THE SOUTH WEST AGITATION AND CLAMOUR FOR NIGERIA’S RESTRUCTURING IN THE FOURTH REPUBLIC
- Project Research
- 1-5 Chapters
- Qualitative
- Library / Doctrinal
- Abstract : Available
- Table of Content: Available
- Reference Style: APA
- Recommended for : Student Researchers
- NGN 3000
Background of the study
Nigeria's federalism since the pre-independence era has been a cause of considerable debate. More controversial is her return to democratic rule in 1999, which has resulted in the emergence of a new form of politics centered around the federal system, generally portrayed in the terminology of "political restructuring," which has provided validity to the claim that Nigerian federalism is ineffective. Omoregie (2013) opined that the origins of what is now known as the 'Nigerian structural imbalance' may be traced back to the historical event of 1914, when British colonists led by Sir Lord Fredrick Lugard merged the Southern and Northern protectorates to become the Nigerian state, despite the apparent and obvious social, cultural, religious, and economic contrasts between the two protectorates. While the Northern protectorate was largely Muslim and culturally Arabic, the Southern protectorate was predominantly Christian and culturally Western, as well as economically, educationally, and socially diametrically opposed to the Northern protectorate. The colonialists were unconcerned about the visible distinctions since administrative convenience was at the top of their list of reasons for uniting the two protectorates into one administrative region. Ugoh, Ukpere, and Ashiwhobel (2012) asserts that, "The British Government has been trying to make Nigeria into one country since 1914, "but the Nigerian people themselves are historically different in their backgrounds, religious beliefs, and customs and do not show any sighs of willingness to unite Nigeria's unity is only a British invention."
Nnoli (1980) quoted in Yaqub, (2016) wrote that since the amalgamation of Nigeria, centrifugal factors like ethnicity, religion, and other primal and mundane causes that tend to draw the country apart have thwarted all efforts to sew this union cohesively together into a patriotic whole. These factors are driven by both parties' actual and imagined allegations and counterclaims of being victims of this forced merger. For example, the Southern area accused the Northern region of having a sharia/Islamic agenda to islamize the country and a "born to rule" attitude, and so exhibiting tendencies to cling to political power at the expense of the South. he North, has long accused the South of economically dominating the country, as evidenced by stronger infrastructure and human capital development to the North's detriment. These allegations and counter-accusations have only resulted in mutual mistrust, political competition, and long-term confrontations. Pockets of protests, the IPOB movement, the Boko Haram insurgency, and the growth of militant formations in the south-south all point to one thing: widespread discontent, disaffection, and disappointment (The Guardian, 2018). This condition of national unhappiness has prompted vehement calls for a change in the country's way of doing things from numerous Nigerian societal sectors.
Intriguingly, Abah and Nwokwu (2017) asserted that the term "restructuring" has been used frequently in the country to refer to the central government relinquishing certain powers and limiting its influence in areas such as fiscal policies, military defense, foreign policy, immigration, and national elections. However, there are many diverse perspectives and grounds for reforming Nigeria's complicated federation. According to Abah et al (2017), restructuring is seen as a return to regionalism or parliamentary governance by some, fiscal federalism or resource control by others, and state police or local government autonomy by others. However, many people believe that restructuring is unavoidable because the existing structure is not operating as well as it should. Diversity has become the most damaging element impeding the country's socio-economic progress. As a result, Aziken, Ndujihe, et al. (2017:89), remarking on the necessity for restructuring, asserted that: "all the evils currently ailing the country are directly or indirectly a result of Nigeria's incorrect anti-federalist diversion in 1966." The infringement has resulted in a military dictatorship's unitary command culture, in which legally mandated decentralization and devolution of powers have been undermined and replaced with authority centralization. Restructuring is thus a demand for the return of real federalism as it existed during the period of independence in the form of regional government, with representatives representing their region at the federal level. Notably, the fact that the restructuring has taken on multiple connotations throughout Nigeria's six geopolitical zones has led to the ongoing agitations, therefore establishing a single interpretation that would be acceptable to every region appears to be a difficult task. Thus this study will focus on what restructuring means to South-West Regions.
Research Problem
Nigeria's progress has been hampered by a series of crises since its restoration to democratic governance in 1999. Some of the crisis has been one of growth, manifesting itself in areas such as authority, unity, participation, and distribution. some of which includes, Agitation for the emancipation of Biafra, herdsmen- farmers crisis, insecurity and kidnapping for ransom etc. All these crisis is due to the perceived marginalization of some groups and entity in the country. However, in the face of all these crises, the question of resource allocation and control has remained a major concern for nation-building in the country. The problem of Agitation, herdsmen- farmers crisis and kidnapping has spawned certain centrifugal forces intent on ripping the nation's soul apart by sowing discord and fighting against the achievement of any form of national cohesion. Scholars like Adeosun, Ismail & Zengeni, (2017) opined that in the East, Indigenous People of Biafra (IPOB) and the Movement for the Actualization of the Sovereign State of Biafra (MASSOB) have both called for the actualization of Biafra's sovereign State. In the South- South various militant organizations have developed in Niger Delta, calling for resource ownership and self-determination. In the West, the need for a polity reform, often known as real federalism, remains high on the agenda of the region's citizens. In the North lays insurgency of the notorious Islamic fundamentalist organization, Boko Haram, whose main purpose is to build an Islamic theocratic State. All these when put together has led to social unrest, economic hardship, farmer-herder confrontations, increase in kidnappings and ritual killings are all contributing factors demanding for political restructuring and resource management, which have been and continue to be sensitive topics in the country's body politic.
According to Dickson and Asua (2016), most governments, while in power, have resisted such calls and have only played gimmicks when pressed; some parts of the country, along with the national leadership, have resisted and or manipulated such calls and agitations, largely due to constitutional questions and fears of the Nigerian state's possible disintegration, irrespective of whether the North or South is at the helm.
El-Rufai in 2017 pointed out that both Presidents Obasanjo in 2005 and Goodluck Jonathan in 2014 conducted national conferences in the Fourth Republic, both of which focused on requests for political, economic, constitutional, structural, and budgetary changes of the Nigerian state. The administration of Goodluck Ebele Jonathan hosted a national conference with 492 delegates from all walks of life to chart a new course for Nigeria through all-inclusive deliberation. The outcome was expected to allay many fears, quench hunger, and calm the nerves of the youth, as poverty will be alleviated, unemployment will be defeated, and inequality will be jettisoned to the abyss (Tosin, 2017). Unfortunately, the 2014 CONFAB recommendations were not followed, and Nigerians' hopes were disappointed once more (Tosin, 2017). As a result, not only did the demand for a change in the way things are done in Nigeria, the way people are treated, and the way a few individuals have high-jacked authority for personal gain at the expense of the others resurface, but the wave also faded down (Tosin, 2017). Therefore, one begins to wonder if the sudden reduction in the clamour for restructuring during the President Muhammadu Buhari administration is because the advocates of restructuring seem not to have a consensus as to what restructuring means: whether it is the devolution of powers, resource control, regionalism, or even self-determination, or all of these? Thus based on the differences in the views of each region on what restructuring means, it has become necessary to examine closely the south west agitation and clamor for the restructuring of Nigeria as federation.
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