. This is because nothing will change from the exploitation and frustration of the ordinary Nigerian who is daily faced with the challenges of hunger, spiral inflation, poor salary, disease and unemployment. What will change is that the fraction of the ruling class who are presently marginalized and out of power, having been suffocated by the outside environment would assume ascendancy and the circle of ‘primitive accumulation’ through the looting of the treasury will continue to the detriment of the masses,

Therefore, the call for devolution is nothing other than for the dominant class in our society who held sway since independence to abdicate power permanently and to allow another fraction of the ruling class to take their position. The realization of this agenda can only be imagined, as it cannot be attained on a platter of gold. This is because it will be foo1 hardy to expect the inheritors of neo colonial Nigeria to abdicate power willingly to another group without a fight.

What we are witnessing now is a fractional struggle amongst the ruling class who are using the ethnic card, deceit, selfish aggrandizement and chauvinism as well as regionalism for the purpose of realizing vested political interest and relevance.

If this contradiction persists with its attendant attrition the tendency is that the contending classes will extinguish themselves and fizzle out in a grim battle for survival in the scheme of things. The consequence of which we may end up with the emergence of a Bonapartist state in Nigeria as was the case in France during the revolutionary years where the independent nature of state was alluded. One in which the state stood above society and independent of all the contending classes.

In concrete terms the Nigerian state should be seen not as a benevolent state that is out to meet the yearnings and aspirations of the Nigerian people in terms of equality, true representation, justice and a stake in the distribution of resources. This is where the Biafran agitators and resource control advocates have missed the point as they seemed to be more aggrieved because oil is derived from their region.

In actual fact if oil were to found in Northern Nigeria today the same level of hegemony and exploitation would be meted to the masses by the ruling class in the country. A cursory look at the situation in Kainji for example where the local people have become destitute in their father land and the colonial experience of the people of plateau as a result of the mining activities that has degraded their environment is a case in point. Nobody can dispute the fact that the level of deprivation and poverty is far more pervasive in Northern Nigeria than the South. Outside the ruling class everybody is marginalize which is a typical contrivance of post colonial state in Africa where it is centrist, repressive and insensitive to the aspirations of the people regardless of whether it is military, civilian or regionally inclined.

What is even more baffling on these agitations is that the protagonist for restructuring have not sat down to think of the outcome of such action will entail. For instance what will be the fate of federal structures and institutions spread across the country if the Centre is weakened in favor of the regions. What will be the fate of the states in the federation? The question that readily comes to mind here is that, will the current states agree to let go their self assertion and autonomy in favor of regional government. Who will pick the bills of federal Institutions, Universities, Polytechnics, Teaching Hospitals, Colleges of Education NYSC, security agencies and even roads that are spread across the country to mention but a few. The experience of primary school teachers in the hands of the Local Governments is still very fresh with us. The same fate awaits federal institutions and parastatals should the restructuring agenda succeed.

The naked truth is that the states or regions are not in a position to shoulder the responsibilities of catering for these institutions. We cannot take one step forward and two steps backward. We opted out of the regions at the collapse of the first republic in order to address the seemingly in-balances, inequality and true representation. Why are we now thinking of going back to the same lacuna.

Restructuring should therefore be seen as nothing other than a motion without movement as it is surely a gateway and a precipice for disintegration as was experienced in the First Republic. It is an elitist crisis and a diversionary tactics aimed at perpetuating the status quo and domination as it is not the answer to the current agitation.

Also in as much there is credence to the desirability and validity in our quest to revert to the parliamentary system as against the Executive Presidency which is considered too expensive for a neo colonial economy, the plurality and the socio-cultural cleavages in Nigeria and the deepened religious divide makes the demand too risky as it has the tendency to trigger not only social attrition and high turnover of government, but also political instability which may not necessarily be in our national interest. Besides, given the compradorial character of the political class and its exploitative inclination and corruption towards our common wealth, the presidential system affords them the unhindered access to the wealth of the nation with impunity. They will therefore wouldn’t want to let go the juicy apple easily.

What is required now is to scale down the structures of the presidential system and also to address squarely the issues of roads, water, health, housing, electricity, unemployment industrialization and basic infrastructural deficit across the country which is in dire straits and in need of rehabilitation before we can think of parliamentary system. More so, a country like Nigeria presently needs a strong Executive that will be symbol of unity and cohesion in order to maintain the corporate existence of the country in the face of daunting challenges of nation building crisis which might be lacking in the parliamentary system.

It is an accepted fact that the Nigerian state has become all powerful pervasive and predatory institution whose disposition has run counter to the ideals of good governance and it has also failed to address the basic issues of the nation building particularly in infrastructure and human development comparable to nations like Indonesia, Brazil, Iran, Turkey and Singapore.

It is equally genuine and valid preposition that an over haul of the Nigerian state is necessary in order to meet the yearnings and aspirations of the people of the country for national development, but such restructuring most take a ‘PAN AFRICANIST’ and nationalist posture.

It is instructive to say at his juncture that this patriotic stand is in line with Edwin Madunagu’s position, a respected scholar from the south where he maintained that ‘the vision for a better Nigeria is to reconstruct Nigeria along popular demographic lines, dissolving existing power blocks eliminating class, gender, sectional domination and oppression in whatever form, as well as the adoption of universal principle of existence and democracy’.

What is paramount therefore is for all of us progressive and patriotic Nigerians including the masses of this country to join ranks no matter which section of the country one belongs to in fighting the monster the Nigerian state and their beneficiaries in order to liberate our country from the shackles of misery ignorance exploitation and imperialism that is the bane of our society.

Bala Usman of the blessed memory should be credited for transcending these stereotype and cleavages that has become the hallmark of our political gladiators and intellects in explaining the political development of Nigeria today. One could not but marvel at his in-depth analysis on the concept of nation state and ethnic nationalities as it affect the Nigerian nation including its dire and devastating consequence of such a venture for the country and Africa in general Bala Usman in his paper:T HE NIGERIAN FEDERATION AND THE RULE OF LAW: – unraveled the smokescreen behind the clamour by the protagonist of ethnic nationalities to balkanize the country. Under the cover of addressing social imbalances, injustices and the promotion of self actualization on some of the intractable problems besetting the Nigeria nation, this group have pushed the ethnic card in order to restructure the country on the basis of ethnic regional units as a final solution to the national question.

His argument against the agitators for the disintegration of Nigeria based on the politics of ethnicity and religion is not only valid but it has shown clearly the towering academic personality in Bala. This is because there is detachment, neutrality and objectivity in his analysis which is based on historical fact, logic and data. I cannot see how anybody can controvert or deny the fact that decolonization process for Nigerian independence was based on nationalist ideal rather than ethno racist agenda. Neither was the political independence recovered based on ethnic nationalities and sectional interest.

We commended Bala Usman for having kept faith with the ideals of the Nigerian project as envisaged by the founding fathers of modern day Nigeria and nationalists who fought for the decolonization of Africa most populous country. We recognised his bold and courageous stand against divisive, parochial and ethnic inclined elites who under the cover of true federalism regional autonomy and resource control have unleashed a barrage of attack on the presumed dominance of the North in the socio-economic and political development of Nigeria. We also commend him for standing high where others have faltered in telling the truth that democracy based on the institutionalization of ethnicity and regionalism as panacea to racial ethnic politics, as condition for peace and tranquility is a myth. This is because it runs counter to the ideals of democracy itself as it has the tendency of marginalization, repression and authoritarianism paving way for instability, civil unrest and even war in the country.

The calamities of such an exercise can only be imagined as it has the consequence of affecting the entire African continent given the strategic role of Nigeria in regional and African politics.

The import of Bala’s treatise therefore is that it is unfortunate for Nigeria in the new millennium, when countries especially western Europe are finding ways and means of integrating their economic social and cultural values for the mutual benefit of all, (Brexit,  Catalonian protest and Covid19 notwithstanding) we in Nigeria are drumming disintegration. Disintegration at a time when as a result of increased trade relationship and globalization, national boundaries are becoming less significant due to closer ties integration and unification amongst countries.

AUTHOR: Umar Shehu…


Articles published in our Graffiti section are strictly the opinion of the writers and do not represent the views of Ripples Nigeria or its editorial stand.

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