August 26th provided us a worrisome evidence of the discontent of the Igbos within the Nigerian State . The Movement for the Actualization of Sovereign State of Biafra (MMASSOB), an Igbo ethnic militia, had called on all the Igbos to stay at home on that day. Leaders of the organization said what they intended achieving was to draw attention to the “injustice” visited on their race.
Disturbingly, the stay-at-home order was successful to the extent that betrays the precarious state into which Nigeria has slided. In major cities and town, not only the eastern part of the country populated by the Igbos, traders shunned markets, transporters stayed off the roads, banks and other businesses closed their doors.
Five days after, political and opinion leaders from the South-south zone came together to hold the first ever meeting of the South-south Consultative Assembly. Top on agenda was the issue of South-south Presidency in 2007. It was a unanimous view at the meeting that the zone should produce the next Nigerian President in 2007.
Dr. Wayas, former President of the Nigerian Senate, laments that they “note with great disappointment the unbridled jostling for the presidency in 2007 by other geo-political zones without any consideration for the South-south zone, which is yet to produce the President of the Nation since 1960 till date”.
A couple of weeks back, nineteen northern states and two Southern states initiated a legal move to stop payment of 13% of the revenues accruing to the federation account from off-shore oil to the oil producing states. They have gone to the Supreme Court to seek a repeal of the Oil Dichotomy Abrogation Act.
The Act is a political solution to the crisis provoked by the Supreme Court ruling of April 5, 2002 on the Resources Control suit instituted by the Federal Government against the thirty-six (36) states of the federation in February 2001. The ruling ceded sole ownership of offshore resources to the Federal Government. The Act corrects the ruling, and gives the ownership to both the federal and state governments.
The subject in any political gathering now is where the president comes from in 2007. The Igbos argues that it is a matter of morality for the five other zones to allow them produces the next president. According to them, the only Igbo man that managed to lead the country was only in the position for just six months. The northern zone has had enough of the position, and President Obasanjo is utilizing the chance of the South-west populated by the Yorubas. They insist it will be an “injustice” if the South-East zone is not allowed to lead the country from 2007. Northern politicians are not ready to accept the argument of the Igbos. Having magnanimously ceded presidency to the south, it is a! gainst all moral principles to prevent their zone from getting it back – 2007.
Every zone wants to produce the president of the country. What is responsible for this is the too much concentration of power and resource control at the center. Any zone that controls the center controls everything.
The first victim of the centralized system is the development of the country which suffers. Politicians jostle for power and the control of the centre at the expense of development. It does not matter to these people the nasty state of development of the country in spite of abundant human and mineral resources.
A centralized system of resource ownership and control has fostered a culture of dependence. Both state and local governments depend on the federal government for revenue. If revenue does not come from the Federation Account either to the states and local governments, hardly can the state or local government survive. Salaries would not be paid, and all important areas neglected. It has also destroyed the people’s sense of responsibility. Many people rely on government for survival. The banks rely on public funds to stay in business.
Conflict is also a direct implication of the centralized system. Politicians employ ethnic and sectional sentiments to secure control of political and economic powers. There are incidents of ethnic clashes sponsored by politicians to get to important political positions.
To achieve development in Nigeria , devolution of political and economic powers is imperative. Power must not only devolve from the central government to the lower governments, but also from government to the civil society. Communities must be allowed to have a say in the control of the resources found in their areas. It is only when the country is restructured in a way that will give more power to the federating states, and the economy restructured in a way that will give economic freedom to the people and give more control to the private sector that the country can begin to witness genuine development.
*Oyewamide is with the Institute of Public Policy Analysis in Lagos, Nigeria .