What exactly Is True Federalism? - Politics - Nairaland
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Yoruba Leaders Insist On True Federalism- SS/biafra's False Impression debunked / National Conference Adopts True Federalism For Nigeria / Aguiyi-ironsi Killed True Federalism In Nigeria, Says Ishola Williams (2) (3) (4)
| What exactly Is True Federalism? by Kobojunkie: 7:52pm On May 07, 2012 |
What is this true Federalism some keep pretending will save the day? In The Pointer of Tuesday, February 7, 2012, there was a headline captioned “We Want True Federalism, Says Balarabe Musa, Others.” I now asked myself do all these pundits and the masses in general understand what federalism really means, whether it is the true one, the fake type, the hybrid type or the naija type. According to the article “Eminent Nigerians… have canvassed for true federalism as the panacea to the myriad of problems facing the nation.” The question (or problem) is whether the Nigerian constitution embodies true federalism. Mr. Balarabe Musa is a former Governor of Kaduna State who made the statement at a national dialogue organized by the National Summit Group in Lagos. . [size=13pt] One interesting thing to note is that the 1999 Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria is similar in many parts to the 1979 Nigerian Constitution. Both were handed to us by the military. The 1979 constitution was modeled after the American Constitution. So, by implication, it means the 1999 constitution was modeled after the US constitution. While doing my doctorate degree in Jurisprudence at the University of Miami School of Law from 1991-1994, I wrote a research paper on the similarities between the 1979 Nigerian Constitution and the American Constitution. For clarity, when I say America, I mean the United States of America. I will borrow from that research paper to elucidate the issue of “true federalism.”[/size] Before delving into the issue of true federalism, let us touch on SONACO. It is not the name of an oil company, but rather the latest way of abbreviating Sovereign National Conference. When I was a small boy (I still am to many people), I used to understand that every Nigerian was born with a love for initials or acronyms. That is why we have the NLC, PDP, DPP, NFF (or is it NFA?), and NEPA (sorry I mean PHCN)). Anyway, just like PHCN used to be NEPA, SONACO used to be called SNC. So what does SONACO mean? In a nutshell, it is about a supposed meeting of all the ethnic groups (I guess all 250 or so) in Nigeria to decide whether we still get to exists as a nation, and if we do, how to share (or eat) the national cake. I am not sure who will pay for the meeting, how many days it will last and how the representatives will be chosen. NADECO (here we go again with another set of initials) was one of the early champions of the call for SNC (sorry again, I mean SONACO). I understand their clamor for even a constitutional conference. Both the 1979 and 1999 constitutions were handed to the country by the outgoing military regimes. The other notable Nigerian constitutions include the Arthur Richard Constitution of 1946, The First Republic Constitution of 1963 with Dr. Nnamdi Azikiwe as ceremonial President, and the 1958 constitution amended by James Robertson, the last Colonial Governor of Nigeria. The 1999 Constitution starts with the following preamble “WE THE PEOPLE of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, HAVIING firmly and solemnly resolve, TO LIVE in unity and harmony as one indivisible and indissoluble sovereign nation under God, dedicated to the promotion of inter-African solidarity, world peace, international co-operation and understanding AND TO PROVIDE for a Constitution for the purpose of promoting the good government and welfare of all persons in our country, on the principles of freedom, equality and justice, and for the purpose of consolidating the unity of our people, DO HEREBY MAKE, ENACT AND GIVE TO OURSELVES the following Constitution:-“ I understand that we did not really give ourselves the constitution. Na soldier dash us. But we copied the language from US Constitution which states: “WE THE PEOPLE of the United States, in Order to form a more perfect Union, establish Justice, insure domestic Tranquility, provide for the common defence, promote the general Welfare, and secure the Blessings of Liberty to ourselves and our Posterity, do ordain and establish this Constitution for the United States of America.” See my textbook Nigeria & U.S. Legal Systems for a thorough treatment of this topic. In other words, since the First Republic, we have not had a truly civilian originated constitution. Even with that said, can't our grievances be handled by our 109 Senators or 360 Federal House of Representatives members? See Section 71 of the 1999 Constitution. So maybe SONACO is really about true federalism. Now back to the issue of true federalism. [size=13pt]Federalism is defined as “a system of government in which the individual the individual states within a country have control over their own affairs, but are controlled by a central government for national decision.” A republic, on the other hand, is defined by the Oxford Advanced Learner's Dictionary as “a country that is governed by a president and politicians elected by the people and where there is no king or queen.” [/size] So, that means that the Federal Republic of Nigeria is supposed to be a country where we are ruled by a president and elected politicians, but each state should have autonomy and only controlled by Abuja for national decisions. The Federal Freedom of Information Act (FOI) and Minimum wage, are critical examples. The federal FOI cannot be enforced on state level until it is passed by the individual state houses of Assembly. Whereas, the minimum wage is a national decision that is enforceable nationwide. This is because the Second Schedule to the 1999 Constitution, Part 1, which lists the exclusive legislative powers of the Federal government to include: “Labour, including trade unions, industrial relations; conditions, safety and welfare of labour; industrial disputes; prescribing a national minimum wage for the Federation or any part thereof; and industrial arbitration.”(Underline and italics are mine). You must read the above with Sections 4 that gives the National Assembly the above authority, along with Section 4(7) (a) which states that: “The House of Assembly of a State shall have power to make laws for the peace, order and good government of the State or any part thereof with respect to the following matters, that is to say:- (a) any matter not included in the Exclusive Legislative List set out in Part I of the Second Schedule to this Constitution.” You can make a comparison again with the US. In Florida, they have a sunshine law that allows average citizens to watch legislative proceedings and a federal minimum wage. [b]Generally, countries that we believe have true federalism usually allow the member States within to maintain financial autonomy. Since we copied a major part of our constitution from the US, we should look at how they practice their own federalism. First the States have their own source of income, their own State police, their governors are independent and don't have to run to Washington Dc every month for allocation. In fact, it is usually unheard of for the President to come and commission a project in say the State of Hawaii. One other interesting thing is that they have representative democracy, meaning that they use what is called an electoral college to elect their President. Of course in the over 224 years of American history, they usually do not clamor for state creation. Instead, States or independent regions usually seek to be admitted into the Union called United States of America. That is how the original 13 colonies (States) grew to the current 50 States, except for the ones purchased such as Florida from Spain or Louisiana from France. In fact, most people do not realize that Americans have over 60 political parties, just like Nigeria. We may only hear of the Democrats and Republicans because they are the two dominant parties, but they have obscure parties like. Freedom Road Socialist Organization, Blue Enigma Party or Objectivist Party. Of course they have something we do not have, which is the ability to run for election as an independent candidate without the need to be sponsored by a political party as mandated by Sections 65(2) (b), 106(d), 131(c) and 177(c) of the 1999 Nigerian Constitution and Section 106(e) of the 2010 Electoral Act (Amended) of the Federal Republic of Nigeria. So, we are really just like them and they will tell you that they are practicing their own brand of federalism. Their constitution has only 27 amendments since it was created in 1787. The first ten (10) amendments to the US Constitution (called the Bill of Rights) were all ratified on December 15, 1791, while the last amendment was on May 7, 1992. Of course, it will not be unreasonable to be concerned that the Nigerian constitution has undergone too many amendments in 11 years. However, if the American constitution went through ten amendments in four years, maybe we are not doing so badly in Nigeria.[/b] If true federalism is what SONACO is all about, then the proponents have missed the mark. SONACO will not result in true federalism. Our foundation as a nation may not be perfect, but we should be stressing the proper application of federal character as enshrined in our military-hand-me-down constitution, strengthening the judiciary, resource allocation and reduction of ethnocentrism. Discouraging religious fanaticism won't be a bad idea either. Let us make sure we have free, fair and credible elections, along with incorruptible Judges. Then we can hold our elected representatives accountable and recall them for non-performance. Most of the issues raised can be handled in the National Assembly by those we have allegedly given our mandate. Our growing brand of democracy and federalism needs to be nourished to grow properly. Let us all get on board the transformation train. http://www.thenigerianvoice.com/nvnews/87726/1/what-exactly-is-true-federalism-sonaco.html 1 Like 1 Share |
| Re: What exactly Is True Federalism? by Nobody: 10:55pm On May 07, 2012 |
Interesting article. In my opinion, the "true federalism" we seek will come when we are able to successfully weaken the centre and encourage regional integration. Let each geo-political zone identify areas of strength and begin to work on attracting investment in those areas. Oil-sharing every month must stop. Leave d oil money to the oil-producing states n let d middle belt focus on agric, d north revive its groundnut, cotton and leather industries, d west its service sector, and the east industry. Until we take drastic steps to weaken Abuja and make it unattractive, our hopes for true federalism will remain just that, hopes. 3 Likes |
| Re: What exactly Is True Federalism? by Nobody: 11:30pm On May 07, 2012 |
Nothing short of my expectation. I knew this was rhetorical. |
| Re: What exactly Is True Federalism? by Kobojunkie: 2:46am On May 08, 2012 |
^^ Everyone seems to have their personal idea of what "True" Federalism is, and what "True" federalism will do for them?. Ever asked yourself why that is? why every group seems to have a different idea of what "true" federalism will get them? Now is as good a time as any to ask yourself is all that is not just more rubbish talk but equally "clueless" entities? |
| Re: What exactly Is True Federalism? by NegroNtns(m): 6:20am On May 08, 2012 |
Kobo, We dont need to regress backward, what we need is an advancement forward and that can only be achieved by reversing all these borrowed Eurocentric practices, theories and policies and retooling our African practices and philosophies to work for us in the modern social order. |
| Re: What exactly Is True Federalism? by Kobojunkie: 7:19am On May 08, 2012 |
Negro_Ntns: Kobo, I am sorry but a crock of bull. The first and major thing that needs to advance is the thinking ability of individual Nigerians. |
| Re: What exactly Is True Federalism? by Nobody: 8:22am On May 08, 2012 |
Kobojunkie:Quite amazed I agree with you on this. |
| Re: What exactly Is True Federalism? by Nobody: 11:17am On May 08, 2012 |
Kobo, Everyone is bound to have different ideas on what true federalism should be, just like we have different perspectives on just about anything. It is this divergence in opinion that represents the major selling point for a national conference, because such a conference will provide a forum for arriving at common ground. However, I believe that the conference is not practicable at this time, as the wrangling over who should attend and how the conference will be funded are likely to "overheat the polity", as the cliche goes. So, the basic principle of federalism, which is weakening the power of Abuja, appears the most pragmatic and implementable solution. |
| Re: What exactly Is True Federalism? by Nobody: 6:24pm On May 08, 2012 |
Kobojunk this is long rubbish |
| Re: What exactly Is True Federalism? by Kobojunkie: 6:39pm On May 08, 2012 |
HNosegbe: Kobo, There cannot be so many different ideas of what true federalism should be. Just as there cannot be so many different ideas of what a country should be. This is not about picking what shirt or tie to wear, or deciding whether honey or butter tastes best with whole wheat bread. This is about decision on how a Nation of over 150 million people can move forward. Multiple perspectives don't work in this case. Either we understand what exactly we want, or we stop fooling ourselves and get to working with what we already have to make it better. |
| Re: What exactly Is True Federalism? by Nobody: 9:11pm On May 08, 2012 |
I disagree with you when you say there cannot be different ideas. Trust me, if we were to start talking about the kind of Nigeria we want to see, there are likely to be as many differences as similarities. The key is consensus building. Many Nigerians are of the opinion that Abuja is too powerful and should be weakened. That's an area of consensus we can begin with. |
| Re: What exactly Is True Federalism? by yeswecan(m): 10:54am On May 10, 2012 |
There is no such thing as [true] 'federalism' if devoid of context. You cannot address any social concept as a context-free idea - Human right, poverty as social discourses can be best understood within a language unit that helps to determine its interpretation. So the concept of true federalism implies (by definition) that there is a social arrangement that exist independent of the people in question. This cannot be the case. The law/constitution were created in a somewhat abstract sense- but as time goes by it become necessary to update them (constitution or law) because PEOPLE guild the LAW- its not the other way round. My point is that true federalism cannot be context-free. I.e Nigeria is currently practicing true federalism not as it says in the textbook but as it says on ground. |
| Re: What exactly Is True Federalism? by Kobojunkie: 12:21pm On May 28, 2012 |
^^ If that be the case, what are people clamoring for? What is it that they pretend is True Federalism apart from what we already have now? |
| Re: What exactly Is True Federalism? by ghostofsparta(m): 6:34pm On Jun 18, 2012 |
@miguel: Truly, a long rubbish. Kobo dey tok like say na we black people invent the concept of fedi e ralism. Person wey do something na im the tin fit work for. Oyimbo man wey formalise various types of government no include we type. No system of government fit thrive for 9ja....no be curse.....Millitary dem, don inject poverty thru years of unchecked corrupt practices..na im dey affect everybody wey be sey even if Kobojunkie sef enter sit of power finish only to succumb to corruption and greed, the 2 beast wey pass anybody power because no one understand rule of law wey dem oyimbo dey observe dats why democracy, federalism, parliamentary fit work for their country cos na Dem create their tin. Let us all tackle the root of the problem first.....AMALGAMTION of incompatible tribes in another words...forcing Kobo junkie to marry a midget...such love no fit last. Either we clamour for our politician who are supposedly to represent our best interest to start swearing their whatever manifestoes and promises under Ayilala, Ogun, Shango and Amadioha or we peacefully dis-amalgamate.....this is 2012 and yet ordinary stable electricity giant of Africa no fit provide im people |
| Re: What exactly Is True Federalism? by Wallie(m): 9:36pm On Jun 18, 2012 |
A civil war, South vs the North, occurred in the 1860s in the US that prevented the US from splitting. The North won which is why slavery was abolished and the country is still united. Nigeria is not splitting without a war and it is highly likely that anyone opposing Nigeria will be defeated. With regards to the Constitution, we copied a system that had been time-tested for over 200 years in a country similarly amalgamated like Nigeria. There’s no need to go back to the drawing board to come up with something brand new. The solution to our problems is simple. Here are things that should change from our current system: 1. States should generate income (IGR) within their respective borders for self-sustenance. If a state cannot make money, recall the governor in favor of someone that has a clue and if that doesn’t work, the state should merge or forever remain poor. 2. Federal government should collect taxes on income generated. 3. Federal government should help states during natural disasters, which includes lack of rainfall. 4. States should control regular police within their borders. 5. Interstate highways and anything pertaining to two states should be control by the federal government. 6. Create something similar to the Commerce Clause that gives the senate authority on interstate commerce. 7. Abuja should be made into federal property. 8. State of origin should be abolished and residency requirements for states should be made easier. To get the states through the teething period, the Federal government can do the following for 5 years before switching to a full self-sustaining state model: 1. Divide every state’s current allocation into two. For example, if a state normally gets $100,000 per month, divide it into two halves of $50k. 2. Match every state’s IGR up to half of what they normally get. If a state only generates IGR of $40k, then they get an additional $40k from the federal government but if the state generates IGR of $60k, then the state gets an additional $50k. 3. The other half of the allocation can only be used by the state to generate more IGR. In other words, the state can only use the remaining $50k to create industries. If a state defaults on the obligation or can’t account for the money, then the following month’s payment should be withheld. |
| Re: What exactly Is True Federalism? by Kobojunkie: 9:54pm On Jun 18, 2012 |
^^^ Finally, someone doing some REAL THINKING .... that I like!!  1 Like |
| Re: What exactly Is True Federalism? by ghostofsparta(m): 8:22pm On Jun 19, 2012 |
Wallie: A civil war, South vs the North, occurred in the 1860s in the US that prevented the US from splitting. The North won which is why slavery was abolished and the country is still united. Nigeria is not splitting without a war and it is highly likely that anyone opposing Nigeria will be defeated. Dude, don't lecture me about the American Civil War as if it's the appropriate analogy to justify a reason why there ought to be WAR prior to achieving dis-amalgamation. The propaganda that war would be inevitable if anyone dreams of splitting off is a means to instill fear unto those that are ignorant of 'UN Separatist Declaration of Indigenous Right. Did America that you mention came about on the same circumstances as Nigeria? Your suggestion 1 and 4 are characteristics of a self-governing true democractic nation, the rest is lacking in the type here. Please inform me about those democracy-practicing country that was amalgamated? It seems you don't understand what is Amalgamation. America is a state of nations i.e. Nations within a nation. Each American states with their differing laws though united by a commonly shared ideology instituted in a constitution regulated and enforced by a federal body. Now tell me which ideology does the Yoruba, Igbo and Hausa share in common? Isn't all those suggestions of yours what is been currently used? And yet there's still bad roads, no stable electricity supply? Poor medical facilities, lack of clean water system, etc... aren't you living in Nigeria? |
| Re: What exactly Is True Federalism? by ghostofsparta(m): 8:59pm On Jun 19, 2012 |
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| Re: What exactly Is True Federalism? by Kobojunkie: 9:09pm On Jun 19, 2012 |
ghostofsparta: What have you said here? In one or two short sentences, tell us what you think you have said here?  |
| Re: What exactly Is True Federalism? by ghostofsparta(m): 10:04pm On Jun 19, 2012 |
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| Re: What exactly Is True Federalism? by ghostofsparta(m): 10:04pm On Jun 19, 2012 |
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| Re: What exactly Is True Federalism? by ghostofsparta(m): 1:31pm On Jun 21, 2012 |
Kobojunkie: No type of government can work here, unless we either: 1. Dis-amalgamate 2. Swear under our ancestral deities 1 Like |
| Re: What exactly Is True Federalism? by Kobojunkie: 1:33pm On Jun 21, 2012 |
ghostofsparta: Then you are not to discuss this topic at all, as it seems you do not understand any of what has been posted so far. If you want to 'dis-amalgamate', and go swear to wooden gods, you are free, as an individual to do just that. |
| Re: What exactly Is True Federalism? by ghostofsparta(m): 8:39am On Jun 26, 2012 |
Kobojunkie: The same wooden gods your fore-fathers believed in....are you implying they are wrong....do you know the origin meaning of Wednesday that your anniversary is scheduled on? |
| Re: What exactly Is True Federalism? by Afam4eva(m): 9:16am On Jun 26, 2012 |
Federalism is federalism. There's no two way to it. There's no such thing as true federalism. If it's not federalism then it's not. What we're practicing is not federalism. Simple. |
| Re: What exactly Is True Federalism? by rasputinn(m): 9:59am On Jun 26, 2012 |
@ OP Why did you say 'some keep pretending that true federalism will save Nigeria'  |
| Re: What exactly Is True Federalism? by LordCenturion(m): 9:20am On Aug 20, 2016 |
this thread is educative,as a yoruba guy, I support true federalism in Nigeria. Cc lalasticlala , Seun |
| Re: What exactly Is True Federalism? by Goldman360: 9:14am On Sep 29, 2017 |
Inter-Governmental Relations In Democratic Federalism. A Study of Ebonyi State Government- Ezza South Local Government Area Federation demands both the horizontal and vertical interaction of the various levels of government, namely; the federal, state and local levels. Thus, in a federal arrangement like Nigeria, inter-governmental relations (IGR) appears to focus attention on two major discernible issues, http://www.scharticles.com/inter-governmental-relations-democratic-federalism/ |
| Re: What exactly Is True Federalism? by Missionaire: 5:24pm On Jun 10, 2022 |
Wallie: |
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