Kidnapping And Closure Of Schools: Surest Bomb For The Destruction Of Nigeria (3)

By Afe Babalola, SAN

IN the previous editions, I identified the incidence of
incessant kidnappings in Nigeria and the consequent closure of
schools. I have equally made copious references to the comments of
some stakeholders as well as media reports on the spate of
kidnappings in Nigeria which, unfortunately, has caught the
attention of the world.

As I had previously noted, the collapse of education is one sure
way of destroying a nation. A South African university posted the
following remarkable writeup at its entrance: “Destroying any
nation does not require the use of atomic bombs or the use of
long-range missiles. It only requires lowering the quality of
education and allowing cheating in the examinations. Patients dies
at the hands of such doctors. Buildings collapse at the hands of
such engineers. Money is lost at the hands of such economists and
accountants. Humanity dies at the hands of such religious scholars.
Justice is lost at the hands of such judges. The collapse of
education is the collapse of the nation”. No doubt, the foregoing
succinctly captures the importance of education to any nation and
the effect of its collapse which will occasion catastrophic effects
on every sector of the nation. Sadly, the attack on the education
system, particularly in Northern Nigeria, by the incidences of
incessant kidnap of students and teachers is gearing the nation
towards this unfortunate course.

Origin of the problem

Nigeria is made up of many amalgamated nations by the
colonialists. Knowing that Nigeria contains more than 250 ethnic
nationalities with different cultures, languages, religions and
customs, Nigeria’s founding fathers, after sitting together in
Lancaster House in London for almost 10 years, fashioned out a
constitution that united the different ethnic nationalities. This
was one of the main reasons why both the 1960 Independence
Constitution and 1963 Republican Constitution worked well before
the military made a forceful incursion in governance following the
military coup of January 15, 1966. The by-product of military
intervention in Nigeria is the 1999 Constitution. Although the
Constitution was called a federal constitution, it has fathered all
the problems we have in the country today including failed
leadership and the emergence of politics as the only lucrative
business in the country.

The current structural arrangement on which Nigeria is built and
administered have both political and economic deformities.
Politically, Nigeria’s federal system is more unitary than federal;
it is unbalanced and unsustainable. Power is over-concentrated at
the center at the expense of the other two levels of government
(state and local government). As I earlier noted, the 1999
constitution upon which the country is presently running is
basically a military, unitary and imperfect constitution which does
not have much bearing to the will or wish of the people. Also,
there is a lack of social justice or the rule of law; while the
tussle for power is not motivated by service, rather by
self-accumulation of wealth and greed by the elites. In economic
terms, production is what drives conventional capitalism. In the
case of Nigeria, politics, corruption, political patronage and
unproductive consumption are the driving forces of our economic
system. As summarily noted by Nsongurua Udombana, LL.D: “The 1999
Constitution has the imprint of authoritarianism written all over
it, with no consideration to the genuine desires of the Nigerian
people. There was not even the civility of a Constituent Assembly,
let alone a referendum, thereby making the “We the people” in the
preamble a lie and fraud. It is an illegitimate document and will
remain so notwithstanding the number of amendments, though it may
make for a good POL 101 Course on ‘The Making of an Undemocratic
Constitution.”

Certainly, no amendment to the present constitution can cure its
inherent defects. There is an urgent need for restructuring through
the platform of the Sovereign National Conference as any election
under 1999 Constitution will end up with recycling of the failed
leaders. This will create an avenue to effectively discuss and
resolve paramount issues of resource distribution, insecurity,
effective political representation, among other contentious
matters. It is also paramount that the Conference considers the
inefficiency of the 1999 Constitution in addressing the
ethnocultural and socio-political diversities in Nigeria. No doubt,
the only Constitution that will endure is the one that is truly
expressive of the supreme will of the people. There is a need to
revisit the structural foundation upon which Nigeria’s political
future, ethno-cultural unity, and economic sustenance are premised.
Nigerians must have a voice in the Constitution which governs them,
otherwise, the propensity to fall into more chaos is more
within-reach than ever.

The way forward

By and large, a return to the 1963 Constitution with necessary
amendments is the light at the end of the tunnel for Nigeria. Under
the 1963 Constitution, sovereignty was non-centralized and was
shared between the federal government and the regional levels
which, in essence, enabled the regional units have authority on
some matters includingeconomy and social security. In my article,
article ‘Nigeria in Search of a Nation’, I succinctly captured the
decentralized and people-oriented nature of the 1963 Constitution
thus: “Our forefathers spent over 10 years deliberating on a
people’s constitution that would accommodate the nation’s
diversity. They came up with 1960 Constitution which was later
substituted with 1963 Constitution. But would this Constitutional
framework accord significant respect to the derivative principle?
The areas which produce the bulk of the nation’s resources have the
right to a significant proportion of the revenues extracted from
the region. Under the 1963 Constitution, the federal government was
entitled to pay to each region a sum equal to fifty percent of the
proceeds of mining rents and royalty in respect of minerals derived
from each region. The Federal Government was obliged to credit to
the Distributable Pool Account 30 per cent. of the proceeds of the
royalty and mining rent received by the federal government after it
had given 50 per cent. to the producing state. The Federal
Government was only entitled to keep for itself 20 per cent.”

Under the 1963 Constitution, power was shared between the
federal and the four regional governments being the East, North,
West and Mid-West. In reality, the four regions were
constitutionally more powerful than the central government that was
limited to less and specific exclusive legislative powers.
Undoubtedly, Nigeria witnessed her greatest and fastest economic,
political, social and educational development under the regional
system of government. Each of the regions were largely autonomous
and could legislate over a number of items which have, today, been
taken over by the Federal Government. It was during this period
that each region began its own regional developmental efforts and
the period occasioned mutual, healthy rivalries to compete for
development.

While I advocate a return to the 1963 Constitution, however, I
recommend we introduce 6 regions, as against 4, to operate a
regional parliamentary government, not presidential government. The
proposed 6 regions are North Central, Northwest, Northeast, South
South, South West and South East.Without a doubt, a return to the
1963 Constitution, which better factored the diversities in
religion, language and ethnicity, will engender far greater
developments in Nigeria, including curbing insecurity and restoring
the education system of the nation to its former glory.

AARE AFE BABALOLA SAN, CON

By Afe Babalola, SAN

IN the previous editions, I identified the incidence of
incessant kidnappings in Nigeria and the consequent closure of
schools. I have equally made copious references to the comments of
some stakeholders as well as media reports on the spate of
kidnappings in Nigeria which, unfortunately, has caught the
attention of the world.

As I had previously noted, the collapse of education is one sure
way of destroying a nation. A South African university posted the
following remarkable writeup at its entrance: “Destroying any
nation does not require the use of atomic bombs or the use of
long-range missiles. It only requires lowering the quality of
education and allowing cheating in the examinations. Patients dies
at the hands of such doctors. Buildings collapse at the hands of
such engineers. Money is lost at the hands of such economists and
accountants. Humanity dies at the hands of such religious scholars.
Justice is lost at the hands of such judges. The collapse of
education is the collapse of the nation”. No doubt, the foregoing
succinctly captures the importance of education to any nation and
the effect of its collapse which will occasion catastrophic effects
on every sector of the nation. Sadly, the attack on the education
system, particularly in Northern Nigeria, by the incidences of
incessant kidnap of students and teachers is gearing the nation
towards this unfortunate course.

Origin of the problem

Nigeria is made up of many amalgamated nations by the
colonialists. Knowing that Nigeria contains more than 250 ethnic
nationalities with different cultures, languages, religions and
customs, Nigeria’s founding fathers, after sitting together in
Lancaster House in London for almost 10 years, fashioned out a
constitution that united the different ethnic nationalities. This
was one of the main reasons why both the 1960 Independence
Constitution and 1963 Republican Constitution worked well before
the military made a forceful incursion in governance following the
military coup of January 15, 1966. The by-product of military
intervention in Nigeria is the 1999 Constitution. Although the
Constitution was called a federal constitution, it has fathered all
the problems we have in the country today including failed
leadership and the emergence of politics as the only lucrative
business in the country.

The current structural arrangement on which Nigeria is built and
administered have both political and economic deformities.
Politically, Nigeria’s federal system is more unitary than federal;
it is unbalanced and unsustainable. Power is over-concentrated at
the center at the expense of the other two levels of government
(state and local government). As I earlier noted, the 1999
constitution upon which the country is presently running is
basically a military, unitary and imperfect constitution which does
not have much bearing to the will or wish of the people. Also,
there is a lack of social justice or the rule of law; while the
tussle for power is not motivated by service, rather by
self-accumulation of wealth and greed by the elites. In economic
terms, production is what drives conventional capitalism. In the
case of Nigeria, politics, corruption, political patronage and
unproductive consumption are the driving forces of our economic
system. As summarily noted by Nsongurua Udombana, LL.D: “The 1999
Constitution has the imprint of authoritarianism written all over
it, with no consideration to the genuine desires of the Nigerian
people. There was not even the civility of a Constituent Assembly,
let alone a referendum, thereby making the “We the people” in the
preamble a lie and fraud. It is an illegitimate document and will
remain so notwithstanding the number of amendments, though it may
make for a good POL 101 Course on ‘The Making of an Undemocratic
Constitution.”

Certainly, no amendment to the present constitution can cure its
inherent defects. There is an urgent need for restructuring through
the platform of the Sovereign National Conference as any election
under 1999 Constitution will end up with recycling of the failed
leaders. This will create an avenue to effectively discuss and
resolve paramount issues of resource distribution, insecurity,
effective political representation, among other contentious
matters. It is also paramount that the Conference considers the
inefficiency of the 1999 Constitution in addressing the
ethnocultural and socio-political diversities in Nigeria. No doubt,
the only Constitution that will endure is the one that is truly
expressive of the supreme will of the people. There is a need to
revisit the structural foundation upon which Nigeria’s political
future, ethno-cultural unity, and economic sustenance are premised.
Nigerians must have a voice in the Constitution which governs them,
otherwise, the propensity to fall into more chaos is more
within-reach than ever.

The way forward

By and large, a return to the 1963 Constitution with necessary
amendments is the light at the end of the tunnel for Nigeria. Under
the 1963 Constitution, sovereignty was non-centralized and was
shared between the federal government and the regional levels
which, in essence, enabled the regional units have authority on
some matters includingeconomy and social security. In my article,
article ‘Nigeria in Search of a Nation’, I succinctly captured the
decentralized and people-oriented nature of the 1963 Constitution
thus: “Our forefathers spent over 10 years deliberating on a
people’s constitution that would accommodate the nation’s
diversity. They came up with 1960 Constitution which was later
substituted with 1963 Constitution. But would this Constitutional
framework accord significant respect to the derivative principle?
The areas which produce the bulk of the nation’s resources have the
right to a significant proportion of the revenues extracted from
the region. Under the 1963 Constitution, the federal government was
entitled to pay to each region a sum equal to fifty percent of the
proceeds of mining rents and royalty in respect of minerals derived
from each region. The Federal Government was obliged to credit to
the Distributable Pool Account 30 per cent. of the proceeds of the
royalty and mining rent received by the federal government after it
had given 50 per cent. to the producing state. The Federal
Government was only entitled to keep for itself 20 per cent.”

Under the 1963 Constitution, power was shared between the
federal and the four regional governments being the East, North,
West and Mid-West. In reality, the four regions were
constitutionally more powerful than the central government that was
limited to less and specific exclusive legislative powers.
Undoubtedly, Nigeria witnessed her greatest and fastest economic,
political, social and educational development under the regional
system of government. Each of the regions were largely autonomous
and could legislate over a number of items which have, today, been
taken over by the Federal Government. It was during this period
that each region began its own regional developmental efforts and
the period occasioned mutual, healthy rivalries to compete for
development.

While I advocate a return to the 1963 Constitution, however, I
recommend we introduce 6 regions, as against 4, to operate a
regional parliamentary government, not presidential government. The
proposed 6 regions are North Central, Northwest, Northeast, South
South, South West and South East.Without a doubt, a return to the
1963 Constitution, which better factored the diversities in
religion, language and ethnicity, will engender far greater
developments in Nigeria, including curbing insecurity and restoring
the education system of the nation to its former glory.

AARE AFE BABALOLA SAN, CON