₦airaland Forum

Judging from the historical accounts and and structure of our present system, we could say for sure that Nigeria does not practice a federal system even though it claims to be a ‘federal’ republic.

What Nigeria practices in reality is a unitary system. In a federal system for example, the federal government does not create the state governments, rather than it is the preexisting autonomous state governments that come together to establish a federal union. Also, in a federal setting, the central authority does not sustain the states by giving them monthly allocations as it is in Nigeria. Rather, it is the central government that derives its sustenance from the states.

The following attributes in our present system shows that we are not a federal republic but a unitary republic.

1. In a federal system, the states are autonomous creations and the federal government is a creation of the states. In Nigeria, the states are the creations of the federal government and must therefore sustain them until it can no longer do so.

2. Autonomy in a federal system means that the states are able to manage its own affairs without interference from the central government. In Nigeria, the states are unable to conduct their own elections, they have no control over their own security (there is no state and community police system), they have no control over their natural resources. They have no control over their basic education policies, they have no control over electricity distribution and generation. Their taxation base is limited, and many others.

3. In a federal system, there is no such thing as monthly allocations to the states from the federal government. In Nigeria, reverse is the case. Because the federal government created the states, it has to sustain them!

4. In a federal system, the most empowered tier of government is the community/city/town based government. This is so because it is a government of the people and by the people; it is the government closest to the people. The community/city/town based governments are creations of the state constitution and are empowered to take care of the most basic needs of the community, such as water, basic education, health care, public service maintenance, security, etc. In Nigeria, the most empowered tier of government is the federal government, it collects the bulk of the national revenue, has too much responsibilities and yet it is the government furthest from the people.

5. In a federal system, there is community, state and federal police system, each having its own autonomy over its jurisdiction. In Nigeria, Police is centrally controlled with the local people having no control over their own local security.

6. In a federal system, the federal government is limited to only foreign policy, monetary policy, customs, immigration and few other ‘federal’ issues. In Nigeria, the federal government does everything, from management of tertiary and basic schools to building of airports, power plants, distribution of anti-malaria nets and even feeding of primary schools children! This is obviously not a federal system.

7. In a federal system, each tier of government is independent of each other, financially and otherwise. In Nigeria, all tiers of government are dependent on the federal government for survival.


History of the Unitary system in Nigeria

General Ironsi, emerged as the head of state after the first coup. Against all advice, Ironsi promulgated Decree Number 34 of 1966, which abrogated the federal system of government and substituted a unitary system; he argued that the military could only govern in this way. Given the already charged atmosphere, this action reinforced northern fears. As the north was less developed than the south, a unitary system could easily lead to southerners “taking over control of everything,” as a northern spokesperson put it. It was at the height of northern opposition to unitarism that the countercoup of July 1966 took place. The North wanted a return of federalism as the only way to guarantee their autonomy. The military government of Ironsi insisted on maintaining the unitary military system!

Lieutenant Colonel (later General) Yakubu Gowon, became the head of state after the second coup. His first act was to reinstate the federal system, along with the four regions and their allotted functions. But relations between the federal government and the Eastern Region, led by military governor Colonel Chukwuemeka Odumegwu Ojukwu, were very strained. In September Colonel Gowon summoned an ad hoc constitutional conference to deliberate on the country’s political future. Most regional delegates to the conference, with the exception of those from the midwest, recommended a confederal system to replace the federal system. The delegates from the Eastern Region insisted that any region wishing to secede from the federation should be allowed to do so. The conference was ended abruptly by increased killings of Igbos in the north and the heightening of tensions between the federal government and the Eastern Region.

A summit of military leaders at Aburi, Ghana, in January 1967 attempted to resolve the disagreements and recommended the establishment of a base confederation of regions. The Aburi Agreement became a source of contention, however.
In anticipation of eastern secession, Gowon moved quickly to weaken the support base of the region by decreeing the creation of twelve new states to replace the four regions. Six of these states contained minority groups that had demanded state creation since the 1950s. Gowon rightly calculated that the eastern minorities would not actively support the Igbos, given the prospect of having their own states if the secession effort were defeated.

The Gowon years also saw the oil boom and a buoyant economy. The federal government was encouraged to take on some responsibilities formally allocated to the states, especially in the area of education.
The structure of government under Gowon was basically unitarian. At the apex of government was the all-military Supreme Military Council (SMC), which was the lawmaking body for the entire federation. Its decrees could not be challenged in any law court. Most members of the SMC under Gowon were state governors. There was also a Federal Executive Council composed of military and civilian commissioners. The states also had commissioners appointed by the governor. The states were practically reduced to administrative units of the federal government, which in several domains made uniform laws for the country. This basic structure of military federalism has, with amendments, remained the same during all military governments in the country and was transferred to the civilian government with its 1999 constitution. Nigeria has remained so till date; a unitary system.


Source: http://www.restructurenigeria.ng/system-nigeria-currently-operate/#sthash.RhhrJFCK.dpbs

Lie......RESTRUCTURE NIGERIA NOW

JohnieWalker12:
Kiki Abeg I dey available... Just in case

wetin happen bro? No be fight she wan fight o.... That ur picture dey fear pesin o

Shebi na pikin be dis....better pikin for dat matter.

As in? How? Am not understanding

Lol. If I talk now, they will say I don come again. The cowards....sorry I mean the Igbos....(chai sorry, it is a typographical error).....the biafrans will run pass Usain bolt if the see gun now, just like the way their late area father Ojukwu ran away to cote d'Ivoire forgetting to pick his slippers

Ok. Congratulations ATM. I wish you long life and prosperity. Is that all?

Money! Money!! Money!!! That's all I see.

With all the things you wrote up there, I think you meant to write "Will South Africa be like Nigeria?"

Honbabajide:
WHO DOES THAT??

A retarded president.

MODIFIED:
I didn't say slow, nairaland. I said "Re-tarded"

All I see is jobless people

Ehya... Celebrity's marriage is as weak as buhari

Papiikush:
You ask question come answer question yourself. Baba you dey alright?

I bin wan talk the same o

Spiritual konji

BuariCopyPaste:
Please this is not a tribal thread

I'm just doing my job sir.

Na our girl he wan rock next. Poor girl. Might think she has found her husband.

Yeah. That's their mentality

Ok. Names checked.

For this country? Medical evaluation for physical and mental fitness? I think politicians tender their medical certificate (which is "forgeable" before they could be allowed to vie for any vital government position. That's all they think matters. Nothing like psychology tests o, or why do you think we have a clueless president now?

Nawa o. This celebrity kidnapper matter again ?

Good

Igbo criminal vs Hausa criminal

This guy at the front resembles emeka

Lol, even EFCC know say na dem....

Ok

Good for her.

Meanwhile

Cute

Nawa for nairaland o

Former aide to Ex-President Goodluck Jonathan on electronic media, Reno Omokri has said that should the Naira depreciate now that the President is back after having appreciated while the Vice President, Professor Yemi Osinbajo was acting as President when Buhari was abroad for medical attention, then Nigerians will know that the problem rocking the country’s currency is President Muhammadu Buhari himself.

Omokri gave the statement in a series of tweets on Monday being the day President Buhari resumed office after close to 50 days absence from both office and the country.
According to Omokri, “Naira appreciated from ₦520 to $1 to ₦455 to $1 under Osinbajo Acting Presidency. If it depreciates, then we’ll know that the problem is PMB.”
Recall that the Naira on Monday appreciated in all the major segments of the foreign exchange market.
The Nigerian currency gained three points to exchange at N460, from N463 posted on Friday, while the Pound Sterling and the Euro closed at N550 and 476, respectively.

At the Bureau De Change (BDC) window, the Naira was sold at N399 to a dollar, CBN controlled rate, while the Pound Sterling and the Euro traded at N547 and N482, respectively.

Trading on the floor of the interbank market saw the Naira closed at N306.00 to a dollar.
Traders at the market expressed delight in the interventions the CBN had made so far in boosting liquidity, adding that its sustenance would turn the economy around in the short to medium term.
Recall also that President Muhammadu Buhari, Monday the 13th of March, 2017 resumed office at the Aso Rock, Presidential Villa after almost 50 days medical leave in London.

President Buhari returned to Nigeria last Friday, after recuperating abroad.
Buhari arrived at exactly 7.41am at the Air Force Base Mando in Kaduna State and was received by the Kaduna State Deputy Governor Bala Bantex, GOC 1 Division of the Nigerian Army, Major General Adeniyi Oyebade, the Air Officer Commanding,Training Command of the Nigerian Air Force, Air Vice Marshall Christopher Okoye, the Commissioner of police and other dignitaries.

He was immediately taken to Abuja with a chopper after alighting from the Presidential Jet.
Recall also that President Buhari had, during campaigns, promised Nigerians he would bring the Naira to equal the Dollar.
However, when President Buhari took over the leadership of the country, the Naira began depreciating against the Dollar following global economic down-turn. The Naira went to exchange way over N520 to $1.
But, when Osinbajo started acting in President Buhari’s capacity, Nigerians saw the dollar crashing to exchange at ₦455 to $1.

But this was equally as a result of the Central Bank of Nigeria’s intervention in Forex.

Source: http://www.vanguardngr.com/2017/03/naira-depreciates-againwell-know-problem-buhari-reno/

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Ihuoma Chiedozie, Enugu

There was outrage in Enugu after a Facebook post showed pupils of a private nursery and primary school, Early Dew Montessori Academy, Enugu, aged between four and seven years, in a police van, purportedly arrested for failing to do their assignments, and also for wearing dirty uniforms.

The incident took place in the school on February 16.



The picture, said to have been posted on Facebook by a parent of one of the pupils in the school, was reportedly captioned ‘Enugu State Government police in conjunction with Early Dew Montessori Primary School, GRA Enugu, arresting 4 to 7 year-olds and putting them behind a Hilux – the same place they put dead bodies, and where they could have jumped out from fearfully, for not doing their assignments’.

The caption suggested that Enugu State Government was involved in the affair, a development which drew the ire of the Governor Ifeanyi Ugwuanyi-led administration.

The government immediately moved to correct the impression, and on Monday, February 20, suspended the operations of the school.

The school is currently being threatened with permanent closure.

Commissioner for Education, Professor Uche Eze, who announced sanctions against the school, described the development as ‘an embarrassment to the state government and a serious psychological abuse of the concerned children’.

Besides the suspension, the school management was also ordered to apologise, in writing, to the state government, parents of the ‘abused’ children, and the entire people of Enugu State. These measures have to be carried out before the suspension could be lifted. Failure to do so, the school will be closed, permanently.

The commissioner said the measures would serve as a warning to other private schools in the state who adopt ‘unethical practices’ in the name of corporal punishment.

But the woman in the eye of the storm, the proprietress of the school, also known as ‘school mummy’, Mrs Ify Okonkwo, has blamed the entire episode on misunderstanding.

According to her, the ‘invitation’ of the police, the ‘arrest’ of the erring pupils, and their placement in the police van, were all part of an arranged ‘stunt’ that was meant to discourage indiscipline, and also instill hardwork and good conduct among pupils in the school.

Okonkwo said she collaborated with some parents to execute the stunt, adding that she was the one that shared pictures of the incident on a Whatsap forum she created for parents of pupils in the school.

Addressing journalists, Okonkwo, who was in company with parents of some of the pupils in the school, said the incident was stage, managed, as the pupils were merely told to get on the back of the van, where they were made to pledge to be of better behaviour.

The proprietress said, “Being an educationist, what happened in the school on February 16 was to encourage the children to be focused. I brought the police to come and talk to the children and to motivate them to read on their own without being pushed.

“In my mind, I thought I was doing it to bring the children up in a way that they will be attached to their studies. No child was manhandled neither did they point a gun at any of the children.

“I was the person that took the pictures and we have a group chat I opened for parents as one family to brief them on the school’s activities.

“When I took this action, I posted it (pictures) on the platform, with the caption ‘Some children were arrested today for not doing their homework, for not reading their books, for not behaving well, but they promised to change’.

“I didn’t mean any harm; I meant well for the kids. If not, I wouldn’t have made it public – it would have been between me and the teachers.”

Okonkwo said the parents commended her when she posted pictures of the incident on the Whatsap forum.

“When I uploaded it on the platform, parents were commending me,” she said, although she added that the particular parent who in turn posted the pictures on Facebook with the ‘mischievous’ caption, has issues with the school management.

Insisting that the pupils were not actually arrested, the proprietress said, “I am aware that those children are still minors and no offence they committed would warrant an arrest. So how do you think that those children were arrested? Who will have that kind of heart to arrest these little children?”

One of the parents, Mrs Jessica Nnamani, corroborated the proprietress’ claims.

Nnamani said she was at the school on the day of the incident, and played a role in the ‘drama’.

She said, “I am one of the parents in the school. On that day, I came to the school to give my son who is not well his hourly drug. When I got to the school I saw some kids that morning who were looking very dirty. When I saw that, I wasn’t happy, as a mother who would want her kids to look clean and I turned to the school mummy and asked, ‘Where are those children coming from? Did their parents bring them here this morning looking this way?’

“I was disappointed.

“She told me that she had a plan on how to deal with people that come to the school looking dirty, the stubborn ones and those that are not doing their homework.

“She then told me the drama she wanted to do, that I should help to stage manage it very well.

“She invited police and when they came, all the children that were dirty, those that were stubborn and those that weren’t doing their home assignments were brought out at around 9:00 am and they were told that the police were going to take them to Abuja, unless they promised to be coming to school clean, to be obedient, and also ready to do their home assignment.

“I played the intercessory role by begging the ‘school mummy’ to tamper justice with mercy, promising that they would change. I said, “School mummy’ please don’t take them away, they will change”. I then asked them, ‘Okay, are you people promising school mummy that you will do well from now on?’ They all said yes.”

Continuing, she said, “They (pupils) were rather laughing. They (police) now took them behind the van – it was then they started begging.

“If I should say, she (proprietress) didn’t mean any harm. As a parent, I supported what she did. She did it in the interest of the pupils.”

The woman said she uses a similar approach to discipline her kids.

Nnamani added, “When my child proves stubborn and I drive them to a police checkpoint, I will bring that one out and ask police to take him and punish him because he is stubborn, and you will see him dragging my clothes begging that he will not do such a thing again, that he will change, and police will tell him “Make sure that your mum doesn’t bring you here again”.

Be that as it may, the school remains closed, until further notice.

Meanwhile, the school management has apologised to Enugu State government. The apology was conveyed in a letter addressed to the commissioner fovr education. ‘’We promise and undertake that such will never happen again, and appeal mostv humbly that the closure of the school be lifted so that our children are not affected negatively by the continued closure of the school,’’ parts of the letter said.

Source: http://punchng.com/asked-police-scare-pupils-didnt-assignment/