It should be noted that in a federal system of government, secession of any part of the state is not allowed but then , has there been any form of collective agreement as a result of collective deliberation on the part of the different tribes or ethnic groups both from the majority and the minority groups to stay together as one?
Federalism is said to be a system of government in which the powers of government are constitutionally shared between the central government and regional units in such a way that each level of government is independent and autonomous. In this system of Government, one thing is paramount and that is constitution in which the fundamental human rights are entrenched.
Different people with different backgrounds were merged together and federalism was forced on them even without their consent while different constitutions such as the Clifford, Richard, and other constitutions were introduced to them. It was the approach of independence that power over the regions was given to a Nigerian born citizen and regional legislatures were established.
According to Wikipedia, Bernard Bourdillon was the Governor general of Nigeria at that time and he was the one who laid the foundation of federalism in Nigeria in 1939 by creating three provinces. He later handed over to his successor Arthur Richards and it became the Richards constitution of 1946.
At the beginning of formal British indirect rule, in 1901, Nigeria according to history was divided into two regions, which were the Northern and Southern, both of which were divided into provinces. From 1901 to 1958, the number of regions was increased to three through both acquisition of territories and partition from existing provinces. By the time Nigeria had declared itself a republic and replaced the post of Governor general with the post of President, a national bicameral parliament was established and the country was considered a federation of the three regions.
As posited by a source, ethnicity is more than skin color or physical characteristic, more than language, song and dance. It is the embodiment of values, institutions and patterns of behavior, a composite whole representing a people’s historical experience, aspirations and worldview. Deprive a people of their ethnicity, their culture and you deprive them of their sense of direction or purpose.
There is the need to bear in mind that since the inception of Nigeria there has never been an agreement between all the tribes and this led to a civil war. In a bid to resolve this civil war, many states were created and this makes it feasible that creation of more states may not be the solution to Nigeria’s problem. The question now is, has the constitution been amended since the colonial masters handed over? In addition, has the constitution been effective in arresting issues arising from all regions in Nigeria? What about the Sharia law of the Northern state which only pertains to the Muslims of the North. How far has federalism been able to generate unity among Nigerians?
According to Wikipedia, the current constitution was enacted on 29 may 1999, inaugurating the Nigerian fourth Republic. In January 2011, President Olusegun Obasanjo signed two amendments of the 1999 constitution, the first modification since the document came into use in 1999 but this does not erase the fact that the constitution has not really been supreme in respect to unlawful arrest, unlawful killings, and unlawful detention, infringement on people’s lives and properties and lots more. How many times has bill been passed for the amendment of the constitution and how many times has the constitution been amended?
It should be noted that in a federal system of government, secession of any part of the state is not allowed but then , has there been any form of collective agreement as a result of collective deliberation on the part of the different tribes or ethnic groups both from the majority and the minority groups to stay together as one?
These different tribes were merged together in order to provide a ground for an easy control over the provinces by the colonial masters. This merging has since been the basis on which the government operates. Unity could have been achieved if the elected leaders have not been acting greedily while in power but to the detriment of the Nigerian unity, they embezzle funds meant to alleviate the people’s suffering, engage in bribery and corruption even to get themselves to the position of power and also bribe members of the house to maintain their position while the masses are left to their fates. What of religious bigotry?
Many crises have come in to play because of religious differences. Nigeria as a country is not just divided by tribe but also divided by religion, with one trying to oust the other .what then happened to the section of the constitution which concentrates on fundamental human right? How has the government been able to pacify religious crisis in the country? Yet, the Nigerian government claims to operate a federal system of government, which is usually founded on the supremacy of the constitution.
Ripples dialogue, a program I attended on the 25th of August, 2021 at Sheraton hotel in Lagos State, was graced by people of reputable characters in the society. One of the significant things about the guest speakers was the fact that they represented the 3 significant tribes in Nigeria which are: Hausa ,Igbo and Yoruba. The people were opportune to vent out their anger on these three tribes and they in turn took turns to buttress their point and tried at length to figure out where Nigerian government had gone wrong. One of these speakers praised the minority groups in Nigeria that act as a thread holding Nigeria together. According to him, in some countries, the minority groups are the ones instigating crisis but on the other hand, in Nigeria, these groups remain peaceful despite that they are not equally represented.
What about federal character as a major threat to true federalism in Nigeria? According to a source, the federal character principle is one of the means devised by the Nigerian nationalists to prevent the predominance of persons from few states or ethnic groups in the political governance of Nigeria by ensuring that the composition of the government of the federation reflects the federal character of Nigeria. The federal character that ordinarily should protect the interest of the minority groups has led to inequality and tribal dominance, and due to its inappropriate application in Nigeria, appointment in Nigeria is no longer based on merit, rather favoritism and nepotism is the order of the day and this in turn fuels the people’s fear of a particular tribe dominating the country.
To worsen the situation, the most dreaded terrorists in Nigeria, causing mayhem and unrest in some parts of the country which is also another threat to a true federalism in the country are granted amnesty after wasting countless lives of soldiers and citizens of the country while the government is busy chasing after agitators who are concerned about the wellbeing of their people. It is said in a local parlance; “there is no smoke without fire” something actually led to their agitations.
It is important that the government address the issues, which are threatening the stability, and unity which federalism is supposed to bring to the people. There is a dire need for a peaceful gathering of the different tribes which make up the country in order to deliberate on the way forward as mentioned in one of this author’s pieces titled ‘Democracy our bone of contention”, force or coercion cannot solve the issue on ground, but a peaceful deliberation will.
There is no need for war because in war, we can only know the beginning and no one can predict its end. If there is an eventual need for the constitution, it should be amended to suit the people’s need. Also, an avenue which can grant religious tolerance should be created while the interest of the minority group should also be respected. In granting amnesty, whatever is good for the goose should also be good for the gander. If terrorists can be pardoned, I see no reason why the agitators should not be granted the same for peace to reign and for true federalism to have its way in Nigeria.
Adeparua Damilola
