THE NIGERIAN PROBLEM AND HOW TO FIX IT

First of all I am only 23 and cannot say I have studied comprehensively the way governments work, whether ours or others all over the world, I looked at others as is related to our country and read a lot of stuff about the rest of the world, like the Meiji restoration and a lot of organisations in america including the governments and the NFL, for example, the way you progress in CL in pretty straight forward and in the pl, in america the NFL system is very different and I thought unnecessarily complicated until I realized its merit over the system in Europe, the NFL system almost guaranteed that you always have a reason to play well, this is designed to prevent teams from not taking games seriously because they don't need to win when the result might have a big effect on other teams, take for example the 2006-2007 season where man united threw the last game and gave wets ham a saving grace, this was unfair to the team that got relegated in their place, they deserved that man united gave it a fair try.

This was when I realized that rules should be put in place to encourage and or to discourage certain behaviors. In Nigeria we don't do this, we simply hope that our politicians will find it in their hearts to be diligent hard working innocent people, that is our folly, just like our clothes and machines that go bad and not good when put to temptation people tend to opt for bad, I am someone who likes examples so here's another one. Imagine a transporter whose job is to transport 5000 gold pieces everyday on hos boat and had it over to another boat who then hands it over to the next for 1000 people before it finally gets to its destination. This man knows that the guy who collects the gold from him doesn't check to see that it is complete so he can steal a piece without anybody knowing, he does so and gets away free, greed will naturally seep in as it would for any human and he will take another the next day, eventually he will start to get braver and take more, with 1000 people in between and no checking there is no way they will know it is him, this is theft and the thieves don't take all the blame, blame also falls to whoever it was who decided on how to go about transporting it without considering how its carriage can be accounted for every step of the way, this is one of Nigeria's biggest problems, the system should be designed for accountability and everything should be documented, redundancies, declaring and proving how money more than as little as ₦100 k when withdrawn is spent etc etc. We need to make it difficult to be corrupt not allow them the temptation and whine when they succumb to it. Basically, there needs to be a complete overhaul of every government administration in Nigeria including the entire government itself, the priority should be efficiency, accountability and effectiveness. The entire system in Nigeria is built on a faulty foundation and everything build on it is therefore already faulty.
THE STATE OF MEMBERSHIP IN THIS UNION.

In america all states joined the country on their own terms which is why there is no state by state conflict or disagreement, in England there are no states, they are all English people and never had traditional differences or spoke different languages, in Europe were people speak different languages, despite imperialism they now have their own borders. We talk about how we are all Nigerians, please do not deceive yourself, many people are only Nigerians because the country won't let them go their own way so this we are all Nigerians story is simply you lying to yourselves. American states were people from all over the world, different backgrounds and all, they chose to join the union and they did it on agreeable terms, if we want to be a peaceful nation we need to negotiate the terms under which, the south south, Biafra, west, middle belt and the north are in this union, claiming entitlement to resources in another region because "we are all Nigerians" is only fanning the fire because the people in those regions did not chose to be Nigerians, you cannot enforce on them whatever you like because the British cut them into this country too, where is the freedom our founding fathers fought for, if people are being forcefully detained in a union they do not like, all these states(regions) need to come together with Jonathan's administration and discuss on the state of which they are a part of this union and come to a consensus that is fair and makes everybody happy.

Now that that is said and done with let me begin with what I believe should be law in Nigeria/how it should be done.

-It should be illegal for the State governments to receive money from the federal government unless in the form of grants for public projects that encompass at least two state, for example the interstate freeway system in America. This means that the Federal government will cease to give states annual budgets, this serves the purpose of encouraging states to develop their own revenue from their own states and it goes without saying that the federal government shouldn't be taking money from the states. Federal and State taxation on everything, business or purchase should be separate.

-Oil is just another natural resource and Nigerians should learn to remember that, the Federal government deals with the extraction of all natural resources from states and each state gets paid severance taxes and mineral royalty tax.
People come out and say why should Bayelsa be paid for the oil we are all Nigerians and we have a right to it too, first of all, Bayelsa is a state and not a person, it therefore belongs to all of us, by giving it to Bayelsa they are giving it to all of us, you can move there, your children can move there, that argument of "we are all Nigerians that a governor made was a contradiction in itself since the money was being given to an institution that belongs to all of us, it shows that the governor in fact does not see himself and the oil producing states as one and the same.

-I have said most if what I have to say about tax but Ii will say this, Federal taxation and state taxation must be separate, federal tax goes to the federal government and can only be given to states as grants under previously stated terms. State tax goes straight to the State governments, if nothing there is the visible gratification of the taxes going up when your state begins to bustle, it was a discouragement to develop states if all the money was taking by the federal government before being handed over to the states, then it doesn't matter what you do to your state, the federal government takes the money and splits it based of faulty data on census etc.

[b]-State Police, the state police system must be adopted, I have read a lot of war stories and seen about law enforcement in other countries and just like common sense a body that is too big is difficult to control, the police should be formed on a state by state system then we have federal police for those things that involve more than one state, by splitting it into state police we make smaller units that are easier to manage, it is very important that the state police are autonomous and not under the command of the governor or federal police.
There is an argument in Nigeria that the state police will be a way for states to form private armies to enforce secession from Nigeria, first of all the state police is not the problem here, if a state wants to secede then there are issues that need to be dealt with, Nigeria will not succeed if its people don't want to be here, those issues should be dealt with in the meeting of the states/regions I spoke about earlier so that everybody is happy to be in this union.
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-Nigeria is a nation of multiple accepted religions and is therefore a tolerant state, it is therefore most important that there be a separation of church and state, no laws based of one religion or anther can be imposed on a region in the nation, that means sharia law must be abolished in the northern states. the rest of the country has a claim to those states as well and should not be subject to laws that do not involve their religion, the judiciary in a democracy is responsible for passing judgement in Nigeria and no one else, judgement should not and cannot be passed based on religion, you could say that judgement should be passed on people based on their individual religions but people have a right to change their religion spontaneously and without prior notice and must be allowed to exercise that right at all times, all in all, in a nation of multiple religions it is in the best interest of the masses if religion is removed from the governing process, democracy is supposed to be based on what is in the best interest of the masses.

[b]-The federal government should devolve absolutely all power, there should be a federal law and all states are bound by it and govern themselves however they like as long as it does not infringe of federal law, this takes power away from the presidency significantly, making the office a lot less attractive to corrupt people. The federal government should server a more overseeing and role in the nation only participating in matters that involve multiple states and international matters.
This, like the state police matter is producing of smaller units within the nation increasing efficiency.
Local governments councils should also be given considerable autonomy while abiding by state and federal law.
Governors in Nigeria need to stop making decisions based of stupid things. A Nothern state governor said "the southern state governors clamor for state police was suspicious, at no point did he consider what is good for Nigeria, he decided to deny 160 million people a good police service on baseless suspicion. Also[/b]

"In his contribution, retired Assistant Inspector-General of Police, Felix Ogbaidu, a lawyer, said there was no need for formation of the State Police, noting that it was capital intensive and some states would not be financially viable to fund their police units to achieve the desired objectives. “Where can our states get the money required to properly fund the state police,” he asked?"

What this man has said without knowing is that the money is not enough right now but we don't know because the system is a general one, when you server such a large area with 160 million people the urgency of things is diluted and muffled in all that is going on in the country, you have to deal with everything and then you end up not doing anything correctly. A state police force and a state governor and local government council commissioner or whatever they are called is governing a much smaller area and even the smallest of problems stands out more to them and they are more likely to be fixed, it also helps that so many people are part of the decision making process and in a position to effect change in the land or maintain it, things get done faster and more efficiently than when being handled by someone who is swamped with work.
These people did not think about Nigeria when hey made these statements, how else would someone chose to deny 160 million people a good police service because he is suspicious of what the other governors are up to. Let the People have their state police, come back with concrete evidence that the governor is planning something treasonous and we can remove him but the state police is good for Nigerians and they should have it.
-The three arms of government legislature, executive and judiciary must be fully separate, none should supersede the others, even if this is how it technically is in Nigeria, the constitutions laws should be put in place to guarantee that they remain separate from one another.
People who have held post in one of the arms of government should not be able to become ministers though the reverse should be acceptable, ministries should be reserved for scholars who excel in those fields and are separate from politics.

Finally things that are "allowed" by federal law should still be deniable by state law. By this I mean smoking, drugs, gambling etc if these things are allowed in the country by the federal government they should still be up for prohibition by the states, of course if the federal government prohibits something then it has to be prohibited nation wide, the reason for this is obvious and I can't exactly find words for it so I will leave it at that.


NIGERIANS ARE NOT MORE CORRUPT THAN ANY OTHER NATION, WE DO NOT HAVE WORSE MORALS, WE ARE NOT LAZIER AND OUR LEADERS DO NOT CARE LESS FOR THEIR COUNTRY THAN THE LEADERS OF ANY OTHER COUNTRY, it is the constitution and the flaws in its system, it was a document written without any thought, consequences were not considered, pros and cons were not considered, laws were not written to prevent and promote bad and good behavior respectively, laws did not consider giving pressuring the public servants to do their job with accountability.

I hope someone reads this and takes it seriously, publish it in on your blog, a news paper or something, I have heard too many debates in Nigeria and I have come to realize that politicians in this country make decisions based of sentiment with no tome for rationality or consideration for fact or what is best for Nigeria, no thought whatsoever involved.

Nigerias constitution has been reviewed and amended, they are all faulty, we need a fresh constitution from the ground up.

Spread my word if you agree with me and constructive criticism is welcome

On a side not, I'd really rather Arewa was a reality in 2015, it will be much easier for the rest of this country to realize a truly federal democratic system of government and industrialize without a hotbed for Islamic extremism right inside our living room, foreigners are afraid of investing here because of all that unnecessary insecurity.

Your Thoughts?

The simple truth is that Nigeria is still in search of true federalism.

Great article, though more theoretical.

The talks of federalism in Nigeria are loads of copout. It is even ludicrous to mention formative stages of USA in the same sentence with Nigeria. There are no bases for unity in Nigeria hence the essence of patriotism continues to elude country. If Nigerians fail to sue for peaceful disengagement from the colonial contraption now, the future will certainly expose them to war of disintegration.

No theory can save Nigeria for now except there be a peoples revolution, killing all the leaders. Theories can not move Nigeria forward because the corrupt leaders know the theories and use them to suite their purpose.

Oh please, most of those people did not go to good schools, they do not know the "theories". Politicians in Nigeria are always at odds with each other running around making the most stupid of statements without understanding what they are saying and coming off like the absolute illiterates, you give them too much credit, they are no more than street smart, everybody is smart when it comes to making money, duping and hustling, even the stupid ones like our leaders.

If you read my "state of being in this union" I am talking about something that must happen and because of the way people are I agree it will probably only happen after a revolution.

Also, anybody who leads a successful revolution must understand the theories or they really won't be doing too much good.

I posted this on another thread and I feel it needs to be here too.

CROWÉ: A benevolent dictatorship, no one will agree to that. Nigeria's democracy is a messed up democracy, our problem is not the democracy but how we can about being in this democracy. Nigerians did not chose to be Nigerians, they were carved out by the British and authority over them given to the least contributor of them all who proceeded to maltreat and exploit them, they are not happy in this union but when they want to leave they are not allowed to, proceed to conflict, resentment and hatred of one another. It doesn't matter what kind of government system we have as long as this is the basis of our union we will never progress.

The constitution review is not helping because people do not get what they want from it, those that are exploiting others(north) have the upper hand in these negotiations, a fair deal can only be agreed upon if everybody is on equal footing.

Here is my solution, to achieve equal footing everybody Biafra, Niger-Delta, Oduduwa, Arewa including all 36 states and FCT respectively have to be represented at a state of being in the union conference where after the meetings are done anybody who can not agree to be here be allowed to leave, that way we will hear all sides and take them seriously. As it stands the north doesn't need to hear what the south says since there is no real consequence, if they try to leave they know what happens, the north has negotiating power and many people in Nigeria are not given a fair deal.

Under the terms that are agreed a workable constitution should then be drafted, all of this should be mediated by a separate nation, I suggest the United States because:

- Theirs is the oldest democracy, they have had the longest time to deal with its pros and cons and understand it.
- Theirs is the one of the most diverse countries in the world so they will understand what it will take to form a stable and multicultural nation.
- They have experience with helping other countries draft up workable constitutions( the Japanese constitution was written with help from the United States and within 20 years Japan was the second richest country and they have never needed to amend it.
- The United States has great experience with nation building, Germany, Japan, South Korea, the United States participated in nation building in all of them and today they are world leaders.

The north will not agree with this probably, citing some silly excuse like they did before and now there is polio in Nigeria, if they do we should go on at it without them and leave them to their silliness. We cannot all be held back by one region.