Still on restructuring

Editorial

 

As usual, Nigerian political actors are at war over issues requiring consensus for the country to make progress. This time, the Federal Government is pitched against the states, especially those in the South whose governors met on May 18 over the recurring restructuring debate. The southern governors, joined later by the Peoples Democratic Party’s (PDP) governors (including those from the north) 48 hours later, argued strongly for a truly federal structure and establishment of state police, among others.

However, in its response, the Federal Government, speaking through the Senior Special Assistant, Media and Publicity to the President, Malam Garba Shehu, dismissed the call and insinuated that the governors are more liable for the charges levelled against the centre. Malam Shehu’s position was later endorsed by the Attorney-General of the Federation, Abubakar Malami, who said no one could stop the movement of cattle across the country on foot as it would violate section 41 of the 1979 Constitution that guarantees the freedom of movement of citizens across the country.

One issue that should be a low hanging fruit is state police. Although it requires amendment of our rigid constitution, almost all the stakeholders at the federal and state levels have agreed that it is not only desirable, but has become inevitable in the face of the insecurity threatening the stability and health of the country. At various times in the National Assembly, the lawmakers too have called for decentralisation of the Nigeria Police Force to accommodate the peculiarity of the various parts of Nigeria.

The token attention to the diversity of the country through creation of a sort of community policing system is certainly inadequate. It would appear to have been granted grudgingly. In the same vein, the permission granted states of the South West and the South East to put in place the Amotekun and Ebube Agu outfits merely scratch the surface of the problem. Operatives of the outfits are not allowed to bear arms commensurate to the danger to which they are exposed. It’s time the Federal Government took the bold, inevitable step of granting the request that the state chief executives are backed with power to enforce laws made at the state level rather than relying on the ill-equipped and poorly funded federal police to perform the function.

It is unfortunate that Senate President Ahmed Lawan who hails from Yobe State, one of the states bedeviled the most by insurgency did not see the merit in the clamour for devolution of power, state policing and ban on open grazing. It is also tragic that he failed to see the illogicality of making definitive statements on a matter coming before the National Assembly over which he presides. The result of the on-going public hearing will end up at the plenary where final decisions would be taken before the state assemblies are brought on board. His statements that generated so much furore are incongruous with the eminent position he holds as Senate President and chairman of the National Assembly.

But, those agitating for devolution of power and wide-ranging amendments to the constitution should realise that the acceptable mode of getting bills through a legislature is lobbying. In this case, this also applies to the executive that has indicated its reluctance to shed weight by reducing the items on the exclusive legislative list. Nigeria is such a complex country where primordial sentiments pervade all discourse such that resolving these issues would require intense lobbying and reassurance.

This period of serious crisis threatening the life of the country is not a time for avoidable bickering. The President should rise to the occasion by rallying all relevant authorities round for a national consensus in good time. The nation might swell the ranks of failed states if a fundamental restructuring of the polity and economy is not undertaken before the next elections.

 

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