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Friday, March 11, 2016
back to book: OIL WORKERS CALL OFF STRIKE, RESUME OPERATIONS: NN...
back to book: OIL WORKERS CALL OFF STRIKE, RESUME OPERATIONS: NN...: NNPC RESTRUCTURING: OIL WORKERS CALL OFF STRIKE, RESUME OPERATIONS A strike by oil workers under the aus pices of NUPENG and PENGASSAN again...
back to book: FG, UNIDO TO LAUNCH AFRICA’S FIRST INVESTMENT AND ...
back to book: FG, UNIDO TO LAUNCH AFRICA’S FIRST INVESTMENT AND ...: SAN FRANCISCO, March 10, (THEWILL) – The Federal Government has partnered with the United Nations Industrial Development Organisation (UNID...
back to book: SEMINAR ON THE PROBLEMS OF NIGERIAN POLITICS AND T...
back to book: SEMINAR ON THE PROBLEMS OF NIGERIAN POLITICS AND T...: www. CNN.com SEMINAR ON THE PROBLEMS OF NIGERIAN POLITICS AND THEIR SOLUTIONS INTRODUCTION One thing is ...
SEE HOW TRANSCORP HILTON ABUJA BEATS 64 OTHERS AND BAGS 2015 HILTON BRAND AWARDS
FG, UNIDO TO LAUNCH AFRICA’S FIRST INVESTMENT AND TECHNOLOGY PROMOTION OFFICE IN NIGERIA
OIL WORKERS CALL OFF STRIKE, RESUME OPERATIONS: NNPC RESTRUCTURING
NNPC RESTRUCTURING: OIL WORKERS CALL OFF STRIKE, RESUME OPERATIONS
A strike by oil workers under the aus
pices of NUPENG and PENGASSAN against the restructuring of Nigeria National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC) has been suspended, a union official said on Thursday.
Due to the suspension of the strike, activities have commenced at both the Abuja headquarters of the NNPC and at all its subsidiaries in Nigeria as well as at petrol stations operated by the national oil firm.
Alhaji Tokunbo Korodo, South-West Chairman of the NUPENG made this known to the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) in Lagos.
Korodo said that the strike was called off after a meeting with the Minister of State for Petroleum Resources, Mr Ibe Kachukwu and the two union leaders.
Korodo said that the minister had assured the unions that the new policy would not lead to job loss in the company.
He said that the workers had since returned to their duty posts nationwide.
“As I am talking to you now, we have called off strike.
'All our tankers have returned to depots and the loading of petrol has commenced.
“The industrial action is not responsible for the scarcity of fuel but shortages at the depots,” he said.
NAN reports that on March 8, Kachukwu announced the restructuring of NNPC into seven operational units.
The new units include Upstream, Downstream, Gas and Power, Refineries, Ventures, Corporate Planning and Services, and Finance and Accounts.
According to the minister, the operational units will be strictly business-driven in line with global best practice.
He said NNPC was not unbundled but reorganised to achieve greater efficiency for economic growth
Thursday, March 10, 2016
MORE OR AT LEAST 34 DIED IN LAGOS LEKKI GARDENS BUILDING COLLAPSE
MORE OR AT LEAST 34 DIED IN LAGOS LEKKI GARDENS BUILDING COLLAPSE
The Lagos State government has accused the promoters of Lekki Gardens of being responsible for the collapse of a five-storey building under construction on Tuesday in which 18 people were killed.
One more dead body was said to have been recovered late on Tuesday, bringing the casualties to 19.
Emergency workers also recovered 15 more corpses on Wednesday, bringing the number of the dead to 34.
In a statement by the Commissioner for Information and Strategy, Mr. Steve Ayorinde, the state government said the building had been sealed by the Lagos State Building Control Agency, but Messrs Lekki Worldwide Estate, the promoters of Lekki Gardens, continued construction.
'Based on preliminary reports and investigation, it was discovered that the collapsed building was served contravention notice for exceeding the approved floors and thereafter sealed by the Lagos State Building Control Agency,' the statement read in part.
The state government, said it had been discovered that 'in a brazen act of defiance and impunity, the owners of the building, Messrs Lekki Worldwide Estate Limited, the promoters of Lekki Gardens, criminally unsealed the property and continued building beyond the approved floors until the unfortunate incident of Tuesday which has led to loss of lives.'
The Lagos State Governor, Mr. Akinwunmi Ambode, consequently, directed the directors of Messrs Lekki Worldwide Estate, the promoters of Lekki Gardens, to report to the Commissioner of Police in the state, Mr. Fatai Owoseni, within 24 hours or face arrest.
The government, which extended its condolences to the families of those that lost their lives in the incident, also suspended the construction of Lekki Gardens, which is located at Ikate Elegushi, Lekki.
It ordered the police to cordon of the site of the collapse as it had become a crime scene.
The government added that further integrity tests would be carried out on every other construction project 'which has or is currently being handled by Messrs Lekki Worldwide Estate Limited in the interest of public safety'.
According to the statement, arising from the Lagos State Executive Council meeting decision on Wednesday, the state government warned that it would no longer tolerate the action of unscrupulous owners and builders who challenge its supervisory control, thereby endangering the lives of Lagosians.
The government commended men of the Lagos State Emergency Authority, the Lagos State Fire Service, Lagos State Ambulance Service, Red Cross, National Emergency Agency, Lagos State Building Control Agency and the Rapid Response Squad, for their timely intervention following the collapse.
HOW EFCC ARRAIGNS TWO SANS FOR ALLEGED BRIBERY
OIL WORKERS IN NNPC WENT ON INDEFINITE STRIKE OVER RESTRUCTURING
Nigeria's oil workers under the auspices of the two major unions, the Petroleum and Natural Gas Senior Staff Association of Nigeria (PENGASSAN) and the National Union of Petroleum and Natural Gas Workers (NUPENG) on Wednesday started a nationwide industrial action against the federal government's restructuring of the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC).
THISDAY in Abuja learnt that the action which started with a total closedown of operations at the corporate headquarters of the NNPC was initiated by the unions' branch within the NNPC.
In other words, it is both the NNPC branch of PENGASSAN and NUPENG that are on strike against the government.
The Minister of State for Petroleum Resources, Dr. Ibe Kachikwu on Tuesday night at a press briefing in Abuja announced that President Muhammadu Buhari has approved the restructuring of the NNPC into seven new divisions.
Kachikwu explained that under the new structure, NNPC will have five core new divisions comprising the upstream,
downstream, refining group, gas and power, as well as the ventures' groups, among others.
But the oil workers stated that they were not carried along in the entire process, hence their decision to down tool.
The main entrance to the Corporation was blocked early Wednesday morning. Staff of the NNPC and its subsidiaries located in the towers were equally turned back by the protesting union members.
When the paper contacted the national president of NUPENG, Mr. Igwe Achese on phone, he confirmed the development to the paper.
Achese explained that the national body had earlier tried to mediate when it realised that the strike was in the offing but its advice was not heeded to.
But in a press briefing last night by the branch chairpersons of NUPENG and PENGASSAN in Abuja, they directed their members to proceed on indefinite strike nationwide starting from midnight of March 8.
The branch chairman of NUPENG NNPC, Odudu Benjamin Udofia said at the briefing that the government in embarking on restructuring, disregarded the need for engagement with stakeholders in the corporation.
He explained that it was a unilateral process which was only unveiled to them through a public pronouncement by Kachikwu.
They noted their suspicion of the restructuring, and added that there were several labour related issues that will arise as a result of the development which the government has also failed to address.
'The whole process has been shrouded in secrecy for a long period without involving or carrying any of the stakeholders along.
'Due to lack of proper consultations, there are flaws in the final structure that could have been avoided,' Udofia said.
He further noted that: 'There are so many labour related issues that will arise as a result of the unbundling. This among others include, both direct and indirect job losses; change in condition of services that will affect existing staff welfare and the new pension reform Act of 2014 is very clear on the independence of pension management, however, the new structure has it under the NNPC Venture.'
Udofia stated the union's demand for a review of the restructuring. He noted that such review would include the inputs of all stakeholders.
'The in-house unions are suspicious of the intent of the present unbundling as nobody could explain its direction.
'This even become clearer with the consolidation of operational units with heavy financial transactions under the office of the GMD. This include Nigerian Petroleum Investment Management Services (NAPIMS), Crude Oil Marketing Department (COMD), and crude oil trading, even the corporate social responsibility that is primarily the duty of the Group Public Affairs Department has been moved to the GMD's office,' Udofia noted.
Speaking further, the branch chair for PENGASSAN, Saleh Abdullahi explained that the union were not against a restructuring of the NNPC but that it should be transparently done.
While disclosing that they only had a meeting once with Kachikwu before he announced the restructuring exercise, Abdullahi stated that they cannot stop government from going on with its adopted policy as long as they are carried along in the process.
He said that the minister reneged on his promise to carry them along in the process.
The unions also said that immediately, the effects of the development especially on the downstream operations may include further disruptions in petrol distribution and an escalation of the lingering scarcity as a result of the expected closure of the depots in the country by the workers.
They explained in this regard that the federal government should have thought about this before choosing to restructure NNPC without their input.
The country has in the last couple of weeks continued to battle against the resurgence of scarcity of petrol owing to distribution disruptions and shortage of products.
Similarly, the acting General Secretary of PENGASSAN, Lumumba Okugbawa said in a statement that the move by the government was a policy flipflop.
Okugbawa explained that the unbundling plan will stave off investors from the nation's oil and gas industry at this time when the nation needs foreign investment most to grow the industry, which currently is the mainstay of the economy.
He added that the government did not take into consideration the existing law that established the NNPC before planning to unbundle the corporation.
According to him: 'There is an existing NNPC Act of 1977 that set up the NNPC. This Act has many provisions that deal with structure and operations of the corporation.
'There are many issues such as pensions and transfer of the employees, which are provided for in the NNPC Act of 1977. What will happen to all these provisions of the law?
'For the government to do anything with the current NNPC, the Act must either be repealed or amended to accommodate the planned restructuring. If not done, it will equal to lack of respect for the rule of law on the part of the government.'
'The Petroleum Industry Bill (PIB) that is expected to be the legal instrument for the ongoing reforms of the Oil and Gas industry will be meaningless if the Government should introduce plans outside the reforms, The PIB is germane to the development of the nation's oil and gas Industry.
'Above all, the various stakeholders, especially the unions should be involved before any major change is carried out in the organisation and before any unilateral statement capable of heating up the industrial climate is made,
Wednesday, March 9, 2016
SWISS GOVT RE-OPENS NIGERIA CONSULATE 55 YEARS AFTER IT WAS CLOSED SWISS GOVT RE-OPENS NIGERIA CONSULATE 55 YEARS AFTER IT WAS CLOSED
ARMY LOSES FORMER HEAD OF COUNTER-INSURGENCY OPERATIONS IN ROAD ACCIDENT
BUHARI BLAMES MTN FOR BOKO HARAM CASUALTIES
THE CORPORATE AFFAIRS COMMISSION (CAC) HAS BEGUN THE PROCESS OF DELISTING 38,717 DORMANT OR PORTFOLIO COMPANIES FROM ITS REGISTER.
FEDERAL GOVERNMENTHAD JUST OFFERED EMPLOYMENT, SCHOLARSHIP TO OCHOLI'S CHILDREN
EFCC APPREHENDED ORASANYE OVER N240M FRAUD, AGAIN
Monday, March 7, 2016
BRUCE FAULTS BUHARI FOR BANNING FOREX FOR EDUCATION WHEN PRESIDENT’S KIDS SCHOOL ABROAD
BIAFRA: COURT ALLOWS FG TO PARADE SHIELDED WITNESSES IN KANU'S TRIAL
HOW MINISTER OF STATE FOR LABOUR, JAMES OCHOLI, DIED — FRSC
FORMER LAGOS DEPUTY GOVERNOR APPOINTED SSA TO THE PRESIDENT ON SDGS
President Muhammadu Buhari has approved the appointment of Mrs. Adejoke Orelope-Adefulire as his Senior Special Assistant on Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs).
Mrs. Orelope-Adefulire, Deputy of Former Lagos State Governor, B.R. Fashola
Mrs. Orelope-Adefulire served as Deputy-Governor of Lagos State in the last administration and is an accomplished politician with many years of experience in public service.
She has also served as Commissioner for Women Affairs and Poverty Alleviation in Lagos State.
Update: Kogi State House Of Assembly Leadership Tussle.
Spiritual Power Base of Boko Haram In Alagarno Forest Demystified By 7 Division Nigerian Army
Eskor Toyo Lived For The Good Of the Less-Privileged – President Buhari
INEC to Deploy 36,335 Staff for FCT and Rivers Elections
10 STEPS TO BECOMING A SUCCESSFUL ENTREPRENEUR AND 25 CHARACTERISTICS OF SUCCESSFUL ENTREPRENEURS
SEMINAR ON THE PROBLEMS OF NIGERIAN POLITICS AND THEIR SOLUTIONS
www. CNN.com
SEMINAR ON THE PROBLEMS OF NIGERIAN POLITICS AND THEIR SOLUTIONS
INTRODUCTION
One thing is clear in a federal system of government, the tiers of government ought to share political power as expressly spelt out in the constitution. Unfortunately, the current foundation and principles on which Nigerian constitution is operated over the years particularly since the advent of democracy has not in any way reflected a true federalism in its practical sense.
. Presently, Nigeria has a strong center and weak states. The states have become administrative units of the federal government. The relationship between the centre and the states still reflects the military command structure, an unwelcome legacy of the military administration. The states are so weak that none of them enjoys fiscal independence from the centre. The federal government pays the piper and is happily dictating the tune to the states. The states are so weak and so generally impoverished that they have no capacity even to negotiate meaningfully with the centre. None of the states as it is now can generate enough internal revenue to prosecute any appreciable social and economic development. Instead of pillars, the states have become a burden on the federation.
It is a fundamental reality that, Nigeria cannot have a strong and united federation unless and until the constituent parts are sufficiently empowered by enabling practices that conform to the principles of federalism Thus, this paper aims at discussing the issue of distribution of powers between the Nigerian federal government and its constituent units, and making pragmatic solutions for its sustenance.
Nigeria returned to democratic rule in 1999, after about three decades of military rule. The state of the federation, in the new democratic rule since 1999, showed severe signs of stresses and strains. As the states try to express their newly acquired autonomy in a democratic context, the federal government tries to re-enact the old military scenario of the states as an administrative organs of the federal government. This leads to a number of severe strains in the relations between the federal and States governments.
The Federal government does not maintain its boundaries of authority. It encroaches upon the jurisdictions and sovereignty of the states. This has brought about severe resentments and conflicts between the states and the federal governments. It is therefore the mechanisms to resolving these encroachments that I now turn to discuss.Nigeria as a country located in the West Africa has suffered many political issues from the time of independence till date. The country has been facing both internal and external political challenges. The political problems are one of the major challenges in Nigeria. It is not as if the politicians that cause the issues in the country are the people to suffer the resultant effects of what they are doing in the country; rather the citizens of the country feel them the most.
Nigeria was created by the British colonial masters that ruled the nation in the year 1914. These Britain explored what they found in Nigeria and used them in the development of their own region. Where do we start from? The Nigeria’s crude oil, agricultural products, cotton, cocoa, palm products or their likes? As if they were not enough, the Britain went further to the extent of taking Nigerians from their own country to foreign countries for slavery.
Since Nigeria got her independence from her colonial masters, she has not taken in good and fresh breath as there are many political crises that the country has been experiencing since then.
In the year 1960, Nigeria was officially given independence. This happened on October 1, 1960. Because of the emergence of the independence, every citizen of the country felt very happy that the country called the “Federal Republic of Nigeria” is now free from the bondage of the selfish Britain that colonized them for many years. But, who knew that the joy will soon turn into sadness because of the wicked people who were aspiring for political leadership. The quest for power in Nigeria gave birth to the most remarkable political crisis in the country.
CAUSES OF POLITICAL ISSUES IN NIGERIA
There are many factors that have been propelling political issues or crises in the country, Nigeria. These factors have been the brain behind the political problems in the country. Among the causes of political issues in Nigeria are, but not limited to:
Greed
The word “greed” has caused so many problems not only to Nigeria but to many areas in the world. Greediness is a tool that destroyed many countries and turn things upside down. It is because of greed that made insurgency to fight the former president of Libya who refused to come down from government for another hand to take over.
In Nigeria, we have seen many situations were political parties fight one another. A political party may like to rule for many years without giving up power. Instead of not winning the political position, he rigs the election to see that power comes back to the ruling party. This is one of the major causes of political issues in Nigeria. We have seen many politicians in Nigeria fight in government houses all because of greed. This is what we cannot see in developed countries like United States and Canada because they understand politics.
During swearing in for new position, the politicians take "strong oath". They make so many promises and swear to lead the citizens entrusted into their hands to the Promised Land. But do they keep to all the oath they take during their swearing in? What we see at the end is clearly the opposite. And the truth is that what contributes to the betrayal by our so call leaders is greed. They enter the position and allow themselves to be used full-time by this destructive factor called greed. What a pity. When they are used by greed, disaster in politics results and that is termed political issue.
Bad Governance
Many political issues in the Federal Republic of Nigeria are traceable to bad government. In the other words, one of the major causes of political issues or crisis in Nigeria is bad government. A government which is not properly handled or ruled is vulnerable to crisis relating to politics.
Religion
Religion plays important role when it comes to politics. It is hard for any aspiring president or governor in Nigeria to do without religion. The reason is because the large numbers of citizens of the country are either in Muslin or Christian religion. So, any governor or president that wants to win in any election in the country must identify with any of them or both.
We have seen situations in Nigeria were people who have not been going to church all of a sudden turn into the “holiest pope” on the planet earth. They turned into “holiest pope” as used in the context because they needed the votes of the Christians. After the election and they win, they go back to their old shell and forgot that Christianity has ever existed in the country. Who is deceiving who?
Religion on the other hand has caused so many political issues or crises in Nigeria. There was a time when the Muslims in Nigeria were attacking the Christians in the country all because of political reasons. Among these two most popular religious practice in Nigeria, each of them like someone that practice their religion to be found in leadership position. Because of this reason one sometimes attacks the other to occupy the leadership sit. Boko Haram insurgency attacks for instance started since President Goodluck Jonathan of Nigeria enter leadership position. Because of the fact that the president is a Christian, his leadership has experienced a lot of bloodshed by the insurgency.
SOLUTIONS TO FEDERAL ENCROACHMENTS
STRUCTURAL SAFEGUARDS
The structural safeguards of federalism restrain the national government to prevent encroachment. Solution to Nigerian federal government encroachments on the sovereignty of the states could best be prevented by implementing some structural safeguards such as enumerated powers, fragmentation, and state incorporation.
The Founders of American constitution recognized that federalism presupposes limits to the federal government’s power and authority … Without constitutional boundaries, the national government would readily give in to demands to wipe out state competition. In that event, the states would become mere instruments or administrative subunits of a central, unitary government. The constitutional reflection of this recognition is the doctrine of enumerated powers.
In Nigeria, except for the rather vague statement in Section 2 of the 1999 Constitution, there are no definite enumerated powers of the federal government the Nigerian Constitution. In the United States, the powers of the federal government are enumerated and limited. Such enumerated and limited powers allows for checks and judiciary review of both the state and federal encroachments. It is important to note that when each state agreed to become part of the federal republic of Nigeria, they did with the intention to surrender some of its powers without any recourse to their sovereign identity and direct governance of its citizens. The major cause of ethnic crisis in Nigeria is mostly because the sovereignty of these states has been trampled upon by the central government.
One of the challenging failures of Nigerian federalism is lack of interinstitutional oversight. In Nigerian federal structure, vertical separation of powers is necessary for preservation of liberty and the prevention of tyranny. Hence, both the federal and states governments should possess the means of preventing or correcting unconstitutional encroachments of the other. As it stands, the Nigerian federal government is self-regulating without institutional support. A true federalism will be attained if the two levels of governments are partially dependent on one another through checks and balances. When this balance is achieved, the national government is less likely to behave opportunically, whether by encroaching on the state governments or by tyrannizing its citizens.
POPULAR SAFEGUARTDS
According to James Madison, the primary control of the government is its dependence on the people The declaration of American Independence contain the facts,
“… That whenever any Form of Government becomes destructive of these ends, it is the Right of the People to alter or to abolish it, and to institute new Government, having its foundation on such principles and organizing its powers in such form, as to them shall seem most likely to effect their Safety and Happiness …”
Popular safeguard is effective in a democratic society where there is respect for electoral principles. Joseph Schumpeter famously argued that democracy was best understood not as a practice of collective self-government by the “people”, but rather, the selection by the people of representatives to govern on their behalf. Elections, on this account, are a process whereby “individuals acquire the power to decide by means of a competitive struggle for the people’s vote … To be democratic, the elections must consist of “free competition for a free vote” among parties. But the corollary of electoral competition is not just the right “to produce a government” but “also the function of evicting it” through the electoral process (272). Thus, competition between political parties entails the possibility of alternation through regular, free and fair elections. A hallmark of democracy, in Theodore Pempel’s memorable turn of phrase, is the ability to “throw the rascals out.”
In the light of the above democratic principles, popular safeguards would be unthinkable mechanism in the present Nigerian federal setting of militant democracy. It is very difficult for the people to exercise their fair judgments on the choice of government or candidates. The European Union Election Observer Mission was not constrained by diplomatic niceties in condemning the 2007 elections in Nigeria. The caption of the EU preliminary report was, "Elections Fail to Meet the Hopes and Expectations of the Nigerian People and Fall Far Short of Basic International Standards". The nature of electoral system causes most Nigerians to lose faith and confidence in the country’s democratic process.
JUDICIAL SAFEGUARD
Since independence from Britain in 1960, Nigeria has adopted five Constitutions. The present Constitution which borrowed most of its contents from the United States Constitution is a product of a military led initiative. Unfortunately, Nigerians fail to understand that it is not what is copied on paper that produces federalistic character; rather, it is the means or mechanism to enforce the contents of such instrument that matters. Laws are a dead letter without courts to expound and define their true meaning and operation. Constitutionalism is meaningless without resources of power, in some form, both to achieve and sustain it. For example, in the United States, the constitution imposes limits on government powers and these limits are meaningless unless subject to judicial enforcement. When trying to ascertain the limits of legislative power, courts … examines and defines the nature of a federal power itself to see if it contains within it some inherent limitations. Thus, in a true federal system, it is not out of place for the judiciary, to decide cases of constitutional controversies between the federal, states and the citizens. It must be poised to intervene in cases where there exist such problems between the central and its federating units. Unfortunately, Nigerian courts still perceive issues between Federal and States as having political undertones whereas the true test in a federal system is continuously defined and strengthened when the judiciary espouses and decides on issues bordering on the terms and conditions.
The role of judiciary as a safeguard against federal encroachments is best achieved under an independent judiciary. In Nigeria, there is a compulsory retirement age for justices of the supreme court at 70 years. A Supreme Court with compulsory retirement age of 70 is breeding ground for insecurity and judicial incapacity. A judge who is burdened with financial considerations of retirement years is not an independent judge. A judge who is burdened with the politics of advancement or succession is not a free judge. A recent petition against the Chief Justice of Nigeria Supreme Court alleged that the he had been honest before now, but due to his impending retirement, he has started amassing wealth through the abuse of his office.
In order for the Judiciary to act as a safeguard against any form of government encroachment, Nigerian Supreme Court Justices should be appointed for life subject to impeachment and removal for physical or mental impairment. Justices should serve an independent role free from political pressure. A judge who has run his course and is divested of all ambitions, financial and professional insecurity is the judge, who will give a bold and honest decision any day.
DISTRIBUTION OF AUTHORITIES AND BOUNDARIES DRAWING
At the center of every true federal structure lies a common feature: the sharing of sovereignty between national and state governments. These boundaries between national and state governmental authority must be maintained. The problem with Nigerian federalism is the failure or incapability of the federal government to maintain its boundaries and curb the temptation of states’ sovereignty exploitation. Sometimes it is confusing to distinguish what power belongs to which level of government. This paper will now turn to examine how the spheres of power sharing could be allocated to each level of government - federal and state. Those within the federal power are earmarked as “centralization” while those responsibilities within the state jurisdiction are labeled as “decentralization.”
MILITARY SECURITY
(Centralized responsibility of the central government)
It is the responsibility of the central government to provide security and protection for the rest of the units and the citizenry. In Nigeria, it is a common practice for the President to use his emergency powers to deploy the military at his whims. Military deployment could only be applicable in times of war or appropriate state of emergency with the approval of the House.
ECONOMIC BENEFITS & EFFICIENCY
(Cooperative function of the central and its subunits)
In Nigeria, the central government believes and operates on the basis that the federal government owned the country, its resources and all that dwell in the land. The central took the fund that rightly belongs to the state and local governments into the coffers of the Federal Government. The subunits are thereby denied the wherewithal to carry out their functions for the progress and welfare of their citizens. Nigerian states have almost completely lost their autonomy. The centralization and concentration of the country’s revenues in the hands of the central government has resulted in the country’s poor political, social and economic development.
Decentralization can take advantage of informational asymmetries; that is, lower levels of government may have local knowledge that allows them to tax and spend most efficiently. The classic example of this informational asymmetry is the property tax, local governments have a keener sense of market value and can more appropriately devise a formula to calculate tax rates than a central government. Decentralization can also allow for revenue specialization based on different characteristics of the regions. A region especially endowed in natural resources with extensive mining operations might best rely on severance taxes, while in another; tourism offers opportunities for licenses and user fees. Developmental projects are most efficiently handled by the local governments who know local needs and conditions, while higher levels of government are necessary to coordinate redistribution effectively
INNOVATION
(Decentralized sphere of the subunits)
Federalism enables a people to try experiments which could not safely be tried in a large centralized country. Justice Brandeis considered it "one of the happy incidents of the federal system that a single courageous State may, if its citizens choose, serve as a laboratory; and try novel social and economic experiments without risk to the rest of the country. When states share goals but try different policies, the potential for policy decentralization to stimulate beneficial innovation is maximized.
Under the current federal government in Nigeria, all power is centralized, and the states do not have any control over their resources, hence there is no incentive for innovation and states competition. Nigeria's economic development, political stability, security and peace depend on extending the freedom, benefits and choice of autonomy to each ethnic nationality within the country.
INTERGOVERNMENTAL COMPETITION
(Decentralized subunits authority)
Governments compete with one another to the benefit of their citizens, eliminating waste and encouraging growth. Intergovernmental competition directly strengthens the allocative functions of government. Decentralization permits governments to match services with variations in demand. Greater overall citizen satisfaction can be achieved with multiple governments offering different packages of public services at different prices. Competition forces governments to become more efficient in their allocative activities, providing better services at lower costs. Competition forces government to be more responsive to citizens’ preferences than monopoly government.
Allocation is the functional that local governments can perform more effectively than central governments, because decentralization allows for a closer match between the supply of public services and their variable demand. Citizens migrate to those communities where the allocation best matches their demand curve. Intergovernmental competition inspires state and local governments to be concerned with the impact of their taxing and spending policies on economic growth and to become directly involved in economic development activities. Competing governments are in a better position to observe the economic consequences of their policy decisions. Since state and local governments are well equipped to pursue developmental objectives, most public efforts of this type should be left to them.
EXTERNALITIES MANAGEMENT
(Centralized federal government exclusivity)
The spillover effects of policies are known as externalities because they are consequences of a government’s policy that the government does not consider. In Nigeria, each year, industrial facilities discharge into the environment large amounts of chemicals leading to respiratory, neurological, developmental and reproductive disorders, and cancers. The spillover effects of these factories are without any form of government management or control. The distribution authority can be adjusted to manage these externalities. The central government can be given full control of a policy domain, it can regulate it, or it can encourage beneficial behavior. The central government can maintain a common market between states by prohibiting state-led industry protection that generates negative externalities. In environmental policy, the government can incentivize control; first, through sanctions should the polluter fail to reduce output, and the second, by pricing pollution, to motivate polluters to reduce their output without the threat of penalties.
MARKET PRESERVATION
(Cooperative sphere between the central government and its subunits)
A market requires firmly established and credibly defended property rights. Uniform governmental regulation can establish rules governing property ownership and transfer, as well as provide a forum to adjudicate disputes. However, in order to prevent government encroachments on property rights, decentralization and fragmented authority enable a state to credibly commit not to expropriate all rents, when couple with other conditions, such as a decentralization of fiscal control and hard budget constraints.
In Nigeria the commitment to establishing property rights and effective markets has not been accompanied with significant devolution of power to subnational governments. There is no triumphal market economy due to lack of freedom of local governments to set their economic policies and induce competition among jurisdictions. Market reforms have proceeded alongside central resistance to subnational claims for devolution of fiscal jurisdiction and policing services. A commitment to market reforms would require fiscal devolution that eliminates financial dependence of the subnational governments and induces horizontal competition for efficient service delivery.
Thus, probable conditions for a sustainable market preservation in Nigeria should be structured to include:
a) A hard budget constraint on subnational governments;
b) The authority of subnational governments to regulate their domestic economies but without the power to restrict the movement of goods and services cross jurisdictions. And, the assignment of monetary policy and common market regulation to the central government; and
c) An explicit agreement on federal arrangement to make for juridical federal restrictions and a clean separation of national power including independent courts.
POLITICAL PARTICIPATION
(Decentralized jurisdiction of the subunits)
Effective democracy depends on citizen participation. As more people become enfranchised or enter the political arena, a wider variety of perspectives contribute to public deliberation. As diversity increases, all else equal, collective decision making improves.
The population of Nigeria is about 150 million, out of which about 60 million people are registered as eligible voters. The long history of electoral rigging and fraud has challenged possibilities for bringing citizens into the political process. Pervasive electoral rigging and fraud have increasingly become common practices in Nigeria’s democratic process. This history has produced conditions where political tensions have mounted and violence has persisted. The outcomes of many elections in Nigeria have been so contested that the conditions for the survival of the democratic order have been compromised. The compromised system has permitted the formation of political party politics that feed on these lapses, rather than ethically engaging citizens in ways that conforms to constitutional provisions. The politicians employed anti-party practices such as using money, thugs and sometimes the police, to eliminate competition.
The general assumption that underpins the democratic practices embraces the assertion that power must only legitimately reside with the people. In Nigeria, contrary to this idea, is the notion of Godfatherism. While the concept of Godfatherism remains fairly recent, the phenomenon and its pervasiveness is as old as electoral politics in the country. The development of this phenomenon recognized that Godfatherism thrives in any polity in which state power is perceived as a commodity to be possessed and used to acquire other possessions Since these individuals in Nigeria become too powerful to dictate for the rest, the integrity of the process of choosing leaders is compromised. Indeed, the idea of godfatherism is an entrenched ideology that often accentuates exclusionism and diminished entitlement to civic and political rights of citizens.
The godfatherism phenomenon, emerges as an illegal enterprise, but because this practice is deeply rooted in the political process itself, it possesses tremendous challenges to efforts at reclaiming democracy for the people. State power, here, is heavily commodified, and the struggle for the exercise of this power restrict access to power from the majority poor. The highly privileged minority class constitutes the dominant class in the Nigeria political setup, who control the affairs of government.
Increasingly the dynamic relation between wealth and power has definitely acquired new and perverted meaning in the Nigeria political process. The monetization and commodification of the democratic process is endemic to the character of, and popular response to, the political process. The restriction of political and civic rights from the citizen is now legitimately justified through the heavily monetized electoral practices. Increasingly, the amount required to secure party nomination, in itself, poses a threat to inclusion as majority of citizens are not able to pay these amounts. What is troubling here is that, because of these heavy monetary demands, some competent aspirants, who have the knowledge and leadership capability and are entirely driven by democratic impulses, are forced to withdraw their candidacy. In many case aspirants for representative’s positions who do not have the means to participate in the processes opt for sponsorship from the wealthy (Godfathers). This then becomes the ground for neo-patrimonialism, as these indebted aspirants are forced under obligations to serve the needs and interests of their patrons. Thus, Godfathers have in the most brazen manner hijacked the political machinery at all levels. It means then that what is called election in Nigeria is nothing but the expression of the narrowly defined will of a few dishonest individuals who feel that they have the power to manipulate the entire electoral process in favor of their anointed godsons
The aspirants because they are indebted to a particular godfather, once in office serve the interest of these godfathers rather than the public who voted them in office. Democratic efforts in this context, fractures the idea of accountability, as normal political processes (in terms of formal popular demands and civic avenues of coercion of representative to do public biddings) can no longer be recuperate except through unorthodox means, which sometimes result to violence.
The power of money has dwarfed the power of choice… Men and women of ideas without access to big money do not have a fair chance to run and win. In fact, the godfather phenomenon is a major threat to democratic consolidation in Nigeria. The diminished public in politics asserts a new path to defining citizenship away from political rights. The Nigerian political system has increasingly become a game in which godfathers install their puppets in political office to do their biddings.
It is an understatement to suggest, then, that godfatherism clogs the system of political representation. While the highjack of power in Nigeria seems alarming, it is the sense of diminished ownership of the political process that threatens to negate commitment to democratic values among citizens.
MANAGING AND SATISFYING DIVERSITY
(Decentralized sphere of the subunits)
Diverse opinions; they are inherent to humanity, whether from the logical … or different histories, or different ways of viewing the world. We cannot eliminate diversity – whether born of social differences or just different opinions ... Diversity is beneficial when states serve as policy laboratories. Diverse prospective and desires may lead to new ideas, solutions that can be transported to other domains and territories. Federalism may help us to manage diversity’s detrimental effects so we can harness its benefits.
Nigeria is a country of extraordinary diversity. Ethnicity is generally regarded as the most basic and politically salient identity in Nigeria. Due to marginalization of these diverse groups and their non-inclusive in the affairs of the country has led to Nigerians, more likely to define themselves in terms of their ethnic affinities than national identity. In other words, Nigerians tend to cluster more readily around the cultural solidarities of kin than the class solidarities of common nationality. Thus ethno-religious tensions have become common features in the Nigerian federation and have constituted what is commonly referred as the national question in Nigeria. Nigeria is a mere geographical expression’, bound together by nothing except the coercive apparatus of the state. The major challenge the nation faces is how to galvanize the various ethno-religious groups into nationhood with the instrumentalities of federalism. This paper offers practical solutions to this challenge (Infra).
ACCOUNTABILITY
(Decentralized subunits exclusivity)
Representation and accountability go hand-in-hand: elected leaders are more likely to represent their constituents faithfully when they know they are held accountable for their actions. Accountability is impossible without transparent responsibility. Therefore, it is claimed that authority decentralization improves accountability because citizens are more likely to see the effects of government action at the local level and respond accordingly in the ballot box.
Nigerian citizens face a key challenge in holding their political representatives accountable, since decentralization reforms tend to be partial in nature, leading to the involvement of multiple tiers of government in the provision of public goods. Under complete decentralization, voters can limit governments rent seeking by setting appropriate reelection incentives. The ability of voters to hold politicians accountable is lower under partial decentralization than under complete decentralization.
Decentralization of expenditure responsibilities from central to local levels of government is generally thought to mitigate the problem by bringing the policymaking process closer to citizens and, hence, to increase overall government accountability. The World Bank, for example, has strongly advocated decentralization on the basis that it will help to solve corruption problems, especially in developing countries. The standard intuition that decentralization should be accountability-improving is consistent with theoretical models considering complete decentralization, i.e. the full transfer of a given expenditure responsibility from a higher level of government to a lower one.
ANTI-TYRANNY AND RIGHTS
(Cooperative between central government and its subunits)
Federalism’s inherent fragmentation is well-suited to block tyranny; when decision-making power is subdivided, they tyrant cannot easily gain full control. It is a common practice in Nigeria that the ruling class could abuse its powers to oppress the governed just as easily as a king. The minority groups such as women, children and the less privileged are faced with the dangers of tyranny of their rulers. Centralization of power and majority's tyranny over political and social minorities is "a constant threat" to Nigerian democracy.
HIGHER QUALITY REPRESENTATION
(Cooperative between central government and its subunits)
Both centralization and decentralization are important for federalism to improve the quality of representatives. With two levels of government, people can gain experience with their local leaders. Accountability is easier at this level, so voters are more likely to make the right decisions about voting poorly performing politicians out of office while retaining better ones. In order to find this solution fruitful in Nigeria, there must be restoration of confidence in the country’s electoral system.
FORCED COMPLIANCE
Sometimes the federal government justifies its encroachments on states non-compliance, even when the subject of compliance is unconstitutional or too expensive for the state to implement. Very often, the federal government uses intergovernmental retaliation to enforce compliance. Intergovernmental Retaliation is a severe type of safeguard. It is a safeguard with potentially disastrous effects. It can lead to Civil war. It is best not to involve intergovernmental retaliation for the mundane matters of minor transgressions, but preferably to reserve it for significant transgressions. When intergovernmental retaliation is the only safeguard available, it is inevitably a severe sanctioning mechanism. When it is reinforced by other safeguards (structural, political, judiciary and popular – supra) it may have potential to span a wider range of punishment force. For example, in the United States the federal government withholds funds to induce state compliance, for example, with highway funds, education, and pollution control. This limited intergovernmental retaliation is both tolerated and kept in check by other safeguards, particularly popular safeguard.
SOLUTIONS TO NIGERIAN POLITICAL ISSUES
Irrespective of the fact that Federal Republic of Nigeria has many political issues, there are ideas that can rebuild the destroyed buildings. The solutions to Nigerian political issues when accepted and practiced will go a long way in solving the country’s political issues. Hence, the solutions to Nigeria political issues are:
Political and self satisfaction;
Cultivating the spirit of sportsmanship;
Religious understanding; and
Limiting the number of political parties in Nigeria;
Political and Self Satisfaction
Politicians should first of all be satisfied in the positions they are handling in every state or community. Political satisfaction will make every political party to stop being greedy to another party that is succeeding more than them. Self satisfaction on the other hand will help every politician in the country to be okay with what they have and do not fight the other directly or indirectly.
Understanding the spirit of sportsmanship in solving Nigeria's political crises.
Understanding the spirit of sportsmanship in solving Nigeria's political crises.
Cultivating the Spirit of Sportsmanship
In the world of sports, we see players commit foul against the other and yet do not fight in the football pitch. That is the spirit of sportsmanship in action. After the foul, you still them embrace each other and continue with their football sports.
The political issues in Nigeria will be reduced if the country’s politicians understand the spirit of sportsmanship. The issues in Nigerian politics will be minimal if the political parties in the country understand the importance of spirit of sportsmanship. They should take politics as tidy game and not a dirty one that involve attacks on the other parties.
Religious Understanding
Religions in Nigeria should understand that every have the right to belong to any religious group of their choice. That you find yourself in Muslin is because you were given birth into that religion. On the other hand, that you find yourself today in Christian religion is because your parents gave birth to you in that religion.
All religious groups in Nigeria should not allow themselves to be used by any politician to cause political and national disaster. All attendants of Islam and Christian religions should use their initiative to different the bad from the good irrespective of the false teachings that they were given. All should take every man equal and see every to be qualified notwithstanding the religion the politician is coming from.
Reducing the Number of Political Parties in Nigeria
Another factor that contributes to political issues in Nigeria is the large number of political parties in the country. Among these political parties are those who want to make it into the leadership position either by hook or by crook. Because of the number of premature and hungry political parties in the country, they tend to cause political crises in the country during voting and other political gathering.
CONCLUSION
The success of Nigerian federation hinges on widespread confidence in its safeguards. The ability and commitment of the safeguards to uphold the boundaries of authority must be beyond question. No single force – whether constitutionally derived or tyrannical – should be able to dictate the boundaries of federal and state authority or force other governments to work for it. Each government should remain relevant. With a well-functioning system, major violations are punished, upholding compliance; minor transgressions, when allowed promote exploration of the policy space and adaptation of the rules; and the multiple safeguards, each judging governmental actions independently, means that the system is not vulnerable to the failings of one component.
Nigeria which is the most populated country in African continent has suffered many political issues since her independence. These issues have given birth to other national crises including corruption in Nigeria, unemployment, poverty and other “negatives”. Discussed are political crises/issues in Nigeria, causes and the possible solutions.
If Nigeria wants to avoid all the political issues listed and explained here, politics in the country should not be taken as game again. It should be taken as what calls for selfless service. We can build a better Nigeria. One love.
Online search 2012
Bar. Ukioma
Uzochukwu mike
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