Failure To Restructure Fueling Agitation For Separation

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*Faults AGF, SGF As Officials Of The Federation
*Says 1964 Grazing Reserve Law Applicable To The North

Amid national clamour for restructuring, Nigeria’s foremost
human rights lawyer, Mr. Femi Falana (SAN) has said the failure of
the federal government to restructure is fueling agitation for
separation in different parts of the federation.

Falana, a former President of the West African Bar Association
(WABA), warned that referring to t Attorney-General,
Accountant-General and Auditor-General, among others, as officials
of the federation was erroneous and misleading.

He made these remarks in an exclusive interview with THISDAY,
saying the All Progressives Congress (APC) turned its back on
restructuring despite entrenching power devolution in its
manifesto.

Analysing diverse issues of national interest during the
session, the senior advocate observed that the agitations had
forced the leaders of the APC to review their position because it
had repeatedly reneged on its promises to restructure.

He said the APC had entrenched restructuring in its manifesto
and campaigned for power devolution from the centre to the other
federating units, a promise the ruling party should ordinarily
honour.

But upon winning the 2015 general election, according to the
human rights lawyer, the APC turned its back on restructuring. Even
at a stage, the presidency accused the agitators for restructuring
of trying to break up the country.

As Nigerians were getting prepared for the 2019 general
election, Falana noted that the APC instituted its Committee on
True Federalism under the chairmanship of Kaduna State Governor,
Mallam Nasir el-Rufai.

He pointed out that the committee “recommended restructuring and
set out the details for power devolution. Already, the report has
been gathering dust in the archives.

“It is on account of the inconsistent positions of the ruling
party that many people became frustrated and joined the separatist
movements.

“An influential section of the political class has been
campaigning for a return to regionalism via the 1963 Constitution.
The agitations appear to have forced the leaders of the APC to
review their position,” he observed.
Falana faulted the claims of the president that his government “has
devolved more powers to the states than the previous regimes.”

For instance, he said the federal government had argued that the
airline “is in the exclusive legislative list. But Akwa Ibom State
operates one of the best domestic airlines in the country while the
federal government has not been able to revive the Nigerian
Airways.
“The federal government has invited state governments to set up
mining companies for the exploitation of solid minerals.

“The federal government has upheld fiscal autonomy for the
federal judiciary and legislature while state governments have
followed suit as a result of the just concluded industrial action
by state judiciary and parliamentary staff unions.

“It has been reported that not less than 21 state governments
are being assisted by the federal government to establish ranches
and grazing reserves in order to address the perennial violent
clashes between farmers and herders,” he pointed out.

Falana, therefore, said he believed the economic crisis
confronting the country provided a golden opportunity for states to
become economically viable and stop the practice of rushing to
Abuja to share the dwindling revenue in the Fe deration
Account.

The senior advocate, also, noted that the military legacy of
referring to certain public officers as serving the federation
should stop.

In the first republic, Falana explained that the federal
government “had a Minister of Justice and Attorney-General while
the regional governments had Ministers of Justice and
Attorneys-General.

“It was when the country was under military rule that the
Minister of Justice became the Attorney-General of the
Federation.

“The era also produced the Secretary to the Government of the
Federation, Accountant-General of the Federation, and
Auditor-General of the Federation etc. This was due to the fact
that the state governments were extensions of the Federal Military
Government.

“Since there is no government of the federation under the
current democratic dispensation, the officers mentioned above
should be addressed as the Attorney-General of the Federal
Government.”

He added that the same thing “is applicable to the Secretary of
the Federal Government, Accountant-General of the Federal
Government and Auditor-General of the Federal Government.”

After all, according to him, every state in the federation has
its own Attorney-General and Commissioner for Justice,
Accountant-General and Auditor-General and Secretary to the
Government.

He, thus, said the prominent Nigerians “are perfectly right in
questioning the origin of the 1999 Constitution. But the 1999
Constitution is a replica of the 1979 Constitution.

“The 1999 Constitution or Decree No 24 of 1999 signed by General
Abdulsalami Abubakar is in pari materia with the 1979 Constitution
or Decree No 102 of 1979 signed by General Olusegun Obasanjo.”

With this compelling fact, Falana lamented that the National
assembly would not replace the 1999 Constitution because they were
satisfied with the status quo rather than taking advantage of
Section 9 of the Constitution to give Nigeria a new
constitution.

Contrary to the claims of the president, the senior advocate
explained that the Grazing Reserves Law of 1964 was only applicable
in the defunct Northern Region, insisting that it was not a law of
general application in the country at any given time.

With profound respect to the president, Falana clarified that
the gazette for grazing reserves for the federation “does not
exist. Thus, grazing routes cannot be found or traced in many parts
of the country.”

In any case, the human right lawyer explained that the federal
government “has formulated the National Livestock Transformation
Plan (NLTP) including the establishment of ranches to end the
incessant violent attacks on farmers by AK-47 bearing bandits
operating as herders.

“Pursuant to the provisions of the Land Use Act, a number of
governors had acquired land for ranching. From the information at
my disposal, no less than 20 states have applied for grants to
establish ranches while some states have commenced massive
construction of ranches.

“Officials of the federal government ought to have familiarised
themselves with the details of the NLTP. If that had been done the
question of looking for grazing routes would not have arisen.”

Clarifying the Delta declaration, Falana noted that the Southern
Governors Forum banned open grazing, the Nigerian Governors Forum
(NGF) had equally prohibited the practice and adopted the NLTP,
which the federal government initiated

He said the NGF “has equality banned open grazing. According to
the Forum, open grazing has become obsolete. The country had
ranches in the south and grazing reserves in the North in the
1950s.

“The ranches and the grazing reserves were abandoned under the
defunct military junta. For the past 22 years, the members of the
political class have failed woefully to revive the ranches and
grazing reserves.

“You can imagine the orgy of violence that the nation has
continued to witness due to the utter negligence of the political
class. Instead of looking for grazing routes so that animals can
roam all over the place in this age and time, we should speedily
embrace modern animal husbandry,” Falana recommended.

He, therefore, noted that it was grossly misleading “to give the
dangerous impression that animals are entitled to enjoy the right
to freedom of movement enshrined in section 41 of the
Constitution.”

He said when they realised that the right to freedom of movement
“is exclusively reserved for Nigerians, 36 state governors have
unanimously banned open grazing and opted for the establishment of
ranches, Ruga or grazing reserves where cattle will be quartered
and provided with grass and water.

“Houses will be built for herders together with hospitals and
schools for their children and wards. Those who are genuinely
interested in protecting the interests of herders should support
ranching in line with the NLTP of the federal government.”