Senator representing Edo South Senatorial District, Matthew Urhoghide, in this interview, insists that restructuring of the country is an idea whose time has come, among other issues.
Special Correspondent, TITUS OISE, presents the excerpts.
Call for restructuring
The word, restructuring, has been used by everybody in different perspective. I believe the understanding of the word is as diverse as the word. For instance, the Yoruba, the Benin or a northerners will look at restructuring from different angles. Restructuring to someone from the Middle Belt is also different from that of someone from the core north.
Before I became a senator, I was particularly irked by revenue allocation formula in the country, where states and local governments in Nigeria, largely depend on revenue coming from the centre for survival. This is different from the past when the country ran a parliamentary system. So, when you are looking at restructuring, you must ask if it is economic restructuring or what? We must ask questions about how we can make the states viable.
It has been argued that not more than three or so states can stand on their own without recourse to money coming from Abuja. There is also the question of devolution, not just devolution of power. Devolution and restructuring, are they the same?
In Nigeria, there are about 68 items including rail, oil and gas and mineral resources on the Exclusive List. There are about 35 items on the Concurrent List. Due to this, some of us have asked the questions as to the reasons why states cannot develop what they have in their domains.
Why can’t a state have oil fields? Why can’t a state develop its own rail lines? Why can’t states generate power on their own? Taxes and wages, for instance, are on the Exclusive List and that is why states cannot on their own negotiate wages with their workers. Why can’t states decide if they want to make their areas tax haven so as to grow businesses? These are the reasons we said we should move some of these items from the Exclusive List to the Concurrent List.
However, some of our colleagues, particularly those from the north misconstrued it. They said “you want to take oil to yourselves. If you take oil to yourselves, how do we survive? You people want to use trick to take oil to yourselves.” So, they voted against it.
What I’m saying is that nobody is particularly against restructuring, but everything depends on the understanding of it. As I said, restructuring means different things to different people but I think the starting point remains a political rearrangement that can expand the economic base of states and make them more viable.
We need to make the necessary adjustments to the constitution so that states could be involved in different economic activities that can enhance their economic status. The same thing goes for the local governments.
The State of Dallas in America, has two airports. The better of the two was built by the county – the local government council. Can Oredo Local government build a tarmac not to talk of an airport? Until we change the status quo, we cannot go anywhere. Imagine that a Police Constable in one hamlet in Nigeria is being controlled from Abuja. So, in terms of security, the present arrangement is awkward. We need to do these things so as to be in tandem with the rest of the world. We cannot be different from other civilized climes. So, what restructuring simply means is a call to rearrange things.
But not everything?
Not everything. We must put things on the table and see which one to rearrange. We proposed a greater women participation in politics. The restructuring that we are talking about is not the one that will say a Benin man must become president after a Hausa man and that the Hausa man should be followed by a Calabar man. This restructuring is to change the social structure of our economy. The social structure of our economy can change when the state has a strong economic base. However, given the way the states are today, there is no way they can fully develop. Have we not seen their inability to pay workers salary even with the Paris Club refund? The states must be reinvigorated to meet their needs. It is because of this problem that the governors have descended on the resources of the local governments. The states and local governments now have a joint account. It is the reason why virtually all local government areas in Nigeria do not have elected chairmen and councilors. In places where you have election, the people you have there are those handpicked by the governors. These people cannot raise their voices when their allocations are taken from them.
Though no local government gets anything less than N150 million in a month, some of the council chairmen don’t even get as much as N5 million. They make deductions at source for the payment of teachers’ salary. That’s all. We tried to correct these things, but some people (lawmakers) said local governments were not federation units.
Look at the State Houses of Assembly. Unlike the National Assembly, they are not on the first line charge; they don’t get their money direct from the consolidated revenue. The implication is that the governors can decide to pay or withhold their salaries depending on if they behave well or not. Is anything wrong in rearranging this? Is there anything wrong in making local governments independent?
Some people argued that the presidential system of government that we are run is too expensive and that we should go back to parliamentary system. We can still talk about that. We can also decide to have a unicameral legislative house, instead of two. It is still part of the things we can decide on to make our country run better. This is what restructuring should be, not the political singsong and the misconception in many places now.
Restructuring Nigeria
There is nothing stronger that an idea whose time has come. No matter how some people suppress restructuring in this country, a time will come and all of us will agree on it. Look at June 12, 1993. When we all saw that the spirit of June 12 refused to die, the nation had to pacify the Yoruba by calling out a man from prison and making him president. Whether we like it or not, we do not live in isolation. If there is any problem in Nigeria today, the world cannot control the spillage. Where do you want to move 180 million people to as refugees? Look at what we are battling with the small refugees in the North East alone. Anything the South is seeing now that the North cannot see, they will come to see after a while. When the nation tried to ignore the Niger Delta, did we not all agree to create a ministry for them at the end of the day.
Division among regions over restructuring
Nigeria will be restructured; things must change. If you are doing business in a particular way without profit, how do you hope to break even and make profit if you do not change the approach to the business? The one that I think they are particularly scared of is the issue of resource control.
The perception of restructuring for so many people is resource control. They look at everything from the perspective of resource control and that is the problem. It is like a plague. When you say anything along that line, it injures them. When we talked about the Land Use Act, they didn’t want to hear it because they feared that it was resource control in another form. You will be surprised that the political heads, especially former governors, are the ones spearheading the fight against restructuring. They don’t want to hear it. When you talk, you will hear, “we will consult with our people back home.” Imagine a former governor, who had spent one or two terms in the Senate saying he wants to go back and consult his people. Is it the traditional rulers that they themselves put there that they want to consult?
Has that not brought to the fore the level of disunity in this country?
We always disagree to agree; It is not disunity. I believe it is lack of understanding and a bid to protect certain selfish interest. It is about perception and understanding because we want to promote regional interests.
Some proponents of resource control, calling for the adoption of the 1963 Constitution.
That call is another shot at resource control. It means that the regions will largely control the resources and bring something, maybe, 50 per cent, to the centre. You know too well that our northern brothers will not take that position for now, not until they discover oil in the area. We will get there, no matter how long. What they have forgotten is that the groundnut pyramids and other sources of revenue could be revived. The problem is that we are too lazy because of oil.
Are you not bothered about alleged killing by Fulani herdsmen in your constituency?
As a lawmaker, we will still pass law or resolution on the menace. As you know, we are lawmakers, and we don’t enforce laws. If the executive does not do anything about it, there is little we can do. The problem has been around for a while and that is why some groups in the north have come out to say that they were not part of the Hausa/Fulani oligarchy.
How can you say that you have the right to graze cows on another man’s farm? It beats me hollow. I’m seriously bothered and I’m reaching out to those in charge of security of the state to do something about it. I think it is uncivilized to carry cows around the whole place. I was at the Abuja Airport some days ago and I could see cows close to the airport. What about ranches? If a man has 200 cows, he’s a millionaire and he can take land and confine the cows. You said, it is your culture, who doesn’t have a culture? How can your culture be practiced at the expense of others?
Secessionist plot by IPOB and other ethnic groups in the country
I don’t think there is so much sense behind the call for breakup of the country. Those asking for it in the South East do not know the details of the political activities of this country and the weight of their call. There was the economic reasons behind the first attempt that led to the civil war. As at that time, the oil deposits in Rivers, Akwa Ibom and Cross River states were parts of the Eastern Region. Today, things are different as the oil deposits are no longer in the core South East states. The question is what is the compelling reasons today? The details of our political activities in this country are probably unknown to some of these youthful agitators. They were probably too young to understand.
Edo totally an APC state now following the validation of the election of Governor Godwin Obaseki by the courts and chances for PDP candidates
Are you saying that if Edo people vote for the PDP in the next election, the APC leadership will not tolerate it? I believe the two parties are trying to bring development to the Edo people. I believe Edo people will ultimately decide. The most important thing for me is performance. I believe people now vote for individuals, not parties. My preoccupation is to represent the people of Edo State very well.
Assessment of Obaseki administration
I’m not overtly partisan and I can express my opinion without recourse to party affiliations. It will interest you to know that a lot of APC members called me to say that I was doing very well. On the governor’s performance, I can tell you that the madness that pervaded this (Edo) place has stopped. I mean in the past, you could see denigrates, street urchins and miscreants being visible. Right now, there appears to be some serenity in this place. For the first time, we are seeing someone, who’s not overtly partisan, maybe he’s not a politician. There’s sanity now and there are some development going on.