BB AND NATIONAL TRUTHS : A BIRD’S EYE-VIEW: General Ibrahim Babamasi Babangida (IBB), former Nigeria’s President and Commander-in-Chief of the Armed Forces is a man who means different things to different people. As a soldier and civilian, he has played diverse roles in the development of Nigeria at different times and it was obvious that he has remained largely misunderstood. As a statesman who is now clearly seeing where mistakes were made in the past and now totally committed to giving progressive solutions to the ones happening today, Nigerian leadership should have learnt one or two lessons from what the man has been saying out of his wisdom and years of experience. The man has nothing to gain deceiving anyone today, because at 71, he should remain focused and enthusiastic for progressive development of the polity. He has had a brilliant career behind him, he went through the vigours of war and civil leadership, and was involved in the making diverse policies which informed the growth of Nigeria. The voice of a man like this should have been recognized for its weight whenever he speaks. He represents the voice of truth, sincerity, experience and wisdom of the age. He is a strong-willed, concerned patriot and he has a duty to contribute generously to the onward march of the country in all ramifications. He is a democrat who had labored hard to entrench the environment with noble perspectives and experiences of popular rule and he is not one to want to throw the society into a keg of foaming poison. Recently, when he spoke out his mind on some crucial national issues, the responses had been diverse but only expectedly so. For examples, he spoke on issues of restructuring the country, power devolution, fiscal federalism, a unicameral legislature, transparent governance, among others. He confessed to have sat down to think of these issues which must affect our being in the 21st century as a people. In his words, “I have sat back to do some sober reflections on the challenges which this strike action has thrown up with particular reference to the structure of the Federation… I would rather call on President Goodluck Jonathan to seize the moment by legitimately embarking on complete restructuring of the country in order to put into practice the real principles of a Federation”. Because of this factor, the Nigerian society has not been in peace and on the path of progress. The creaky, terribly shaky federal structure is daily reminding the people that the system is heading for the rocks, if care is not taken. He maintained that there is chaos in the arrangement, a “role conflict between the federal governments and federating units. There is too much power concentration at the centre thus weakening the comparative abilities of the federating units at generating wealth for their constituents”, and that the President “should commence the process of devolving powers from the centre to the Federating Units; States and Local Governments; in order to gain sufficient time and concentration on several other developmental issues that would help move the nation forward”. The need for restructuring the policy is one factor which should be obvious to every Nigerian. Planlessness, paucity of funds to implement programmes and misplacement of priorities have been outcomes of this problem. Also, the governments in the country have not been able to achieve much because of the gross misapplication of the federal institutions at every level, while corruption, nepotism and greed centre around the centre. Because of excessive power at the centre, every Nigerian wants to be in control of power, even if by treachery. Those in the centre are treated like gods, and those ‘outside’ are seen as insignificant and inconsequential beings regardless of how good they are credentially and intelligently. Places have suffered neglect, and so are people over the years. IBB has a strong point here. The outcome of the “governments blueprint on how it intends to utilize the ‘gains’ of subsidy removal but I have reservations for the deep level of involvement of the Federal Government at implementing the blueprint as opposed to the States and Local Governments”. He postulated that every tier of government should be responsibly contributive to development in “an all-inclusive democracy”; that the three tiers of government are supposed to be complementary in terms of pursuing national goals and objectives”. Laws are expected to be made by the legislators in such a way that individual responsibilities would be acknowledged. And what is expected there from is that “certain powers would be devolved from the centre and they would now be more responsive to the needs of their people both at the States and Local Governments Level. Under a true Federation, for example, the Federal Government has no business in providing primary healthcare services or renovation of primary schools when that ought to be in the purview of the States and Local Governments” These are signs of the weaknesses inherent in our system. Over-centralisation of power makes room for violence, hatred, ethnic bigotry and political upheavals which have negated the provisions of our federalism. IBB also mentioned that “the process of practising fiscal federalism in the area of power devolution, anti-corruption crusade, attitudinal re-orientation, bureaucratic reforms, slim government, unicameral legislature and transparency in governance”. To him, the Federal Government should be “vested with powers to undertake responsibilities in the area of charting the economic road map for the nation, defence and protection of territorial integrity of the nation, as well as foreign policy”. This should create an experience of equity and balance in the system. The Presidential System, he said, is expensive to run, and which is why our financial life has been troublesome as a people. To make way for a universal-unicameral-legislature which is less expensive, we can also begin the process of tinkering with our constitution”. The constitution is one of the plagues disturbing the Nigerian System, because it permits many wrong-headed nations which do not help the reality of our federal structure. Unless we are ready to face the facts of our lives, it might be difficult achieving full nationhood. IBB has spoken in a number of places, repeating the same ideas to Nigerians, though some people are never prepared to listen to him. He has called severally on us to respect the forces of unity which should seal us together for life; and that “we need to work and live together irrespective of religion or tribe, for the country to move forward. The task before leadership at all levels of government apparatus and public resources are ordered around public policy in order to forge a wholesome Nigerian State within the Federation” If Nigeria must grow, there is need for us to listen patiently to experienced hands and not push away noble thoughts which could enrich the polity in all ramifications. IBB IS A VOICE WHICH OUGHT TO BE RESPECTED AT ALL TIMES. By Balarabe Abubakar
Posted on: Thu, 18 Dec 2014 14:31:40 +0000
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