THE PLANNED RELOCATION OF THE HEADQUARTERS OF FAAN AND SOME DEPARTMENTS OF THE CBN FROM ABUJA TO LAGOS: A CASE OF MISPLACED PRIORITY?
By: A. G. Abubakar

Having inherited an economy and indeed a nation in dire strait it amounts to being disingenuous indulging in frivolities such as the relocation of government institutions and departments. By the time the government came to power in 2023, Nigeria weighed in badly on critical indices of development. The UN Human Development Index (HDI,2023) ranks Nigeria 163 out of 191 countries surveyed. The Index is determined by such variables as access to education health, income, gender equity and inclusivity among others. On the Global Terrorism Index, Nigeria among the top 10, specifically 8 out of 163 nations. As regards peace, the Global Peace Index (GPI) places the country at 144 out of 163, while the global Institute for Economics and Peace (IEP), categorized her as one of least peaceful nations in the world. The economic hardships and insecurity Nigerians are grappling with could just be a testament to the assertions.
The furor generated over recent attempt to do just that by sections of the public should be seen as drawing the attention of President Tinubu to focus more on critical challenges. Relocating the headquarters of FAAN and some Departments of the CBN from Abuja to Lagos, is a luxury the government can do without. This is regardless of whether or not, the decision preceded the current government. Nigerians, over 220 million of them are looking up to the government to turn their well-being around for the better. People are finding survival increasingly difficult as extreme poverty, joblessness, hyperinflation, exchange rate, kidnappings and terrorism keep rising by the day. These, the public believed should be the major preoccupation of the Tinubu government. The economy and insecurity should therefore be on the front burner of governance.
2. The economy as inherited from Buhari is still in the intensive care unit (ICU).
Poverty was at about 63% of 220 million (138.6 million people) by the end of 2022 (NBS, MPI Survey). The figure must have risen to around 80% (176 million) on account of the fuel subsidy removal. A development that shot inflation into galloping level at 28.9 percent, putting lives in dire strait. The naira has lost about 50% of its value against the “almighty” dollar, the touchstone of global currencies. The exchange that stood officially at between 600-700/1$ in early 2023 now exchanges at over 1000/1$. In the autonomous (BDCs) and the black market the naira is inching towards 1500/1$. The naira today ranks among the fastest weakening currencies of the world in 2023/24 according to the IMF and the World Bank. Just as the national debts of about N87.91 trillion (DMO, 2023) kept rising and the servicing rendering government increasingly insolvent. This unwholesome economic environment has compromised the incentive to undertake any meaningful economic ventures.
Massive unemployment and loss of productivity naturally follow in tow, with the youth segment currently at 33 percent. There is no gainsaying that the deterioration in economic health of the nation has been chiefly responsible for the resurgence of violent crisis and increased mutual distrust across the country.
3. Carnage in The Land.
Armed bandits and killer herdsmen are becoming more daring in states such as Zamfara, Katsina, Kebbi, Sokoto, Niger, Kaduna and Benue. Ethno-religious distrusts continue to undermine peaceful coexistence among communities in Plateau, Taraba, and most Eastern states of the country. The degraded Boko Haram/ISWAP are also gradually staging a comeback in parts of
Borno and Yobe, making farming activities almost impossible, with serious consequences for food supply and hunger.
Abuja, hitherto insulated from attacks has become vulnerable. According to Beacon Consulting, an Abuja based security firm, the FCT has recorded more than 200 criminal attacks/security breaches leading to the death or killing of about 87people and the kidnapping of about 176 individuals, since PBAT assumed office in May 2023. The most horrifying being the murder of a young lady called Nabeeha Al’kadiryah who was kidnapped along with her five sisters, just recently. To date it has been estimated that more fifty thousand lives had been lost to needless violent crisis, with over three million internally displaced in Nigeria during the past decade. The psychological trauma, the heightened uncertainty and distrust that go with widespread violence had made economically productive activities difficult to carry out.
4. Shrinking National Output.
The industrial sector especially manufacturing in Nigeria has, almost disappeared. As far back as 2011 a NACCIMA report, shows that over 800 ventures nationwide have collapsed. The figure would have doubled after a decade. The latest exit being that of multinational oil giant, Shell plc. Hostile operating environment such as dearth of power and energy, insecurity and endemic corruption have been advanced as some of the reasons. The dwindling fortune of the industrial sector Nigeria had no choice but import nearly all of her consumer and capital goods. They range from basic needs (food stuff, plastics, apparels, pharmaceuticals) to building materials, machinery/ equipment, and military hardware. Nigeria must take this path or perish. Unfortunately, at a time when the capacity to generate the foreign exchange has been compromised. The elementary science of economics as regards the concept of “scarcity and choice” holds little in the Nigeria’s context, as alternative are far from being available locally. It’s a Hobson’s choice.
Things have to be imported to guarantee national and individual survival. All the imports however had to be done at premium governed by the law of demand and supply. The crisis in Nigeria therefore had to do with reconciling the demand of 220 million souls with near zero local supply of basic needs. A nation facing cul de sac, which in variably has reduced her to import dependent consumer one, with little hope for turnaround in the near future, given the vicious cycle in the ways that poor exchange rates, hyper inflation and low national output interact.
5. Being Fantastically Corrupt.
One may disagree with David Cameron, a former British Prime minister for referring to Nigeria as a fantastically corrupt nation out of patriotism but the phenomenon remains the greatest threat to her existence. Corruption in Nigeria has acquired a life of its own. It has become a full-fledged self-propelling industry level venture permeating all facets of national life. Like a virus, it is equipped with inbuilt survival mechanism, with “expert promoters and gatekeepers” in the executive arm of the government, the Judiciary, the Boardrooms, the Security and even homes. The phenomenon has effectively reduced Nigeria to a “dwarf” nation. It is estimated that from independence Nigeria has lost the equivalent of her GDP which in 2023 was about $450 billion (curtesy, Nuhu Ribadu, EFCC/NSA, Report by IFF 2018). This sordid development doesn’t surprise keen observers of the Nigerian state, given the figure and caliber of individuals and corporate entities allegedly involved and/or convicted of corruption over the years.
The former AGF, Ahmed Idris was accused of helping himself with over a hundred billion naira. The CBN governor Emefiele and cohorts had been charged with corruptively enriching themselves, conservatively to the tune of almost a trillion, through commission or omission. Three ladies namely, Sadiya, Halima and Betta. The trio superintended over the Humanitarian Ministry and parastatals have been associated with the disappearance of over 37 billion naira.
Years back Diezani Madueke as Petroleum Minister couldn't account for over $20 billion oil money under her supervisions (ref. Sanusi Lamido Sanusi, CBN governor). Mr. Sambo Dasuki, National Security Adviser during the Jonathan Administration failed to also account $2 billion weapons buying fund, put under his care. About $6 billion earmarked for the Mambila Power Project during the Obasanjo presidency is alleged to have disappeared. One of the Ministers involved, Olu Ogunloye is currently being interrogated by EFCC to unravel the mystery.
A set of 13 former governors had been on queue answering charges of embezzling their respective states’ resources to the of N835 billion cumulatively. They include; R. Okorocha (Imo) A. Yari (Zamfara), T. Almakura (Nasarawa), G. Akpabio (A/Ibom), A. Modu Sheriff (Borno), Bola Tinubu (Lagos), Sule Lamido (Jigawa) to mention but a few. Apart from this set of 13, there were others of interest too, who might have dipped their sticky fingers into the state totaling trillions going by the net present value of the naira. In fact, records indicates that more than 2/3 of the entire stock of state governors that held office from 1999 to date have corruption allegation cases.
Big private sector players like, the Chagoury & Chagoury Nig Ltd, the Dangote Group and some oil marketers are not left out of the allegations of exercising undue influence to access foreign exchange, particularly during the tenure of CBN governor Emefiele.
And in the process of dispensing the patronages he too (Emefiele) is believed to have helped himself and others with millions of dollars. He also stands accused of tampering with proceeds from stamp duty funds and the last currency (Naira) redesign exercise. In league with the CBN in terms of corruption is, oil block allocation. One of the well-known cases, being the billion-dollar underhand deal regarding the Oil Prospecting License (OPL) 245. Today oil cartels comprising criminals, traditional leaders and security personnel have made it impossible for the Nigerian government to meet her OPEC output quota of 2 million barrels or slightly less, per day. A country that ranks 6th in OPEC and first in Africa is forced to produce about a million or so barrels daily with serious negative consequences for the badly needed forex inflow.
Seemingly too, institutionalized corruption has taken hold of the operations of such agencies as the Military, Police, Judiciary, Customs and Immigrations services, the Academia, FIRS, NPA, the Man on the street, complete the cycle of Nigeria’s sustainable and debilitating experience with graft and corruption. Nearly all procurements under the Military, Police, other security outfits and MDAs are virtually opaque or better still mired in corruption. The figure of over $400 billion estimated to have been lost to corruption in Nigeria may therefore largely be the truth. Resources that could have catapulted Nigeria into the league of fastest developing nations of the World like Korea, Malaysia, Indonesia, Turkey, and Brazil.
The challenge before the Tinubu Administration should be on how to; redress the economic pains Nigerians are experiencing, remove the kid gloves used in fighting the systemic corruption, deal decisively with the terrorists/bandits and “stitch” the fractured unity across the nation. In the circumstance therefore, the relocation of head offices and/or movement of departments around should not be a top priority.
6. Not Unique to Nigeria.
Maintaining head offices away from field operations is not unique to Nigeria. The NATO headquarters is in Brussels, Belgium, even when the USA, is the driving force of the group. The international banking hub for both illicit and licit is based in Switzerland, yet the country is far from being the most powerful, economically. In Africa, Ethiopia houses the Africa Union (AU) headquarters regardless of the existence of more powerful members. International Finance Centres like the UAE (Dubai) and Singapore are not heavily industrialized, but they house global finance capital players. The British Civil Aviation Authority head office is at Gatwick and not Heathrow Airport one of the busiest airports in the world. The India Airports Authority is in Delhi, not Mumbai the financial capital of India. In the USA, the FAA is headquartered at Washington D.C. One therefore wonders where the BAT government got its global best practices especially viewed against the backdrop of more serious challenges.
7. Conclusion.
The CBN claim of space constrain is laughable. In its press release they said that the headquarters in Abuja was designed to carry about 3000 staff but now accommodates more than 4300, so solution according to the Management is to offload the 100 plus, to Lagos. So disingenuous. Who recruited the excess in the first place? Truth is both the CBN (departments), and FAAN planned relocation represents a case of a "a bad workman fighting with his tool". And to the President a case of a proverbial “hunter carrying an elephant on his head and using his toe to search for cricket” The government’s job has been cut out on assumption of office against the backdrop of inheriting a near zero economy (curtesy; C. Soludo, CBN governor 2004 - 2009). Improving the lot of Nigerians therefore is too onerous a task, to allow for unnecessary distractions and petty politics.
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