• Seek state police, resource control, 50% derivation
• Blame 1966, 1968 decrees for over-centralisation, insecurity
•Demand devolution of powers, local government autonomy
Sunday Aborisade in Abuja
The Pan Niger Delta Forum (PANDEF) and a coalition of concerned citizens have intensified calls for a fundamental restructuring of Nigeria, with a proposal for the country to operate as a federation of 15 autonomous regions anchored on consent, fiscal federalism and devolved powers.
The proposed framework, unveiled at a Conference on Restructuring Nigeria in Abuja, envisages the emergence of Akwa Ibom, Igbo, Anioma, Bendel, Benue, Cross River, Delta, Ijaw, Kanem, Niger, Plateau-Gurara, Rima, Rivers, Savannah and Yoruba regions.
The groups said the proposed “Federated Regions of Nigeria” would provide a framework for addressing the country’s worsening insecurity, economic dependence on the federal government and persistent agitations over resource ownership and political representation.
All the leaders of the proposed regions were present on the occasion and gave their consent to the idea.
National Chairman of PANDEF, Ambassador Godknows Igali, said state police, resource control and a return to fiscal federalism had become imperative if Nigeria was to overcome its current challenges.
Igali, who spoke on the theme, “Thoughts on Moving Nigeria’s Democracy Forward,” traced the country’s present political and security problems to military decrees promulgated after independence, particularly Decree No. 34 of 1966 and Decree No. 43 of 1968.
According to him, the decree signed by the then Head of State, Major-General Johnson Aguiyi-Ironsi, abolished the country’s regional structure and concentrated enormous powers at the centre, while the subsequent decree under General Yakubu Gowon transferred control of petroleum resources to the federal government.
He said the development progressively weakened the derivation principle, which had stood at 50 per cent, reducing it eventually to as low as 1.5 per cent.
“That is how we moved from a federation of producers to a federation of beggars,” Igali said, arguing that the present structure was fundamentally different from the federal arrangement negotiated by Nigeria’s founding nationalists, including Chief Obafemi Awolowo, Dr. Nnamdi Azikiwe and Sir Ahmadu Bello.
The PANDEF chairman maintained that Nigeria could remain united while allowing its constituent regions greater control over their resources, security and economic development.
He cited the federal systems of the United States, Canada, Germany and India as examples of countries where sub-national governments exercise substantial powers without threatening national unity.
Igali proposed a five-point reform agenda, including the devolution of policing, power, railways, ports, mines and land administration from the Exclusive Legislative List.
He also called for an increase in derivation to 50 per cent, with states empowered to collect Value Added Tax and other taxes, as well as the restoration of resource ownership to the federating units, with royalties paid to the federal government.
Other proposals included local government autonomy and the establishment of regional economic blocs capable of driving infrastructure development, economic integration and security cooperation.
He argued that excessive concentration of political and economic authority in Abuja had made the federal government responsible for virtually every aspect of national life, while weakening the capacity of states to respond effectively to local challenges.
Also speaking, Convener of the Concerned Citizens Assembly, Deacon Owolabi Oladejo, described restructuring as “a national survival strategy,” insisting that Nigerians should have the opportunity to determine the form of government under which they wished to live.
Oladejo said the country’s present political structure was largely the product of colonial and elite-driven decisions in which ordinary Nigerians had limited influence, beginning with the 1884 Berlin Conference and the 1914 amalgamation.
He said the Citizens Assembly was exercising what he described as the sovereign authority of Nigerian citizens and was neither a government initiative nor a political party project.
According to him, the assembly would deliberate on proposed Articles of Federation, fiscal federalism, resource management, regional constitutions and a decentralised security architecture as part of efforts to negotiate a voluntary “Federated Regions of Nigeria.”
He said participants had been barred from introducing unrelated political or ethnic grievances into the proceedings, stressing that the objective was to provide a platform for Nigerians to agree on how they wanted the country to be governed.
Both Igali and Oladejo advocated dialogue and constitutional negotiations rather than confrontation, warning that continued centralisation of power was aggravating insecurity, economic hardship and agitations for greater autonomy across the country.
The proponents said their vision was to build a Nigeria “built on consent, led by strong regions, united for peace, security and progress,” arguing that a restructured federation would strengthen national unity by giving constituent regions greater responsibility for their own development while retaining a common national identity.