Federalism And Restructuring: The Choices For Nigerians (3) -By Usman Sarki

“Profound definitions do not refute superficial ones, but, supplementing them, include them in themselves”- Georgi Plekhanov

THERE are many deciding factors that inform or influence whether states or entities should come together as a federation. Mutually shared borders, for one, enables them to come together to enlarge their territories and also remove all artificial barriers and impediments by their consent and in the process become fused into one larger community. The elimination of borders meant also the removal of such barriers as customs and excise imposts, immigration check points, etc.

The need for mutual protection and adoption of a common defense and foreign policy is also another impulse that drives entities towards coming together as a federal unit. The persistence of local grievances and jealousies as they seem so overwhelmingly present in Nigeria today, and driven so inexorably by elite greed, competition and general irresponsibility, are the undoing of any federal system. The harmonisation and removal of such sentiments are therefore, the most important tasks or goals of any federal system.

The Nigerian masses, particularly the working classes and the rest of the enlightened segment of the country, must assume this task seriously as a historical duty imposed upon them by their destiny and class posture. The active participation of the organised labour movement in Nigeria as evidenced by the convening of the “Colloquium” in 2017, suggests to us that the NLC was right in directing the debate on restructuring toward the rational and constructive target of national unity.

Noting the advantages of the federal system of government, Mr. Buchan wrote: “The parts are maintained in full national existence, but in so far as their interests transcend their own boundaries they are united in one larger state”. The federal system allows for the growth and expansion of the entity, and adaptability as to changing circumstances. The laws in a federation can be so crafted as to meet the peculiar needs of each unit, as well as accommodate the interests and concerns of the remaining entities.

The uniformity of policies and regulations in a federal system would best be addressed and ensured under one executive, for reasons of efficacy and logical dispensation of justice and exigencies of administration. The notion or principle of separation of powers is a characteristic of a federal system, and one of its best attributes. It is meant to ameliorate and harmonise the riot of ideas and conflicting policies across different jurisdictions and competences, and introduce sanity and harmony into all matters of the judiciary, the legislature and the federal executive administration.

The central government would serve as the clearing house or collection centre for decision-making on all national and international issues. Matters of local import or significance will naturally devolve on the different states or regions forming the constituent parts of the federation, to decide according to their peculiar needs and challenges. In this way, all distortions and constrictions would be removed and the process of administration and overall governance would become smoother and more facile.

Administration could thus proceed separately or collectively within each unit or across all the constituent parts, depending on what their peculiar needs are, or what the subject is all about. Issues common to some or all the parts of the federation can be a stimulus to their coming together under this system of government. The strongest argument in favour of federalism in Nigeria is the fact that all the federating units were created and then brought together by the British under a single imperial government and a common flag.

For 60 years the Southern and Northern Protectorates were administered as unified entities, and under one federal system called Nigeria. The amalgamation of the two Protectorates took place in 1914; and since then they have lived together as one federal entity. Until 1966, the federal parliament and the regional assemblies acted in tandem as befitting a federal arrangement, with each having its responsibilities and powers clearly delineated in a national constitution.

To understand the evolution of Nigeria’s federal system will require the study and appreciation of the development of the country’s constitutional history. Each constitution endeavoured to stress the paramountcy of the federal system, and provided various degrees of rights and prerogatives to the regions and states. The Amalgamation of 1914 had effectively sealed the fate of the two territories and rendered them a single entity with a single destiny to follow. Amenities and other interests such as common infrastructures like railways, airlines, shipping lines, etc, facilitated the maintenance of a federal system of government, to enable all the component parts to partake and benefit from these services in one way or another.

The promotion of common interests and maintenance of services common to all the entities became the most convincing reason for preferring a federal system. The moral and social imperatives for federalism in Nigeria are fundamentally underscored by her diverse multi-religious and multi-ethnic configuration. The realisation that the divergent and separate group interests are best served and protected under a federal representative government underscored the staying together of all the entities that now form the Federal Republic of Nigeria.

Quest for federalism and its many ironies

For a country of Nigeria’s complexity and diversity, this can only be assured through a working federal system. Wherever grievances are seen to persist and inadequacies become apparent, the blame should not be laid at the foot of the system per se, but with the operators who are unable to rise to the demand of their offices and demonstrate an adequate understanding of its workings. As there are no insuperable difficulties that would prevent the smooth and satisfactory working of the federal system in Nigeria, any argument for its termination should be seen as mere posturing or self-serving contention of disaffected elements bent on causing confusion all around.

All the core grievances against the federal system as is operated in Nigeria today have to do with questions of competence and perfection of governance, and not a reversal of the federal arrangement. Issues such as devolution of powers, resource allocation, derivation and representation in government, etc, are all constitutional matters that can be thrashed out in debates and negotiations in the National Assembly, within the framework of the existing laws of the federation.