NIGERIA MASTERWEB DAILY NEWS

*Nigeria: Case For Conference & Referendum Organized By The States

By Folorunso Makinde

Nigeria today is bedevilled by a lot of problems that requires more than what elected representatives can resolve on their own. The problems are various and many - there is the problem of the cost of administration brought about as a result of the unending states creation exercise embarked upon by successive administrations. Currently, Nigeria is reported to be spending over 80% of its GDP on the cost of administration. No enterprise on such a spending scale in proportion to its revenue can survive. This is already calling into question the viability of Nigeria as a going concern. This is more than any one president can resolve.

There is the problem of revenue allocation that we have not been able to actually sit down, discuss and resolve. This can never be resolved by elected representatives on their own without consulting the electorate to find acceptable formula.

As a country, no one actually know the size of our population. It has ranged from 100 million to 120 million to 150 million. The truth is that the federal set up has made it impossible for the accurate and true head count of Nigerians as figures have been inflated time and time again. There are also problems associated with the breaking down of infrastructures, tribalism, incessant religious violence, degrading level of our education, to mention but a few. Many Nigerians who could afford to leave the country have voted with their feet. Many of our youths have lost their lives in their efforts to find greener pastures outside the country when the opportunities to maintain a living in Nigeria after their education are very scant. No country sustaining such a high level of skills drain can develop at a dignified rate or maintain a respectable level of development. ( Continues below..... )

Photo Above: Map of Nigeria showing its 36 states, including Sokoto State and Federal capital (Abuja or FCT)

Many have called for a national conference to discuss our problems as a country. We in Nigerians For Referendum (NFR) also support this view but we disagree on the focus for the call and the method being advocated to bring it about. Many who have advocated for National Conference have directed their calls towards the President of the Federation. We in NFR believes that the call was directed towards the wrong quarter.

Firstly, the Presidency in a country practicing a federal system of government like Nigeria is, should not be the first point of call for the convening of a National Conference. The purpose of a National Conference is to discuss and address issues affecting the people. No one belongs to a federal constituency unless he/she has initially or originally belong to a local constituency that is part of Nigeria. A person is identified as a Nigerian because that person first belongs to a state or locality that forms part of Nigeria. The President of Nigeria today was able to contest and holds that post because he belongs to a local area of a state that forms part of Nigeria. Just as they say in the European Community (EC) that the main requirement for anyone to hold an EC passport is that such a person must first hold a nationality of a member state of the EC. The same thing applies here.

This is akin to an association formed by members who then decide to elect a chairman for the association. The duties and responsibilities of the chairman will be determined by the collective agreement of all members of the association who can also determine when and whether to reduce or increase the role/powers of the chairman. The agenda of the meeting of such association will be determined by members of the association and not by the chairman alone, and being elected a chairman does not give whoever holds the post the right to disenfranchise any member of the association or restrict the right of any member to include a particular item on the agenda for discussion provided such item is not restricted by the collectively agreed rules and regulations of the association.

As a matter of fact every member would have equal right to include an item on the agenda of the meeting of the association. However, what made the Nigerian system to become muddled up is the fact that in Nigeria, the federal government and hence the Presidency, rather than being seen as a product of agreement of the various constituencies that make up the country, it is seen as an entity with a separate and independent existence. The consequence of this is all around us - duplication of authorities, duplications of services etc. Take for instance, education; we have state universities and federal universities, when it is the same people the two level of authorities are trying to provide education services to.

Secondly, asking the President to convene a National Conference shows lack of understanding of the politics at the federal level. The Presidency has as its constituency the whole of Nigeria and as such the President has a balancing job to do. Some people will want one thing, others will not want that thing. For a politician to successfully contest for the post of a president and win wider support for his candidacy, he has to be everything to everyone. No wonder why successive Presidents has given the idea of a National Conference a cold shoulder. President Goodluck Jonathan publicly declared that he would not do it. This is not to say that he or Presidents before him do not believe that as a country Nigeria has serious problems or does not see the need for a National Conference to discuss the issues. President Jonathan like any other candidate for the presidency of the nation must thread very carefully in order to gain wider support. The state governors has no such inhibitions. This is not to say that each state has homogenous constituents but the diversity within the states are not as many and not as distinctly pronounced as in the wider country, and the issues affecting a state is more likely to affect the constituents in a similar way though not necessarily equally. ( Continues below….. )

Photo Above: President Goodluck Jonathan of Nigeria

NIGERIANS FOR REFERENDUM - NFR

We in the NFR believes that the focus for agitation for a conference and subsequently a referendum should be the state authorities rather than the federal authority. Whatever the agitation of the people, they should first discuss it at the state level. This is why we are advocating for a state level conference followed by a referendum organised and conducted at the state level and the results analysed at the state level or by regions. The outcome will then be used as the basis for negotiations among the constituents/regions that make up the country. The advantages of this type of arrangement are enormous. Firstly, it will help to give a voice to people that otherwise would not have got a voice. When the debates start at the grass root level, everyone will be able to voice their views, and aggregation and alignment of views can take place. This will help to ascertain the actual views of the people and avoid the usual criticism of second guessing what the people’s views are, a criticism that is usually levelled at representative democracy.

Furthermore, it is a well known fact that politics at the federal level is not conducive to allowing all the necessary issues and views to be given air time. It does not allows for all the views to be properly heard and considered. Business at the corridor of power and in particular at the centre is done by negotiation, trading off and compromise without enough time being given to actually analysing the issues. With the debate conducted and the referendum held at the various states, groups within the states can put forward whatever views they considered important to them and then vote on it in a referendum.

We understand that there are 36 states in the federation together with the capital territory Abuja but we anticipate that during such debates and referendum, alignment of views and demands will emerge which will help to aggregate the various views and demands. We understand that there are elected representatives however certain issues are best discussed by the ordinary people themselves. Some of the issues involved may also affect the positions of the elected representatives and as such will raise the question of conflict of interest. For instance, the issue of the kind of government we want at the centre or addressing the formula for revenue allocation or even reducing the number of seats in the national assembly. Issues like this cannot be left in the hands of the elected representatives.

Secondly, decisions in a referendum organised at the grass root level will attract a higher legitimacy as it is the undiluted decision of the people. The fact that everyone is involved or has the opportunity to be involved in the debate and the decision making will give such a process or decision a wider acceptance and thus wider legitimacy. Thirdly, everyone should be given the opportunity to be involved in taking decision on the future direction of the country. Nigeria today is completely different from the Nigeria our forefathers signed up to and it is only fair that everyone should be given the opportunity to participate in crucial decisions that will determine where we go from here as a country.

Nigeria is at a crossroad and important decisions are necessary to determine where we go from here as a country. The status quo is no longer defensible. We in the NFR believes that conference and referendum organised and conducted at the state level and analysed regionally is the way forward to ascertain the wishes of our people and determine the future of our country. This is why we are urging all progress minded Nigerians to join us in demanding that each state governor organise a state-wide conference and holds a referendum in their individual states to determine what their constituents want and this will then form the basis for negotiation among the various constituents or regions that make up the country.

Folorunso Makinde
President
NFR (www.nigeriansforreferendum.co.uk)
Email: nigeriansforreferendum@mail.com
Tel. + 44 - 07574342640

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