Chairman’s Remarks by Atiku Abubakar, GCON, former
Vice President, Federal Republic of Nigeria, at the Public Presentation of the
book, “We Are All Biafrans” by Chido Onumah, at the Yar’Adua Centre Abuja
Tuesday 31st May, 2016.
Protocol
When I was invited to Chair this occasion,
I immediately understood that the title of the book is a metaphor for the
legitimate feelings of marginalization by diverse segments of Nigerians that cut
across the country. Agitations by many right thinking Nigerians call for
a restructuring and renewal of our federation to make it less centralized, less
suffocating and less dictatorial in the affairs of our country’s constituent
units and localities.
As some of you may know, I have for a long
time advocated the need to restructure our federation. Our current structure and
the practices it has encouraged have been a major impediment to the economic and
political development of our country. In short it has not served Nigeria well,
and at the risk of reproach it has not served my part of the country, the
North, well. The call for restructuring is even more relevant today in light of
the governance and economic challenges facing us. And the rising tide of
agitations, some militant and violent, require a reset in our relationships as
a united nation.
Some may say that we are saddled with more
urgent challenges, including rebuilding our battered economy, creating jobs,
fighting corruption and securing our people from terrorism and other forms of
serious crimes. I believe, however, that addressing the flaws in our
federation will helpus address some of those very economic and security
challenges facing this country.
Nigeria must remain a united
country. Our potentials are enormous. But I also believe that a united
country, which I think most Nigerians desire, should never be taken for granted
or taken as evidence that Nigerians are content with the current structure of
the federation. Making that mistake might set us on the path of losing the
country we love or, as ChidoOnumah puts it, result in our “country sleepwalking
to disaster.”
Let me quickly acknowledge that no federal
system is set for all time. There are always tensions arising from matters
relating to the sharing of power, resources and responsibilities.
How We Got Here: Oil Economy,
Centralization and Biafranization
The vast majority
of Nigeria's young population will be forgiven for thinking that our lives have
always revolved around oil and that the federal government has always been this
domineering and controlling. They may not be aware that the federal system
which we inherited at independence allowed the regions to retain their autonomy
to raise and retain revenues, promote development, and conduct their affairs as
they saw fit, while engaging in healthy competition with others.
And they may not
know that it was the emergence of military rule and the intervening civil war
that led to the splintering and weakening of the federating units,
centralization of resources and concentration of power at the federal
level. The enormous revenues from oil rents encouraged the central
government to play an increasingly domineering role in the economy and society.
It assumed more responsibilities for infrastructure provisioning, education,
social services and business investment.
We now know that
the more resources the federal government has, the more responsibilities it
tends to assume.This then generates the need for ever more resources. As
Chairman of the National Council on Privatization from 1999 to 2007, in my
capacity as the Vice President, I was shocked when I saw firsthand the manner
of businesses our federal government was involved in. These included not
just such capital-intensive industries as steel and petrochemicals but
brick-making factories and bakeries as well. These enterprises hardly
made any profit. Rather they were being subsidized by the budget.
As the government’s
role continued to expand, the private sector was crowded out and private
initiative, innovation and creativity suffered. Excessive dependence on
oil revenues led to the collapse of our agriculture-based economy. It also
exposed the Nigerian economy to volatile market swings, booms and bursts. And
it brought with it enormous social consequences such as wealth without labour,
briefcase contractors and generations of youth accustomed to aspiring to be
employed by others rather than thinking of creating jobs for themselves and
others. It also led to the neglect of internally generated revenue, especially
taxation. Most of ourstate governments canno longer pay their workers’ wages until they
collect monthly allocations from Abuja. Only Lagos State is currently able to generate up to
50% of its revenues internally, thereby reducing its dependence on allocations
from Abuja. (And it is not because of the existence of many businesses in Lagos
as some people like to point out. Businesses do not on their own send
money to government).
As we became more
dependent on oil revenues we became lazier, more complacent, and our leaders
became ever more unaccountable.Among the most destructive impacts of our
dependence on oil is, perhaps, the corruption that it has fostered in the oil
industry and society at large.Some of you are familiar with published
reports that highlight discrepancies and opacity in data relating to the
allocation of oil blocs as well as NNPC’s abuse of its duty as steward of our federation
revenues.
The result of all
of this is that we have not made the needed investments in human capital
development and the productive sectors of the economy. According to the Human
Development Index, 70% of our population lives below the poverty line compared to
21.4% for Brazil, 40.5% for Angola and 0% for Norway, to mention a few
comparable oil producing countries.
More critical is the distortion of our federal structure by our
dependence on oil. We now have the ridiculous situation where the federal
government creates local governments, enshrines them in the constitution and
allocates resources directly to them, with people even calling for more
autonomy from state governments.
Today virtually
every section of our country feels marginalized – meaning they believe that
other segments of society are prospering in ways they are not. We often
interpret marginalization along regional, ethnic or religious lines, but
experience has shown that this perception can exist even within homogenous
communities due to uneven access to opportunity. For example we have
communities feeling marginalized within their states or regions.
Having established the ‘federal character’ of marginalization in
Nigeria, it is imperative that our response to the issues raised by our various
‘Biafras’ across the country is holistic.
I have long advocated for greater autonomy, powers and resources
for our federating states. Some have retorted that state governors will abuse
those powers and resources. Well the same logic applies to the federal level,
which, as recent revelations show, is not without blemish. In fact the current
situation encourages governors to abuse their power, do little to raise revenue
and point fingers at the federal government, thereby making it more difficult for
their people to hold them to account.
What do we Need?
·
First, a smaller,
leaner federal government with reduced responsibilities. This means devolution
of powers and resources to states and local governments. State and local
governments should control education, health, agriculture, roads and other
infrastructure. A true federal system will allow the federating states to keep
their resources while the federal government retains the power of taxation and
regulatory authority over standards. The result will be a political and
governmental system that empowers local authorities and gives them greater
autonomy to address peculiar local issues, while enhancing accountability and
contributing to the general good of the country. Such a robust federal
system would reduce the tensions that are built into our current
over-centralized system.
·
Second,
autonomy for the component states and localities to determine their development
priorities and wage structures. For instance, there is no reason for the
governor of Akwa Ibom State to earn the same salary as the Governor of Benue
State or for a teacher in Orlu to earn the same salary as the one in Abuja or
Port Harcourt.The costs of living and revenue generating capacities vary widely
across the country.
·
Third,
a tax-centred revenue base. Modern democracies derive their revenues from
taxation whether or not they have fossil fuels and other natural resources –
personal income tax, property tax, sales tax, corporate tax, licences, and
duties. Taxation is a sustainable revenue base and one that compels governments
to promote increased economic activities, and respond to the demands of their
tax paying citizens.
·
Fourth,
enhanced, diversified economic activities and productivity in order to enlarge
the tax base. The US, U.K., Canada, Malaysia, and UAE are all oil producers.
But because they have diversified economies, oil does not dominate their
government revenues and does not have the same distortionary effect it has on
our own. Let’s compare Malaysia with Nigeria. Both countries were at a
comparable level of development at independence but now Malaysia’s GDP per
capita is $11,000 while Nigeria's is $3,000. Malaysia has foreign reserves of
$100 billion and a sovereign wealth fund of $41 billion. In Malaysia
manufacturing accounts for 40% of GDP and the country is rated 14th
most competitive economy in the world. In Nigeria, however, manufacturing
accounts for a mere 10% of GDP, and only 12% of the labour force. And Nigeria
ranks 127th out of 144 in global competitiveness.Think about this
for a moment: If the bulk of the revenues of our federal and state governments
are dependent on the level of economic activities in the country, would we be
shutting down the entire country or a state on election days, on census days
and during environmental clean-up? I wish some of our researchers would
calculate the resulting loss of productivity and incomes to individuals,
families and the economy as a whole, and, therefore, potentially government
revenues?
·
Fifth,
an end to the indigene-settler dichotomy. A modern united Nigerian society can
only be built on the basis of common citizenship for all based on residency in
a state or locality rather than the local government or ethnic group one is
born into.Nigerians should be free to live, study and work anywhere in the
country as long as they are law-abiding. We cannot claim to be promoting
national unity while also promoting policies that tend to confine people to
their places of birth.
·
Sixth,
state police to augment the federal police (for the states that so desire).
This will help us to improve security, including fighting terrorism. Posting a
police officer from Ganye to Eket may help promote culture sharing and integration,
but it does little to prevent or fight crime. Crime is better fought by those
who know the terrain and speak the local language.
Ladies and
gentlemen, Nigeria is not working as well as it should and part of the reason
is the way we have structured our country and governance, especially since the
late 1960s. The federal government is too big, and too powerful relative to the
federating states. That situation needs to change, and calling for that change
is patriotic.
We must refrain
from the habit of assuming that anyone calling for the restructuring of our
federation is working for the breakup of the country. An excessively
powerful centre does not equate with national unity. If anything,it has
made our unity more fragile, our government more unstable and our country more
unsafe. We must renegotiate our union in order to make it stronger.
Greater autonomy, power and resources for states and local authorities will
give the federating units greater freedom and flexibility to address local
issues, priorities and peculiarities. It will help to unleash our people’s
creative energies and spur more development. It will reduce the premium
placed on capturing power at the centre. It will help with improving security.
It will promote healthy rivalries among the federating units and local
authorities. It will help make us richer and stronger as a nation.
I commend the
author, Chido Onumah, for his efforts in putting his thought-provoking writings
together in this book. I hope that the essays contained therein will help to
stir and deepen the debates on our federal structure, governance and
intergovernmental relations. Hopefully those debates will help us effect
the needed changes to make our country realize its full potentials in peace and
greater harmony. This is an important way to prevent the birth and growth of
more Biafras across our dear country.
Thank you.
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