Devolution Of Power Is Not A Scam, Please Don’t Listen To Osita Chidoka

0
  1. I have just listened to a broadcast by the Channels TV and the interview granted by Chief Osita Chidoka where he spoke about the solutions to the problems of Nigeria. I dare say that he whipped up the unstable emotions of the youths with enticing words of man’s wisdom to keep the Nigerian youths perpetually entrapped and enslaved in his “One Nigeria” as it is today at status quo ante bellum without restructuring by way of devolution of power.
  2. He says there are two “Nigerias” now. One is 9ja where the youths see themselves as one people one nation and one destiny irrespective of their ethnic differences; where the youths strive to attain their potentials in the business world, trades and industries, science and technology, connected with one another in love, unity, and teamwork in a lovely world of the 9ja without discrimination as to tribe, tongue or religion; where the youths of 9ja from all ethnic regions spontaneously organised the #EndSARS Protest that crippled the other failed country called “Nigeria”. He wants 9ja to take over Nigeria. On hearing this, the youths went wild with joy and jubilation!
  3. Chief Osita Chidoka said that the problem of Nigeria is not Restructuring by Devolution of Power or Change of the Nigerian Constitution because the present Constitution has devolved powers to the three tiers of government by creating the Exclusive List, Concurrent List and Residual List. He said that the 1963 Constitution had its own problems and that was why the Federal Military Government opted for the Presidential System of Government in 1979 and created the Constitution that culminated in the present Nigerian Constitution.
  4. He extolled the benefits of the Privatization and Commercialisation of the Public Enterprises by the Babangida Administration executed by the TCPC as an excellent restructuring of the economy. He blamed the problems of Nigeria on the leaders who have mismanaged the resources and abdicated their duties by what he described as “Work Avoidance”. He said that Devolution of Power is a scam. The implication of his statement is that those of us calling for restructuring and devolution of power are scammers.
  5. In my opinion, my brother Chief Osita Chidoka has played a very wicked manipulative art of words against the unstable impressionable youths of this country. He used manipulative words of psychological witchcraft to equate economic restructuring to political restructuring by way of devolution of power to the regions. I dare say that his words against Devolution of Power are a scam! For this reason, I challenge him to a debate on political restructuring versus economic restructuring. These are two different things.
  6. He knows or ought to know that whoever holds power under the present Nigerian Constitution controls the economy. He knows that there is no equal representation in the National Assembly. He knows that the provisions of the Nigerian Constitution are skewed against us in favour of the North. Whether he describes the new nation as 9ja or new Nigeria, it is my submission that the country will not survive unless there is political restructuring by devolution of power to the Regions so that every Region will be autonomous to govern itself with its own Regional Constitution and develop at its own pace in the “One Nigeria”. This is the same political structure that made Britain to become the stable and prosperous Great Britain with four autonomous nations of Scotland, England, Northern Ireland and Wales. This is the same political structure that made the United States of America to become a great nation.
  7. Chief Chidoka contradicted himself when he said that the youths of 9ja have disconnected themselves from the old Nigeria; those who could afford to exit from Nigeria have migrated to Canada, America, or Europe while those in the East who could not afford the costs of leaving Nigeria have joined the Biafran Movement. At least, he has confirmed that the youths of 9ja have no hope in Nigeria as it is presently structured by its Constitution and therefore run away from Nigeria to other countries. Why then is he campaigning against Restructuring by way of devolution of power? Why did he say that Devolution of Power is a scam?
  8. By Devolution of Power to the Regions, the youths of 9ja will be free to develop their potentials without being hindered by the “almighty” Federal Government and the Nigerian Constitution of quota system. They will be able to participate in the governance of their Regions and still be united with one another in one country. Devolution of Power to the Regions does not amount to secession. It is still the same country. Let me now produce a summary of our Memorandum submitted to the Senate Committee of the National Assembly on Devolution of Power. Please take notice that this submission is “without prejudice” because we are still in Court with the Federal Republic of Nigeria in the case between Biafra and Nigeria:
  9. Re-Engineering the Federal Structure based on our proposed Amendments to the 1999 Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria:
ALSO READ  As Chukwudi Umeaba & His Cohorts Day Dreams, Hon Nwobu Set To Complete His Tenure

(1) The matters contained on the Items 2, 3, and 4 of the advertised issues for amendment are matters that touch on the structure of the whole Federal Republic of Nigeria and the Power Sharing and Revenue Allocation Formula. Therefore the fundamental law of Nigeria and the power equation are engaged in this Memorandum.

(2) Although we had argued in Court that the amalgamation of the various ethnic nationalities to create a new country called “Nigeria” without the consent of the indigenous peoples of the lands was unlawful and therefore null and void ab initio, we think that the concept of “Restructuring of Nigeria” is similar to the concept of finding a solution to the structural defects in a building. We know that structural defects on the foundation of a building will cause the building to collapse. It is our submission that Nigeria will certainly collapse if there is no urgent remedial work on the foundation. The foundation of Nigeria is the Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria.

(3) On the issue of devolution of power, we propose:

(a) That Section 2(1) of the Constitution be amended as follows:

“Nigeria is one indivisible and indissoluble Sovereign State to be known by the name of the Federal Republic of Nigeria without prejudice to the fundamental right of the people of any federating unit in the exercise of their right to self-determination by the rule of law”.

(b) That Section 2(2) of the Constitution be amended as follows:

“Nigeria shall be a Federation consisting of Regions and a Federal Capital Territory”

(c) That Section 3(1) of the Constitution be amended as follows:

“There shall be six Regions in Nigeria with thirty-six States as shown in the first column of Part 1 of the First Schedule to this Constitution without prejudice to the right of any region to create additional States within the Region or merge the existing States into one by a bill passed into law by the House of Parliament of the Region.”

ALSO READ  Priestcrafts & Pastorpreneurs: Men of God or gods of Men?

(d) That an additional section be added as Section 3(7) as follows:

“Notwithstanding the provisions of sections 3(1) and 3(6) of this Constitution, the House of Parliament of every region shall have the power to organize the region and create such other political units as districts and councils or convert the existing states and local governments to districts and local councils in accordance with the need of the people”.

(4) On the issue of Public Revenue, Fiscal Federalism and Revenue Allocation, we refer to Paragraph 5 of the Proposal submitted by the undersigned to the Federal Government of Nigeria in 2006 titled “The Road Map to Peace and Development in the Niger Delta” in which he proffered the solution as follows:

Restore the Ancient Landmark of 50% Derivation Formula:

(a) God Almighty, the fountain of justice and truth, has commanded all mankind saying, “Remove not the ancient landmark which thy fathers have set” (Proverbs 22:28, The Holy Bible). In Article viii of the Kaiama Declaration, the Ijaw Youth Council traced the history of the removal of the ancient revenue formula as follows:

“That the Principle of Derivation of Revenue Allocation has been consciously and systematically obliterated by successive regimes of the Nigerian State. We note the drastic reduction of the Derivation Principle from 100% (1953), 50% (1960), 45% (1970), 20% (1975), 2% (1982), 1.5% (1984) to 3% (1992 to date), and a rumoured 13% in Abacha’s 1995 undemocratic and unimplemented Constitution”.

(b) It is pertinent to note that as at the date when the Kaiama Declaration was made in 1998, the present 13% derivation formula contained in the 1999 Constitution was not yet implemented. An article written by Senator David Dafinone on “Resource Control: Economic and Political Dimensions” and reported by Dr. Steve Azaiki in his book, INEQUITIES IN NIGERIAN POLITICS, 2003, Page 163, stated as follows:

“The 1963 Republican Constitution was not a perfect document but its stance was clear on the issue of the society, issues that were central to federalism. It directed that revenues from imports be paid 100% to the State in the proportion of the consumption of the product. The same goes for excise duty: 100% payment to the State according to the proportion of the duty collected. For minerals, the Constitution shared the revenue in the proportion of 50:20:30. That is, 50% for derivation, 20% to the Federal Government and the remaining 30% paid into the distributable pool to be shared among the States including the donor States”.

(c) The Derivation Formula of 50:20:30 is the ancient landmark which our forefathers set in motion at Independence for justice and equity in the Nigerian polity. It started in 1960, but was changed to 45% in 1970 by General Yakubu Gowon’s Government and further reduced by his successors progressively down to 1.5% before the South East delegates went to the Abacha Constitutional Conference in 1995 and argued for increase of the derivation formula now to 13%, rotational presidency and creation of the six geopolitical regions. For removing this ancient landmark which their forefathers set at independence, Nigerians shall have no peace until justice is done.

(d) Beginning at the Independence, other regions were receiving the 50% derivation and earning more revenue while Niger Delta earned less. Now that the table has turned, the 50% derivation was abolished. It is wickedness to remove the goal posts in the middle of the game when the losing side is about to score an equalizing goal.

ALSO READ  Beware of Fake Friends - Osita Chidoka's letter to new EFCC Boss

(e) The elders of the South-South Zone at the Nigerian Political Reform Conference demanded for 50% Derivation graduated from 25% over a 5-year period. Their demand is fair and just. In fact they were very kind to have demanded it in a graduated scale to stabilize in the 5th year. The strictest sense of justice requires that the 50% Derivation should start with immediate effect, but the elders of the South-South Zone decided to temper justice with mercy.

(f) The argument by Northerners that the leaders of the South-South misused the 13% meant for their people and therefore should not be given 50% is a blind argument. Give the people what belongs to them, and stop diversionary argument! After all, the principle of federalism guarantees resource control to every region. Restore the ancient landmark of Derivation Principle of 50:20:30 which your fathers set at Independence otherwise you shall have no peace.

(g) Considering that we have advocated for the Regions to become political units created by the Constitution, the derivation formula and revenue allocation under Section 162(2) of the Constitution shall therefore be as follows:

(i) 50% to the Region
(ii) 20% to the Federal Government
(iii) 30% to the distributable pool to be shared equally by all the regions including the donor regions.

(h) In effect, as there are six regions, each region receives 55% based on the principle of derivation and revenue allocation. This is different from their Internally Generated Revenues. The region decides how to allocate the resources among its component parts whether as States, Districts or Local Councils. The current practice of creating inequitable number of States and Local Governments, giving more to the Regions in the North and depriving the East of the same shall no longer have negative effects. Any region that wants to create a thousand or million States and Local Governments in its jurisdiction can do so and bear the burden. The Federal Government receives only 20% because most of the functions in the Exclusive Legislative List will now be transferred to the Regional Parliament and performed by the Regions.

  1. This is what we mean by Devolution of Power to the Regions. Share this message to the whole world. We are not talking about economic restructuring but political restructuring so that every Region will govern itself as an autonomous self-governing region and develop at its own pace within the “One Nigeria” just like Scotland, England, Northern Ireland and Wales in the one Great Britain. This is how we operated and prospered under the 1963 Constitution before the military interfered with politics and destroyed Nigeria. Who is afraid of devolution of power to the Regions? Chief Osita Chidoka disclosed that he served as a Federal Minister in the Federal Government of One Nigeria. Is he afraid that he will lose his political relevance in Regional politics?

Emeka Emekesiri, Esq.
Barrister & Solicitor of the Supreme Court of Nigeria; Chairman of the Governing Council, Customary Government of Indigenous People of Biafra

What are your thoughts?

Discover more from Odogwu Blog

Subscribe now to keep reading and get access to the full archive.

Continue reading