At an early morning chat with Prof. Bolaji Aluko, he summaries what restructuring should be “Nigeria in context”
Humpty Dumpty was an egg which, once broken, can not be put back together again!!
We should not be writing about returning to 1963 Federalism.
But if a restructured Nigeria comes close to it, I believe that we will be better for it
We need:
- Administrative restructuring
- Legislative Restructuring
- Judicial Restructuring
- Economic Restructuring
- Sociological Restructuring
- Constitutional Restructuring
I think that it will be more profitable to discuss in those terms, rather than in the amorphous broader term of restructuring.
1963 Federalism was a Region-Based federating-units relationship with the center (administrative structure), each with a Parliamentary premiership provision and ceremonial Head of region (legislative structure) in which the regions are taxed certain specified percentages for the economic resources derived from them (economic structure), with each having a well-defined Constitution apart but consistent with the National Constitution (constitutional structure). Each Region had a Supreme Court (Judicial structure). As a result of all the above, there was a keen sense of healthy rivalry between all the regions (Sociological structure). So are these the broad return to 1963 that you are urging?
At the end of the day, we will have to ask ourselves:
- Should states be abolished, and some merged to form regions?
- Should we abolish the present Presidential system in favor of Parliamentary?
- Should economic resources be on the Exclusive or Concurrent list?
- Should each federating unit have a Constitution on their own?
Etc….
Mobolaji E. Aluko is a Professor of Chemical Engineering at Howard University. He was appointed as the inaugural vice-chancellor of Federal University, Otuoke by the Federal Government of Nigeria from 2011 till the expiration of his tenure in 2016
