“Restructuring; Can It Address The Problems Of The Country?”By Prof. Abiodun Amuda-Kannike, (SAN)

A PAPER PRESENTATION BY PROF. ABIODUN AMUDA-KANNIKE,
(SAN), PROVOST, COLLEGE OF LAW, KWARA STATE UNIVERSITY, MALETE VIA
ILORIN, KWARA STATE, AT THE 9TH EDITION OF UNIFEMGA HONOUR DAY
ORGANIZED BY OBAFEMI AWOLOWO UNIVERSITY, MUSLIM GRADUATES
ASSOCIATION (UNIFEMGA) AT SAVANNAH HOTELS & SUITES, AJASE-IPO ROAD,
OFFA GARAGE AREA, ILORIN, KWARA STATE, ON SATURDAY, 2ND DAY OF
FEBRUARY, 2019.

Presenter Email Address: amudakannikeabiodun@gmail.com^[1]

INTRODUCTION:

The present topic is important to our nation, Nigeria,
because, it has become a serious discussion among ethnic
nationalists, religious organizations, civil societies,
academicians, vis-à-vis, the politicians among other numerous
interest groups.

It is however important to note that the definitions
differs from one group or the other, from one interest to the
other. Some see restructuring issue as a means to divide the
country into two or several countries, some persons oppose
restructuring because, they believe, Nigeria must remain one
indivisible country, others see the mentioning of the word
“restructuring” as a “taboo”.

It is pertinent to understand that before delving into the
discussion, we need to understand the keywords associated with this
topic which are as follows;

(i) Restructuring

(ii) Problem/Problems

(iii) Country

The term “restructuring” is said to be a political and
administrative connotation which means, the agitation for more
formation in the entire component of the existing federalism,
because of the need to be in control of the center or
representation in the political landscape of a particular country.
Restructuring can further be seen as the economic redistribution of
the resources among the components units which makes up a
federation in relation to true federalism, including the
constitutional issue which requires amendment for such
restructuring.

To define “restructure” in the verb, means to change the
way an organization or system organize its activities in order to
make it to work more effectively.

Restructuring also means, bringing about a drastic or
fundamental internal change that alters the relationships between
different components or elements of an organization or
system.

Problem has been described as a situation regarded as
unwelcome or harmful and needing to be dealt with and
overcome.

Problem has also been described as a situation that is
unsatisfactory and causes difficulties for people.

Country has however been described as a nation with its
own government, occupying a particular territory.

Furthermore, a country has been described as one of the
political units which the world is divided into, covering a
particular area of land. The people who live in a particular
country can be referred to as the country, once recognized by
comity of nations such as the United Nations and other World
bodies.

The above core terms or words, will be useful in dealing
with the topic, as they shall be in use throughout our discussion.
It is however important to look at the historical background of
restructuring in Nigeria summaringly. The purpose of this
presentation is not specifically  to trace the historical
background of restructuring in Nigeria but to have a cursory look
of what restructuring was earlier and in the present day Nigeria in
order to take a position on whether or not restructuring will
address our problems in Nigeria.

According to, Eshiobo Sam Shola,
restructuring means a purposeful alteration or adjustment
from a former form, situation, characteristic or structure to a
newer form which is often intended to be better than the former or
previous structure.

Restructuring can be done in various ways, such
as;

(i) Economic

(ii) Political

(iii) Social

The fact remains that significant issue of restructuring
will certainly require constitutional amendment in order to become
a reality.

HISTORICAL BACKGROUND OF RESTRUCTURING IN NIGERIA

The issue of restructuring in Nigeria has been a
continuous one and it became more serious and pronounced in the
year 2017 as a result of sudden recession. There was the agitation
from both the ethnic nationalists and political group on a large
scale this time around and the agitation is still
ongoing.

It is however important to state that the structure of
federalism in Nigeria started taking shape as a result of the
coming into effect of various Nigerian Constitution, which is
popularly called, “Constitutional development in Nigeria” according
to many authors, jurist and writers, however, we call it
“constitutional under development in Nigeria”. This is because, the
definition of development and underdevelopment are not the same.
One is the opposite of the other. We would not have mind the words
or sentence “constitutional history of Nigeria or the history of
Nigeria Constitution”.

The endorsement of the division of Nigeria into Northern
and Southern Provinces through the 1922 Clifford Constitution
commenced the structure of Nigeria Federalism. There also exist
other Constitution which were imposed on Nigerians such as the
Richardson Constitution of 1946, the Macpherson Constitution of
1951 which also created its own restructuring, this led to the
Lyttleton Constitution of 1954 which expanded the scope of
federalism a little and which came into effect on 1st of October,
1954. This constitution can be seen as sharing constitutional
powers between the central government and the regional government.
The issue of the division of powers into exclusive, concurrent and
residual items of the constitution can be seen therein.

It must also be understood that in the exclusive list, it
means that only the federal government or the central government
can legislate. Concurrent list means both the federal and regional
government can legislate on, while residual list has to do with a
situation where the regional government is exclusively allowed to
legislate on, without the interference of the federal
government.

The next constitution which followed the Lyttleton
constitution of 1954 was the 1960 independent constitution of
Nigeria which primary aim and achievement was the conferment of the
status of an independent nation on Nigeria with the similar federal
structure as it was in the Lyttleton Constitution of Nigeria as
mentioned above. This independent constitution divided Nigeria at
this time into three (3) regions, which were, Northern Region,
Western Region and Eastern Region.

In 1963, the country, became a republic which eventually
ushered in the “Republican Constitution” and it was in 1963, that
the Mid-Western Region of Nigeria was created after the agitation
of the members of the region who were formerly part of the Western
region. The constitution gave birth to parliamentary system of
government.

In the year 1966, there was a coup by the military and
this truncated democratic rule as it was one form of military
dictatorship against the other and one form of decree to another
till the 1979 constitution came into being. The military had ended
up by creating more states.

The 1979 Constitution brought in the Presidential System
of Government, in it, we have the central government which is the
federal government as this time, there was 19 states, the 1979
constitution was brought to an end as a result of coup against the
regime of Alhaji Shehu Aliu Shagari, through General Muhammed
Buhari, General Babangida overthrew Buhari government, chief Ernest
Shonekan, interim regime came on board before General Sanni Abacha
took over, as a result of the death of General Sanni Abacha,
General Abdulsalami Abubakar took over government. He introduced
the 1999 constitution and ushered in a new democratic regime which
brought in Chief Olusegun Aremu Obasanjo. The Civilian regime
continues through the government of Alhaji Yaradua, Dr Good Luck
Jonathan and presently, Gen. Muhammed Buhari who is still in power.
There has been some partial amendment of the constitution leading
to the birth of the “1999 constitution as amended”. It
is therefore not in doubt that “we the people of Nigeria” in
reality were not taken into confidence when the various
constitutions were enacted. Even the constituent assembly members
were not the true representative of the people in terms of what can
be seen as the various constitutions in Nigeria vis-à-vis
restructuring. No wonder the agitation will always seem as if it is
no longer alive but persistently rare its head unabatedly.
   

In dealing with this topic, we shall dissect the various
argument of those agitating for restructuring and those oppose to
restructuring. We shall accordingly proffer long lasting solutions
to the issue of “Restructuring in Nigeria”.

THE ARGUMENT IN FAVOUR OF RESTRUCTURING

Those calling for restructuring according to Mallam Yusuf
Olaolu Ali, SAN, advocated for it because of the imperfections in
the way and manner federalism is being practiced in Nigeria and he
identified the followings among many other reasons as being
responsible for the call for restructuring;

1. Imbalance in the federal structure.
2. Imposition of the constitution on Nigerians.

iii. Economic hardship and poverty in the
country.

1. Corruption and mismanagement
2. Bad governance, bad leadership and bad
   followership.
3. Strong individuals with weak public
   institutions.

vii. Tribalism and ethnicity.

viii. Lack of patriotism.

1. Poor investment in Human development.

One cannot agree less with the Senior Advocate than to
state that we agree completely with the above postulation except to
add to it that tribalism and ethnicity including the imposition of
the constitution seems to be the major reasons for majority of the
agitations taking place.

We further agree with the above position, when we look at
the defective federal structure we operate in Nigeria where
absolute major power find itself concentrated at the centre, that
is at the federal level over and above the states and the local
government. There exist also the problem of allocation of funds to
the states which is popularly called the “National Cake”. This
national cake issue caused rivalry and struggles between different
interest groups to be in control of the central government and the
wealth of the nation.

Also the mistrust between the various states and the
federal government in relation to the proper administration and
management of the nation wealth, led to the establishment of
violent ethnic groups, restiveness, ethnic agitations, on the
platform of Niger-Delta Militias, I.P.O.B, Boko Haram, Massob,
Mosop and all other groups.

RESTRUCTURING AND 2014 NATIONAL CONFERENCE

To show the serious concern on the issue of restructuring,
on June 14, 2017, the Senate of the Federal Republic responded to
the growing tension in the society by debating a motion jointly
sponsored by all the Senators.  Such only happened on critical
instances, when the lawmakers take on the statesman-like role of
speaking with one voice, but how far has this gone?

Before the Senate, Majority Leader, Senator Ahmed Lawan,
indicated that the chamber cannot keep watch while threats of
disintegration were rife in the polity. The motion came on the
heels of the October 1, 2017 quit notice issued by some Arewa Youth
groups to Igbos living in the North. That threat had been followed
by lots of condemnations and support, with some leaders noticeably
adopting doublespeak.

While presenting the motion entitled: “The need for
National Unity and Peaceful coexistence in Nigeria” Senator Lawan
told the Senate “this is the time to show leadership,” adding that
the rising ethnic tension in the polity was undesirable.

But the additional prayers to the motion was brought in by
Senator Mao Ohuanbunwa who raised an amendment to the
prayers by asking the Senate to demand for the report of the 2014
National Conference. This was seconded by former Governor of Kebbi
State, Senator Adamu Aliero.

Senator Ohuabunwa, who spoke on the need for
restructuring, while contributing to the widely accepted motion
said that the chamber needs to ensure dialogue, and the
implementation of the 2014 confab report.

Seconding that additional prayer, Senator Adamu Aliero and
a former governor of Plateau state, Senator Jonah Jang asked the
leadership of the Senate to immediately take steps to request for
the report of the 2014 National Conference. The duo said that the
Senate must start work on the report immediately.

Aliero specifically said: “In 2014, former President
Goodluck Jonathan brought people from every ethnic nationality
together in Abuja in what was called the National Conference. It
was chaired by Justice Legbo Kutigi. The participants came up with
beautiful recommendations.

“This is the time to implement those recommendations. The
Senate should demand for the outcome of that conference and find a
way to implement them. That is the solution to these ethnic
agitations. The outcome of the conference should be tabled for
discussion.

“We cannot continue to lie to ourselves. Many people who
are speaking here will go out and support something else. They do
not practise what they preach. We cannot continue to live like
this. Things must change for the better.”

Senator Jang, in supporting that view, stated that the
Senate must recognise the confab report and act upon it quickly. He
further stated: “I want to align with what Senator Aliero said. I
remember that the Seventh Senate said it did not recognise the
National Conference because they, were the true representatives of
the people.

Leader of the Forum of National Conference Delegates,
which is agitating for the implementation of the Conference report,
Dr. John Dara, said that the forum would not wait for too long
before forwarding copies of the report to the National
Assembly.

“I can assure you that the National Assembly would not
wait for too long before they receive the report from the Forum,”
Dara said, adding that the Forum had earlier decided to meet the
leadership and members of the two chambers of the Assembly to
facilitate a debate of the confab report. Several other groups
including the pan-Yoruba socio-political organisation, Afenifere,
the Ohanaeze Ndigbo and a number of Middle Belt groups also praised
the lawmakers for taking the decision to look at the conference
report.

But can the report of the 2014 National Conference really
save the country the widespread agitations and ethnic tension? The
answer could come in the affirmative, especially as the issues are
right now coalescing on the front of restructuring.

 RESTRUCTURING: THE CONFUSION AND
FEAR

As the word restructuring gained popularity among the
political class, so also the height of confusion over its real
intendments.  Kaduna State Governor, Mallam Nasir el-Rufai,
said in a television interview that different categories of
Nigerians are using the word for different purposes. He said that
some were using it for selfish and mischievous purposes, while few
really believes in it.

The Former National Chairman of the ruling All
Progressives Congress (APC), Chief John Odigie-Oyegun, also
re-echoed the statement earlier credited to Information Minister,
Lai Mohammed  that restructuring was not the priority of the
incumbent administration.

But Southern leaders and opinion leaders have continued to
insist on the need for restructuring to safeguard the unity of the
country. At least two critical and well-attended meetings of the
leaders have restated the need to restructure Nigeria.

The United Kingdom’s chapter of Afenifere in a recent
statement, challenged the APC to make its position clear on the
restructuring debate.

In a communiqué made public after a meeting in London, the
chapter said that the APC actually campaigned in the build-up to
2015 election with restructuring agenda.

The communiqué read in part: “The meeting equally noted
that it appears the APC leaders in the South West have reneged on
their promise of restructuring in 2015. Did our political leaders
in APC do us 419 in 2015 when they came seeking our votes when they
know that our demand for restructuring which is clearly in their
manifesto will not be met?

“When the APC came calling in the South-West in 2015,
their promise read as follows: ‘As a change agent, APC intends to
cleanse our closet to halt the dangerous drift of Nigeria to a
failed state, with a conscious plan for post oil economy in
Nigeria. To achieve this laudable programme, APC government shall
restructure the country, devolve power to the units with the best
practices of federalism and eliminate all the unintended paralysis
of the centre.’

“We wonder how many of our people were sucked in by this
promise and deceptive it has turned out to be. Will Obafemi Awolowo
behave like this?”

Former military President, General Ibrahim Badamasi
Babangida also threw his weight behind the restructuring campaign
in a sallah message to Nigerians. Babangida, in the statement said
the time to restructure Nigeria was now, adding that the government
at the centre must ensure national unity.

He said: “Restructuring has become a national appeal as we
speak, whose time has come. I strongly advocate for devolution of
powers to the extent that more responsibilities be given to the
states while the Federal Government is vested with the
responsibility to oversee our foreign policy, defence, and
economy.

“Even the idea of having Federal Roads in towns and cities
has become outdated and urgently needs revisiting. That means we
need to tinker with our constitution to accommodate new thoughts
that will strengthen our nationality.

“Restructuring and devolution of powers will certainly not
provide all the answers to our developmental challenges; it will
help to reposition our mindset as we generate new ideas and
initiatives that would make our union worthwhile.”

Notwithstanding the attempt of Babangida contention
attempting to break the debate down to manageable size, the
confusion still persists especially in the North as to what
restructuring really means. For instance, a former Governor of
Kaduna state, Alhaji Balarabe Musa stated that the idea of
restructuring as “nebulous.” Former Presidential Adviser, Alhaji
Tanko Yakassai also asked for a blueprint on the idea of
restructuring. According to him, apostles of restructuring must
provide Nigerians the blueprint on how it will be implemented.
Former Minister of Health, Professor Nwosu, who commended Babangida
for his current position on restructuring, said however that
Nigeria has to agree on at least three things.

“There are three things we need to agree in order to
arrive on what configuration a restructured Nigeria should be.
Should it be the Federal Government with states as federating
units?  Or should it be the Federal Government and the new
super- structure (regions or zones) as federating units? We need to
agree.

“We argued over these options in 1994/1995 Abacha
Conference and we had a decision. We argued over it at the 2014
National Conference which I was a part of. It is important that we
agree on that decision now and stop introducing confusing
configurations. We must speak with one language on what constitutes
federating units.”

It is his further argument that Nigerians needed to agree
on the powers that must go from the centre to the federating units,
from the Exclusive to concurrent lists.

Besides, he said that Nigeria needs to “do the
restructuring arithmetic.” By determining the percentage of
resources going to the states or regions and the Federal
Government. It is not in doubt that these points were well argued
and analysed.

Nwosu said: “Everybody says the states as they are
presently are not viable and they cannot be viable because the
Federal Government has pocketed the entire money by collecting over
50 per cent of national revenue.

“The Federal Government should not have more than 35 per
cent of national revenue and the balance should go to the
federating units. If that happens, the federating units will be
very viable whether they are states or regions.

“So we have to really do the arithmetic to determine what
percentage of national revenue will go for things such as
derivation on minerals and other important functions.”

 AN ANALYSIS OF THE 2014 NATIONAL
CONFERENCE

The final report of the 2014 National Conference can be
seen as an attempt to break down key issues in the polity. In an
attempt to tackle the perennial problems in the polity, the
Conference divided the issue of restructuring down into (i) fiscal,
(ii) political and (iii) social segments.

In looking at the challenges of the past efforts, the
confab report indicated that the National Political Reforms
Conference (NPRC) of 2005 organised by former President Olusegun
Obasanjo did not work out because “it had to adjourn sine
die as a result of some irreconcilable issues, such as revenue
sharing and introduction of a clause for a third term as against
the usual two terms allowed by the 1979, 1989 and 1999
Constitutions.”

Former President Goodluck Jonathan had in his independence
address in 2013 announced the determination of his government to
organise the National Conference with the setting up of the Senator
Femi Okurounmu-led 12-member Presidential Advisory Committee on
National Dialogue.

The 492 delegates to the conference were inaugurated on
March 17, 2014 by President Jonathan after the announcement of the
six-member management team. It was headed by Justice Idris Legbo
Kutigi as Chairman, Professor Bolaji Akinyemi as Deputy Chairman
and Dr.(Mrs.) Valerie-Janette Azinge as Secretary. Some of the
important issues discussed are enumerated below.

(i) DEVOLUTION OF POWERS

The conference noted that the structural composition of
Nigeria’s federal system has increasingly come under critical
scrutiny leading to agitations for a review of the legislative
lists allotted to the tiers of government. It noted that the
general opinion favour reducing the legislative powers at the
federal level and devolving same to the federating
units.

The report stated: “As conceived, the problem is that
there is an over-concentration of power at the centre to the
detriment of the federating units of the country. A skewed power
arrangement in favour of the federal government has greatly
resulted in bloated administrative machinery at the centre; with a
disconnect between the centre and its developmental policies and
the intended recipients at the grass roots.”

It submitted that the “huge attraction” to the centre has
exacerbated the problems of unconscionable socio-economic and
political manipulations and corruption.

(2) FISCAL FEDERALISM: REVENUE SHARING, RESOURCE
CONTROL AND SHARING FORMULA

The Conference report defines Fiscal Federalism, one of
the contentious aspects of restructuring as measures by which
“Revenues are generated and distributed among the federating units
in a Federation.”

The report noted that the present situation in the country
which the constitution empowers the Federal Government to determine
the terms and manner of revenue allocation is generally regarded as
a negation of the principles of fiscal federalism.

It therefore recommends that the sharing of the funds
accruing to the Federation Account among the three tiers of
government, should be done in the following manner:

1. Federal Government- 42.5%
2. State Governments- 35%

iii. Local Governments- 22.5%

The above will replace the existing formula which stands
at:

1. Federal Government-52.68%
2. State Governments-26.72%

iii. Local Governments-20.60%.

While the conference recommends that Local Government
Areas should be stripped of their status as the third tier of
public administration, it failed to recommend whether the councils
be deleted from the revenue sharing formula.

Other fiscal restructuring proposed by the conference
include: “That the percentages given to Population and Equality of
States in the existing Sharing formula be reduced while that
assigned to Social Development Factor be increased to a much higher
percentage so as to ensure accelerated development of all parts of
the country.”

It also recommended that the “technical” aspects and
details of revenue sharing formula be referred to the Revenue
Mobilisation, Allocation and Fiscal Commission and the National
Assembly for final determination.

(3) RESOURCE CONTROL

This is another critical aspect of the restructuring
debate during by the conference. The report indicated
thus:

“Having critically examined the issues in contention,
Conference recognises the need to:

1. Review the percentage of revenue allocation to States
   producing oil (and other resources);
2. Reconstruct and rehabilitate areas affected by problems
   of insurgency and internal conflicts; and
3. Diversify the Nigerian economy by fast-tracking the
   development of the solid minerals sector.

“The Conference also notes that assigning percentages for
the increase in derivation principle, and setting up Special
Intervention Funds to address issues of reconstruction and
rehabilitation of areas ravaged by insurgency and internal
conflicts as well as solid minerals development, require some
technical details and considerations; and conference therefore
recommends that Government should set up a Technical Committee to
determine the appropriate percentages on the three (3) issues and
advise government accordingly.” 

(4) ESTABLISHMENT OF A SPECIAL FUND FOR THE
DEVELOPMENT OF MINERAL RESOURCES

The Conference decided that the Constitution should
guarantee the establishment of a Special Fund for the development
of mineral resources in the country. It stated that a competent
body be established to administer the Fund,

(5) SOVEREIGN WEALTH FUND

The Conference recommends that the Sovereign Wealth Fund
which is currently operating as Nigeria Sovereign Investment
Authority (NSIA), be enshrined in the Constitution of the Federal
Republic of Nigeria.

(6) POWER SHARING/ROTATION:

The Conference recommends that presidential power should
rotate between the North and the South and among the six
geopolitical zones while the governorship of the state should
rotate among the three senatorial districts in a state. This
recommendation is good but our recommendation will be seen later as
the best.

(7) PART-TIME LEGISLATURE:

The Conference recommends a Bi-cameral legislature which
it said would operate on a part-time basis

(8) FORMS OF GOVERNMENT:

The Conference also recommends a Modified Presidential
System of government which will ensure that the President picks the
Vice – President from the legislature. He will also be expected to
name not more than 18 ministers from the six geopolitical zones and
not more than 30 per cent of his Ministers from outside the
Legislature to reduce the cost of governance.

(9) INDEPENDENT CANDIDACY:

The conference also recommends that Nigerians should be
free to contest elections as Independent candidates.

(10) IMMUNITY CLAUSE:

One other key recommendation that could shake the polity
if implemented is removal of immunity clause for executive office
holders.

(11) RELIGION:

On the social front, the Conference recommends that
government will no longer sponsor religious activities, including
Christian and Muslim pilgrimages, while churches and mosques should
begin to pay tax to government.

(12) CREATION OF 18 NEW STATES:

The Conference recommends the creation of additional 18
states at three states from each of the six geopolitical zones. One
more state is to be created from the South-East to bring it at par
with most of the other zones.

(13) AGRICULTURAL RESTRUCTURING

The Conference adduced options to tackle the perennial
conflict between herdsmen and farmers, leading to widespread
attacks by herdsmen across the country.

It recommended thus: “In the long term cattle routes and
grazing reserves be phased out to lay emphasis on ranching. Cattle
rustling is however a disincentive to ranching and must be brought
under control by better policing. In the meantime, States which
have large livestock populations should endeavour to maintain
grazing reserves; and the traditional institutions should be
primarily responsible for the conflict resolution between the
Herdsmen and Farmers, and also their respective associations where
resolutions has failed, then the Alternative Dispute Resolution
(ADR) Centre should be their last resort.”

There should not be a debate as to the fact that the 2014
Conference undertook an extensive work on the challenges of
Nigerian polity. Though the report did not claim to be all-knowing,
as it left some windows for further technical works on resource
control and local government management, the fact remains that it
has reached a great depth in seeking solutions to Nigeria’s quest
for a restructured polity.

THE ISSUE OF MURIC (MUSLIMS RIGHTS CONCERN)

The MURIC (Muslim Rights Concern) in Contributing to the
issue of restructuring after several meetings and contributions
made (6) demands which are as follows;

1. Nigerians enjoyed a total of eight (8) public holidays in
   a year. This are Christmas Day, Boxing Day, New Year Day, Good
   Friday, Easter Monday, Id el-Kabir, Id el-Fitr, and Maulud Nabiyy.
   Five (5) of the eight days belong to Christians while only three
   (3) belongs to Muslims. The MURIC are demanding that other Muslims
   Ceremonies and occasion should attract public holiday.
2. Christian Marriages contracted inside churches or
   registries are held sacrosanct everywhere in Nigeria whereas Muslim
   marriages (Nikah) are not recognized for any official
   purpose. Therefore in a democracy, how can one
   marriage conducted by religious group be acceptable while the other
   is not. What kind of constitution is Nigeria using? Islamic
   marriages should be recognized in all official circles where
   Christian marriages are recognized. The Nigerian Marriage Act
   should therefore be revisited.

iii. Nigeria has a two – day weekend viz,
Saturday and Sunday. Saturday was half day during colonial era and
Sunday was the only full day at the weekend. However, Saturday was
made full day to favour the Seventh Day Adventists, a Christian
denomination during the regime of Gowon. The Muslim day of worship
is however a full working day. Therefore, Friday should be declared
public holiday.

1. Immigration and other authorities made Muslims to shave
   their beard, remove their caps, turban, to take pictures, even
   hijabs have to be taken off, for drivers license the same scenario
   play out.
2. Uniforms being mode of dressing is against the Muslim
   faith.
3. There exist no Shariah Court in South Western Nigeria
   where Muslims Constitute the Majority.

THE ARGUMENT AGAINST RESTRUCTURING

It has been said that restructuring is a good concept but
that it is not likely to solve Nigeria problem. It has therefore
been said further that what Nigeria require is the sincerity of
purpose in governance and in politics.

In further denting the image of restructuring the
contention is that it will only serve as a conduit pipe for some
people to loot Nigeria’s treasury because it will end up being a
wasted effort. The recommendations of the last
National Conference Committee will likely go into the dustbin the
same way other policies of the government find themselves in the
dustbin. The only time you really find a serious clamour for
restructuring as such in Nigeria from available facts occur when a
particular region in Nigeria is not favoured in government. It is
therefore seen that the agitation for restructuring in Nigeria is
self-serving and accordingly not in the best interest of the
nation.

The issue of restructuring has been seen again as being a
little to the left, and a little to the right, but certainly,
restructuring cannot go on well with everyone. The United Kingdom
and United States who are alleged to practice what is nearer to
true federalism do not even have 100 percent system. Therefore,
restructuring is not the answer to the political and economic
problems of Nigeria.

Alhaji Tanko Yakasai, an Elder Stateman said he is opposed
to restructuring because he felt Nigeria should remain an
indivisible country. He is of the view that he has not seen a
blue-print for restructuring of Nigeria and that he can change his
position on restructuring if he can be convinced with a proper blue
print on restructuring so far, it does not affect the unity and
oneness of Nigeria.

It has again been said that restructuring is a simplistic
way of another attempt at deceiving Nigerians. Tabia Princewill,
gave reasons for his stance as follows;

“The level of political illiteracy in Nigeria is
dangerous. The manipulation of the masses into acting against their
own interests remains one of the strategies of those who selfishly
believe that Nigeria and all its riches belong to them
alone.

We are yet to successfully tackle the real issues which
cause Nigeria’s underdevelopment because they are much too messy
and would mean questioning the very foundations upon which our
dirty social contract of oppression and dominance is
laid.”

He further buttress his points when he look at the
leadership structure in place and its attendant effects on our
collective well-being thus;

“The question of bad leadership and its consequences for
governance and lack of positive outcomes for the average Nigerian
has been over analyzed but with few concrete or observable
benefits. We are a nation with a deep, frustrating
and highly iconic understanding of its problems which can never
quite find the will to solve them, simply because solving them runs
counter to the interests of a few.”

The above submission is weighty especially when as we
shall find out soon in this paper, the major restructuring or major
reason to avoid restructuring in Nigeria is to stop our
discriminatory attitude and to allow an “Igbo Man” or as popularly
call, an “Ibo Man” to be the president and commander-in-chief-of
the Arm Forces in Nigeria, which must be done constitutionally. Let
me put it in a proper perspective thus;

1. Restructuring by amending the constitution to allow an
   Ibo man to become president after this 2019 general election that
   is in 2023 general election.
2. Don’t restructure but stop discriminating against a
   section of the country politically and the only way to comply in
   adherence to the constitution is by way of zoning the next
   presidential candidates of all the political parties to the
   south-east geo-political zone.

The above position, I have mechanically brought shall get
themselves arranged forensically very soon for a better
understanding.

Princewill, continued further by looking at the position
of other countries to buttress his point in order to further
convince us with respect to the position he has taken when he
stated thus;

“If one considers that most countries which made the
successful transition from “third world to first in a generation”
(to quote Lee Kuan Yew, the First Prime Minister of Singapore who
“ruled” his country for 30 years in a system of governance which
has been referred to as autocratic yet successful), have been
military dictatorship, then the question of why Nigeria’s military
rulers did not transform Nigeria comes down to a failure of
leadership. Our many ethnic groups are not to blame. Our religious
tendencies are not to blame. Neither is our population. We were
once quash with Petrodollars which we didn’t put to good. Actually
 the period of military rule would have been a good period to
restructure.”

Also, the Special Adviser to the president on Media, Femi
Adeshina on his own part described the ongoing calls for
restructuring of the country as another form of opposition. He said
the talks on restructuring should not be accompanied with
disintegration, arguing that Nigeria can restructure without
falling apart. He further contendedthat in the history of Nigeria,
there was a time where the various people and communities lived in
this space that is today called Nigeria. And then the colonial
masters came, formed what is called the Northern protectorate,
Southern protectorate that was restructuring of what has subsided.
And then in 1914, precisely, the northern and southern protectorate
amalgamated into one country, that was another
restructuring.

He said the above issue of restructuring did not lead to
cyber-rattling or tailspin. And then there was regionalism, and
independence came, there was parliamentary system of government,
today, we now have presidential system of government which is
another form of restructuring. Later, unitary system of government
came, we had even civilian governors at the states and military
president at the centre.

From all that the Special Adviser is saying; the issue of
restructuring should not lead to disintegration. It is our view
that if you don’t need disintegration, then you must
constitutionally stop the “discrimination” against the South-East.
We will not disintegrate but let us do the needful.

THE NEED TO CONSIDER IGBO OR IBO ISSUE
CONSTITUTIONALLY

The 1999 Constitution states that, there shall be for the
federation a president. A further look at the
constitution stated that a person shall be qualified for election
to the office of the president if (a) he is a citizen of Nigeria by
birth, (b) he has attained the age of forty years, (c) he is a
member of the political party and he is sponsored by that political
party and (d) he has been educated up to at the least school
certificate level or its equivalent.

Now, for the unity of the country, the above provision
requires amendment in order to provide room for the recognized
ethnic group to have a sense of belonging. A look at the
constitution o dealing with the issue of non discrimination states
among other things that a citizen of Nigeria of a particular
community, ethnic group, place of origin, sex, religion or
political opinion shall not by reason only that he is such a person
be subjected to discrimination.

In Nigeria, can we say, the Ibo or Igbo Community ethnic
group, are not discriminated against in relation to section 130 (1)
and 131 of the 1999 Constitution of Nigeria as amended? The Simple
answer is they have been discriminated against for long and we need
to provide them this opportunity in order to have a sense of
belonging.

It is not in doubt that, Northerners, have been president
and still there, South-West have been president, South-South has
been president while no particular person from South-East can
really be said to be the president of the federal republic of
Nigeria and with all due respect this is discriminatory against an
Igbo or Ibo man who;

1. Are Political Party members
2. Was or still our supervisor in all our educational
   qualifications

iii. Is or are our friend and our business
partners

1. Is or are our colleagues at work.
2. Have established and invested all their life time
   activities in our localities.
3. Among them are Muslims (devoted Muslims)

vii. Have inter-married with other tribes
such as Yoruba, Hausa, Niger-Deltans among other tribes.

There are so many cases dealing with the need to avoid
discrimination which we are all aware of, commencing from cases
among others such as; SOLOMON VS GBOBO, SALUBI VS
NWARIAKU, UZOUKWU VS EZEONU II, BADEJO VS
FED MINISTRY OF EDUCATION, ADEROUNMU VS
ADEROUNMU, FOLARIN VS COLE

The issue of non discrimination is important and a
Nigerian citizen shall not be subjected to discrimination, but
shall be accorded equal treatment with others irrespective of
whether the person is a man or woman.

The true democracy is the one in which the fundamental
human rights of its citizens are not only spelt out in its organic
law, where it is written, but given primary and paramount place in
practice. Trampling on the fundamental rights of the least, such
fundamental rights must be justiciable in courts.

The right to freedom from discrimination is like that of
human dignity, one of the most basic rights which are the basis of
the concepts of equality which is one of the cornerstones of the
protection of human rights. Furthermore, the
constitution stipulates that national integration shall be actively
encouraged whilst discrimination on grounds of place of origin,
sex, religion, status, ethnic or linguistic association or ties
shall be prohibited. It has therefore been argued that
discrimination based on one’s place of origin or tribe even if
committed by a court of law, is condemnable anywhere and at
anytime.

Islam is against, discrimination, racism, and prejudice
and in its Arabic texts, the Quran is considered the primary source
of authority by Muslims. The Quran states that all human are
descendants of one man, Adam and are therefore, brothers to one
another. See Quran Chapter 49 verse 13 which states
thus;

“Oh mankind, we have created you from one male and female
and made you into nations and the tribes that you may know one
another. Surely, the most honourable among you with Allah is the
one who is most righteous. Verily Allah is all knowing, all
aware.”

There also exist Hadith on equality as Prophet Muhammed
(S.A.W) said;

“Oh mankind, your Lord is one and your father is one. You
all descended from Aadam and Aadam was created from the earth. He
is most honoured among you in the sight of God who is most upright.
No Arab is superior to a non-Arab, no coloured person to a white
person or a white person to coloured person except by taqwa (piety)
(Al-Tirmidhi)”

SUMMARY

We have noticed that a lot of issues have been canvassed
dealing with whether Nigeria should restructure or should not
restructure but because the word “restructure” has several meanings
attached to it by several people, we decided to look at the
definition which will seem more understood by the people of Nigeria
including drawing appropriate analysis therein.

In order to do justice to this paper presentation, we
followed the style of examining the position of those who are “in
favour of restructuring” and those “opposed to restructuring” as
far as we could.

We were able to find out that a lot of writers, jurist and
important personalities in Nigeria did a lot of work on
restructuring and we commend their efforts but unfortunately, one
key fundamental issue which has not been adequately addressed until
now, is our sincerity of keeping the nation united without
“discrimination” against the people of South-Eastern part of
Nigeria who are popularly called the “Ibo” or the “Igbo”. If there
is no unity in Nigeria and there are civil unrest, how can you
think it is possible to carry out the lofty idea of restructuring
by way of;

1. Devolution of more powers to the states and local
   governments?
2. Local government autonomy?

iii. More and better independence of
judiciary?

1. Independence of the press?
2. Increase in derivation to 35%?
3. Justiceability of the provision of chapter 2 of the 1999
   constitution as amended?

vii. Creation of more states or at least one
additional state for the South-East geo-political zone?

viii. Resource control?

It was therefore discovered that the first and pertinent
issue of restructuring which requires urgent attention and which
even the National Conference did not address is how to unite
Nigeria by making sure that it become a reality after the 2019
general election, the next general election in 2023 must produce an
“Ibo” or “Igbo” man or woman as president of the Federal Republic
of Nigeria.

RECOMMENDATIONS

1. It is recommended that in order to give effect to proper
   restructuring, what is necessary to first of all restructure is
   discrimination to non-discrimination by making section 131 to
   become, section 131 (1) and creating section 131 (2)(a) to 131
   (2)(b) to read thus;

Section 131 (2)(a) “Commencing from
the general election of 2023 only persons from south-east
geo-political zone shall contest the presidential election and all
the political parties shall field their candidates from said
geo-political zone.”

Section 131 (2)(b) “That the
presidency in Nigeria shall rotate in the following order and
continuously thereafter;”

1. South-East Geopolitical zone 2023 (4 years)
2. South-West Geopolitical zone (4 years)

iii. South-South Geopolitical zone (4
years)

1. North Central Geopolitical zone (4 years)
2. North East Geopolitical zone (4 years)
3. North West Geopolitical zone (4 years)
4. That sections 162 -168 of the 1999 constitution as
   amended should be deleted to allow for resource control. The issue
   of resource control will allow for a near federalism as it is very
   difficult to have true federalism. What ought to be is that the
   states should be allowed to control their resources and pay certain
   amount of money in form of tax to the federation
   account.

I disagree with the recommendation that there
should be increase in derivation to 35%. What Nigeria require now
is resource control and not increase in derivation. Increase in
derivation is good but not too good because, no community, no state
in Nigeria does not have its natural resources, which shall lead to
even development in those states/communities.

1. We recommend that there should be one more state to be
   created constitutionally and that should come from the South-East.
   With all due respect, we disagree that there should be “no more
   state creation” Accordingly, the argument that some
   states are not viable is of no moment. Anyone who is of the view
   that a state is not viable can proceed to court to ask for such
   declaration. The creation of an additional one state from the
   South-East will meet the interest of justice.
2. We recommend that the APC committee on restructuring has
   done enough work on restructuring Nigeria, we adopt some of the
   recommendations of the said committee which contains several
   important areas of life apart from the issue of allocation of
   revenue. To confirm the importance of some of the
   recommendations of the APC committee on restructuring and the
   non-politicization of same, Gov. Henry Seriake Dickson the PDP
   governor of Bayelsa State hails El-Rufai’s panel on
   restructuring.  
3. The National Assembly have failed to live up to
   expectation in terms of the issue of restructuring or even the
   issue or constitutional conference report. It is accordingly
   recommended that the National Assembly can amend the constitution
   in line with the clamour for restructuring, by going ahead with
   amendment of the constitution and making sure it comes to reality.
   The fear of presidential veto is a lame excuse because, the power
   to override the veto lies with the legislature.
4. The position of MURIC should be considered by the
   National Assembly when the act of amendment of the constitution
   will take place on restructuring. There should be adequate
   enlightment of our Christian brothers on this issue because
   religious sentiment may weigh heavily against the success of MURIC
   position. There should be more religious tolerance between the
   Muslims and Christians in order to have a peaceful and united
   country.

CONCLUSION

As we can see from the above topic, “Restructuring; can it
address the problems of Nigeria”? The whole essence of definitions
of restructuring is, changing from an old system to another, the
most pertinent essence of restructuring, is to first restructure
“injustice and discrimination” to “justice and non-discrimination”
in line with even our religious callings and interpretation of
sections 130 (1) and (2), 131 (a), (b), (c), (d) and 42 of the 1999
constitution. Let us start to correct this anomaly with an
“Igbo”/“Ibo” presidency in the next dispensation constitutionally
and the entire issue of restructuring shall all come into reality.
The recommendations by APC committee on restructuring as commended
by the Bayelsa State Governor, Seriake Dickson, a PDP strong man is
of serious importance and we accept/adopt some and not all the
recommendations of the committee for the country
equally.

Though, it is being said that there was a constitution in
1989, it cannot be said to actually exist because, even the 1999
constitution as amended only recognized the 1979 constitution. See
the commencement part of the 1999 constitution as amended and as
introduced into being by Decree No 24 of 1999 dated 5th, May
1999.

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1. STATUTES
2. Section 130 (1) of the 1999 Constitution of Nigeria as
   amended
3. Section 131 of the 1999 Constitution of Nigeria as
   amended
4. Section 42 of the 1999 Constitution of Nigeria as
   amended
5. Section 15 (2) of the 1999 Constitutional Law as
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