Create Special Nomenclature as we Regionalise Nigeria – Funmilayo Adesanya-Davies 

 STATE OF THE NATION: NIGERIA RESTRUCTURING BILL BEING CONCLUDED READY FOR RATIFICATION

Presidential candidate of Mass Action Joint Alliance MAJA in 2019, a Professor of Applied Linguistics and Communication Arts Funmilayo Adesanya-Davies, in Port Harcourt has spoken on creating special Nomenclature towards restructuring and regionalisation of the nation, Nigeria.

Adesanya-Davies said, “It’s not just time to restructure and regionalize Nigeria in view of the pending report of the 2014 National Confab by Nigerians during former president Goodluck Jonathan presidency, but the time is ripe to also create special nomenclature for the restructuring and regionalisation of the nation, Nigeria and the time is now!”

Prof. Funmilayo Adesanya-Davies said, “I am a Princess of Ira, Kwara State, Nigeria,” she added, “Just as Lord Lugards girlfriend, Floral Shaw took it upon herself to name Nigeria from “Niger Area,” as Nigeria, may I decide to take it upon myself to mute the idea, that we should sub-name the nation Nigeria as Southern Nigeria, Northern Nigeria and Middle-Belt Nigeria.”

Therefore, “the Northern Nigeria would consist of “Arewa Islamic Rep” i.e North-East and North-West; while the Southern Nigeria would consist of Oduduwa Yoruba Rep, Biafra Christian Rep and Niger Delta Rep (South-East, South-South, South-West).”

To allow for equity, justice and peace, the Middle-Belt Central Nigeria would consist of the Middle-Belt states just as the Southern Nigeria and Northern Nigeria. This is the best way to go!

Below is the kite that is being reportedly flown by the Federal Government of Nigeria on restructuring and regionalization since 2021. It has been referred to as, the “Nigerian Economic Restructuring Bill 2021” as we’d learnt. It’s further designates Nigerian States and Nation such that:

[1] Nigeria will be made up of 42 states, with seven per each of her constituent geo-political zone. These shall be:

South-West
[1] Osun – Oshogbo
[2] Kwara State – Ilorin
[3] Oyo State – Ibadan
[4] Ondo – Akure
[5] Ekiti – Ado-Ekiti
[6] Ogun State – Abeokuta
[7] Lagos State – Ikeja

South-East
[1] Anioma State – Asaba
[2] Orashi State – Omoku
[3] Anambra State – Awka
[4] Imo State – Owerri
[5] Enugu State – Enugu
[6] Abia State – Umuahia
[7] Ebonyi State – Abakaliki

South-South
[1] Bayelsa State – Yenagoa
[2] Western Ijaw State – Patani
[3] Rivers State – Port Harcourt
[4] Cross River State – Calabar
[5] Akwa Ibom State – Uyo
[6] Edo State – Benin
[7] Delta State – Warri

North-East
[1] Mambilla State – Gashaka
[2] Taraba State – Jalingo
[3] Adamawa State – Yola
[4] Borno State – Maiduguri
[5] Yobe State – Damaturu
[6] Bauchi State – Bauchi
[7] Gombe State – Gombe

North-West
[1] Sokoto State – Sokoto
[2] Kebbi State – Birnin Kebbi
[3] Kaduna State – Kaduna
[4] Katsina State – Katsina
[5] Kano State – Kano
[6] Jigawa State – Dutse
[7] Zamfara State – Gusua

Middle-Belt Central
[1] Abuja State – FCT
[2] Gurara State – Kafanchan
[3] Benue State – Makurdi
[4] Plateau State – Jos
[5] Nasarawa State – Lafia
[6] Kogi State – Lokoja
[7] Niger State – Minna [2] Each state will be responsible for creating and funding its local governments as it deems fit. Local governments will be funded internally by the charging of a local tax, which will be augmented by a state grant representing no more than 10% of TV
[3] Over a 35 year period, we gradually migrate back to the 1957/58 revenue sharing formula agreed by our founding fathers at the Lancaster House Conferences in London under which the federating units will control all the resources within their domains and remit 50% to the centre

[4] Our federating units will keep 50% of all the revenue that they generate, put a further 20% into a central pot called the Excess Federation Account to which everyone can have access as the need arises, 10% will go into a geo-political zone account and the remaining 20% will go to into the Federation Account used to run the federal government [5] With regards to all other resources, we shall move towards this immediately but in the case of oil and gas, the move will have to be gradual due to how dependent we have become on these two resources. A gradual migration shall take place over the next 35 years in this manner: 2000 – 13%, 2021 – 18%, 2023 – 20%, 2025 – 25%, 2030 – 30%, 2035 – 35%, 2040 – 40%, 2045 – 45%, 2050 – 50% [6] Every one of our 42 states will be set a target of generating at least $2bn in export revenue. Any state government that attracts inward investment to the tune of $1bn, will get a corresponding grant from the federal government [7] Any state that fails to generate as much revenue as it spends for two consecutive years as from 2020, will be subject to an immediate declaration of a state of emergency. It shall be administered centrally by the federal government until its books are balanced [8] Every state must seek to generate at least 30% of its internal revenue from manufacturing and services, with a migration away from primary products to value added production [9] Every state is free to create more local governments provided they meet the necessary criteria which includes holding a referendum and the fact that the local government area is self-sustaining. To be recognised as a local government area, basic facilities that must exist within the domain include 20 primary schools, five secondary schools, a local government headquarters, at least one vocational training college and at least one public health centre [10] All local and state governments will as a matter of course award supply contracts to companies that manufacture products within Nigeria. Only as a last resort will companies that manufacture products abroad be granted government contracts.

Nigeria is a multinational state inhabited by more than 250 ethnic groups speaking 500 distinct languages, all identifying with a wide variety of cultures. The three largest ethnic groups are the Hausa in the north, Yoruba in the west, and Igbo in the east, together constituting over 60% of the total population.
The official language is English, chosen to facilitate linguistic unity at the national level.

Nigeria’s constitution ensures freedom of religion and it is home to some of the world’s largest Muslim and Christian populations. Nigeria is divided roughly in half between Muslims, who live mostly in the north, and Christians, who live mostly in the south; indigenous religions, such as those native to the Igbo and Yoruba ethnicities, are in the minority.

Bernard Bourdillon the Governor-general at that time initiated and laid the foundation of federalism in Nigeria in 1939 by creating three provinces. He later handed over the constitution to his successor Arthur Richards and it became the Richards Constitution of 1946.