[dropcap]P[/dropcap]resident Muhammadu Buhari on Friday called for return to true Federalism where every component state uses its resources to develop their state.
At long last President Muhammadu Buhari, who had adopted lackluster attitude towards true Federalism through restructuring of the country had cued into it. He has become one of the Champions for the demand for true Federalism to achieve a lasting peace in the country.
The President may have been encourage to sing a different song with the high level of insecurity in different parts of the country. From Bayelsa, Delta, Rivers, Cross River, Katsina, Sokoto, Zamfara, Kaduna, Benue, Nasarawa, Adamawa, Taraba, Yobe, Borno to Gombe, the story is the story: Insecurity. Take for instance, the north eastern states of Yobe and Borno, the Islamic Fundamentalists, BokoHaram, has been desperately fighting in the last 10 years with government forces and Multi-national Joint Task Force, MNJTF, to create an Islamic state in the region while Bandits have gradually taken over Zamfara state in the north west geo-political region and spreading their tentacles to Katsina, the President home state, Kaduna, and Nasarawa states.
The Katsina state born Nigerian President who could not hide his feelings at an award ceremony organised by the governors of the All Progressive Congress, APC, in his honour in Abuja, said ”true Federalism is necessary at this juncture of the nation’s political and democratic revolution”. He noted that ”some few privileged individuals and groups in the society are exploiting the and manipulating the ethnic and religious front-lines for seeking personal and partisan advantage ”.
This is a remarkable departure on his stand on the matter in the past. Recall that last year he had told Nigerians based in France that ”there should be proper definition of what Nigerians want before the government can delve into restructuring”. Recall that when the pressure for the restructuring exercise became pronounced in all nooks and crannies of the country between 2016 and 2017, Buhari had set up a Committee Chaired by Nasir el-Rufai, former minister of the Federal Capital Territory, FCT, Abuja, and now governor of Kaduna state to look into the matter and make its recommendation to government on how to achieve true Federalism for the country.
The Committee did not see it as the government throwing its weight on the Atiku Abubakar, a former Vice President and Presidential Candidate of the People’s Democratic Party, PDP, in the 2019, Presidential election, idea, as it looked at the matter passionately. It was said to have recommended to the government the devolution of power to the states, resource control, creation of state police and merger of states which are essential ingredients for true Federalism.
Many had expected the President to implement the recommendations of the Committee as promised but that was how far he could go. They noted the President would have saved the country of the increased rise in militia groups in the different geopolitical regions of the country in the last four years. This is evident going by the killing spree of Herdsmen in Benue and Nasara states. The activities of Bandits in the north western state of Zamfara, Katsina and Sokoto speaks volume.
Edwin Cark , an Ijaw leader, who has been at the vanguard for the call for true Federalism in the country over the years has repeatedly argued that for the Buhari anti-Corruption war to be taken serious, the power presently concentrated at the centre will have to give way which was in line with the Devolution of power recommended by the El-Rufai Committee on Restructuring of Nigeria to government last year. Note that Victor Atta, a former governor of Akwa Ibom state had lent his voice on how to achieve true Federalism for the country when he stated the need for resource control by states in the country , which was also adopted by the El-Rufai Committee in their report.
He noted that the government diversification agenda would not achieve the desired impact if it is still playing hide and sick with the restructuring of the country. Recall that in a paper delivered to mark Clark 90th birth day in Abuja, titled ”Restructuring , true Federalism and resource control: panacea for enduring peace and sustainable development in Nigeria, he had stated that in true Federation, a governor of a state may want to tap the potential n another state and invest in it to generate income. He noted that it would force the oil producing states to sit up to protect these oil resource which may be exhausted one day with its state police.
Political watchers believe that the country is on the match to achieving true Federalism now that Buhari, who had been against it over the years has thrown his weight behind it. Analysts believe that the President may have seen that the north has nothing to lose if the government should go ahead to implement the El-Rufai report on the restructuring of Nigeria which is gathering dust in the Presidency. This is because the seven states that make up the north west geo-political region is heaven for other mineral resources in the country including gold, which was why Bandits are on rampage in the region to protect the illegal miners who making millions of dollars annually.
More so, oil has been discovered in Bauchi state, which had remained the pride of the people of the Niger Delta. With the increased support of the Buhari Administration, Shell Petroleum Development Companies, SPDC, and other undisclosed oil Companies have intensified their search for oil in the Lake Chad Basin.
A source told Grassroots Publishers that both not for the Boko Haram Insurgence in the Borno state in the last ten years as their Engineers and other support Staff are operating under fear to avoid falling into the awaiting hands of the criminal elements who have no pity for human live.
By: Ngidi Onyebuchi Maureen