Priye S. Torulagha
Social media is awashed with reports that a bill intending to return Nigeria back to a regional form of government, as was the case before the declaration of states on May 27, 1967, is in circulation. The bill, written by Dr. Akin Fapohunda, is titled “A Bill for an Act to Substitute the Annexture to Decree 24 of 1999 with a New Governance Model for the Federal Republic of Nigeria.” Initially, it was reported that the bill was submitted to the House of Representatives of the National Assembly for legislative review. However, the National Assembly denied being in possession of the bill (Oyedokun, 2024, June 15). A news report later indicated that the author would forward the bill to President Bola Ahmed Tinubu with the hope that he will submit it to the National Assembly for legislative consideration (Nyiekaa, 2024, June 13).
The bill proposes the division of Nigerian into eight regions. The regions are: (1) Southern Region, (2) Southeastern Region, (3) Western Region, (4) Mid-Western Region, (5) Eastern Middle Belt Region, (6) Western Middle Belt Region, (7) Northeastern Region, and (8) the Northwestern Region.
However, in responding to the proposed bill, it is argued here that a regional form of government will not solve the thorny issues that bedecked the country. Instead, it is more likely to create additional political problems that can lead to the disintegration of the country. The main reason for the opposition to the bill is that the regional government of the 1960s had many problems, including tribalism and regionalism which contributed to the military coup of January 15, 1966, that eventually resulted in the militarization and unitarization of the country. Thus, the purpose of this article is to explain why it is not strategically advantageous for the national security, democracy, political rights, and the growth of this country to go back to the regional model of government which turned the country into a confederation of three tribal regions, thereby inhibiting the nation-building process. It might be necessary to specify the reasons for the opposition to the bill here.
First, it was the Sir Authur Richard’s (Colonial Governor General of Nigeria) constitution of 1946 that laid the framework for the regional arrangement of government, thereby turning Nigeria into the enclaves of the three major ethnic groups, namely, the Hausa, Igbo, and Yoruba. The arrangement sacrificed the interests of the minority ethnic groups by turning them into the political vassals of the three major ethnic groups.
Second, the arrangement turned Nigeria into a confederation of three regions that could not come together to solidify nationhood for all Nigerians due to tribalism and regionalism. This laid the political poison that made it very difficult for Nigeria even today, to operate as a united country. Chief/Dr. Nnamdi Azikiwe reacted to the tribalization and regionalization of the 1964 Constitution by noting that:
Sir Arthur Richards deliberate demarcation of Nigeria into regions has paralysed our political hopes, anyway the fight is on.
As far as the three regions coincide with the three tribes, this Englishman has sown the seeds of tribalism, and I am afraid whether our children or children’s children will be able to solve this problem. As far as the sizes are unequal the largest one will take the smaller ones to ransom soon or later (Benatari, 2004, October 20).
Prophetically, Dr. Nnamdi Azikiwe predicted what would happen to the country and Nigeria has since been characterized by intense tribalism and regionalism, thereby inhibiting the political, economic, and social development and modernization. Hence, Nigeria continues to be a mere geographical expression where patriotism is in very short supply as those who are responsible for running the affairs of the country are primarily responsible for emasculating it through sucking the financial lifeblood of the country to the point of death. Thus, most private wealth is generated through pilfering of public funds by appointed and elected public officials, contractors, and connected family members.
The tribalization and regionalization resulted in stunting the growth of nationhood and opening the door wide open for massive corruption. Hence, Nigeria means different things to Nigerians due to the lack of national cohesion. Indeed, Nigeria needs urgent restructuring to solve the existential problems that afflict the country. So far, political capital has been expended unnecessarily in trying to patch things up by the ruling elite, instead of allowing a robust nation-wide discussion about how to restructure the country to build a united state where all Nigerians are treated equally, irrespective of tribe, ethnicity, region, religion, and political affiliation.
Third, due to the confederal nature of the regional era, Nigeria seemed more like three countries pretentiously operating as federating units of the same country in the 1960s. The regional system collapsed following a military takeover, thereby leading to a bloody civil war that claimed about two million lives.
Fourth, while regionalism greatly benefitted the major ethnic groups, it was oppressive to the minority groups which felt politically suffocated by lack of political space for them to interact and contribute to the nation-building process. Frustrated by the political suffocation, minority groups demanded the establishment of states during the colonial era. They pushed the agenda for the creation of states during Henry Willink’s Commission Hearings in 1957 – 1958 (Pam, 2022, August). Perhaps, due to the influence of the major ethnic groups, the British Government did not approve the creation of states before granting independence to Nigeria on October 1, 1960. As a result, Nigeria operated a regional form of government in which the three major ethnic groups dominated the three regions.
Despite the setback, the minorities continued to demand the creation of states after independence. They wanted to separate the Middle Belt sub-region from the Northern Region (Pam, 2022, August), the Calabar- Ogoja- Rivers (COR) sub-region from the Eastern Region (Undiyaundeye, 2021, July) and the Mid-West sub-region from the Western Region. The dissatisfaction with the political situation in the North led to violent Tiv Riots in1960 (Audu, n.d.). The riots were put down by the Nigerian Police Force and the Nigerian Army.
Eventually, in 1963, the Mid-Western Region was created out of the Western Region while the Eastern Region did not accede to the creation of the Calabar-Ogoja-Rivers (COR) Region/State just as the Northern Region led by the Northern Peoples Congress (NPC) also declined to create a Middle Belt Region/State. Therefore, it was only the Action Group (AG) political party led by Chief Obafemi Awolowo that permitted the establishment of the Mid-West Region. The frustration and exploitative nature of the tax system in the North led to a second major Tiv riots in 1964 (Audu, n.d.). Again, the military was deployed to stop the riots after the police seemed overwhelmed by the guerrilla tactics of the rioters. Likewise, the frustration due to marginalization and deprivation also led to the Isaac Adaka Boro rebellion which culminated in the declaration of the Niger Delta Republic on February 23, 1966, a month after the military had seized power in Nigeria (Enemugwem, 2009).
The fact that the COR state was not allowed to gain fruition in Eastern Region partially contributed to the stance the minority groups took prior to and during the civil war. It should be recalled that the Federal Government knew that the minority groups wanted to break away from the Eastern Region, hence, Gen. Yakubu Gowon created the twelve states on May 27, 1966, just as the Eastern Nigerian Government was holding a regional consultative conference in Enugu to determine whether to secede or not (Barrett, 2017, May 7). Thus, states were created three days prior to the declaration of the Republic of Biafra on May 30, 1966.
Fourth, apart from the struggle for political power, it should be noted that during the heydays of regional governments, higher education was highly politicized. Apart from the University of Ibadan that was a national university, the University of Nigeria (UNN), Nsukka, the University of Ife (Now Obafemi Awolowo University), and the Ahmadu Bello University in Zaria (ABU) were established by the three regional governments as the regions competed for power. Aminu (1983) described the regionalized universities as “developed into unassailable ethnic and cultural fortresses.” It was in 1971 that the Federal Government nationalized them. As Nigerians debated the question of whether to establish more universities to meet the increasing demands of a growing population that wanted university education, there was resistance toward establishing additional universities by the ethnic groups that had universities in their territories. They argued that the quality of education would be sacrificed if more universities were established and insisted on maintaining the status quo. Therefore, the rate of higher educational attainment was very low, especially among minority groups since the major ethnic groups dominated the universities due to their large populations. Only a few minority students were able to gain admission into the universities annually.
Fifth, infrastructural development was very limited and slow since the political capitals were far away from the people. In many parts of Nigeria, there were no roads at all, so, people took bush paths to get from one point to another most of the time. The few major roads that were initially built by the British were overused and damaged in many places. Due to the distance of the regional capitals, the regional governments were not fully in touch with the aspirations of most people in the regions. This increased frustration and anger among citizens who felt neglected.
Moreover, infrastructural development was mostly concentrated in the ethnic areas of the individuals who wielded political power in most parts of Nigeria. Thus, many parts of the country remained untouched by development since they had little or no influence in persuading the regional governments to pay attention to them.
Sixth, this brief historical review of the issues which prompted the minority ethnic groups to demand separation from the major ethnic groups here is done to show that the regional system was not as rosy as the proponents of regionalism seem to indicate. Indeed, the regional system truncated the process of nation-building and Nigeria is still a divided country in the 21st century where the major ethnic groups compete fiercely to dominate the country. Thus, unlike Ghana where the founding fathers stood for Ghana’s nationhood, the founding fathers in Nigeria ended up adopting regionalism as dictated by each of the three major ethnic groups, thereby sacrificing the national interest as they politicked to dominate the country in a tripolar power play.
The Advantages of the State System
It was obvious that Nigeria needed to replace the regional system because the politicians did not want to effect the changes needed to unify and equalize the political playing field for all ethnic groups, regardless of population size.
Since the politicians failed to change the regional system, it was left for the military to do so. Thus, the replacement of the regional system with the state system after Gen. Yakubu Gowon declared 12 states ushered in a rapid pace in the development and modernization of the infrastructure, economy, and manpower. It is necessary to pinpoint some of the advantages that Nigerians gained from the state system.
First, the division of the country from four regions to twelve states automatically opened the political system. For instance, during the era of the regional system, the entire Northern Region had only one political capital in Kaduna City. Even though the North almost geographically dwarfs the South, yet it had just one capital. Thus, most things were concentrated in Kaduna. Imagine travelling from Maiduguri, Gusau, Yola, and Kano to Kaduna. In the East, the capital was moved from Calabar to Enugu, so everything had to be done in Enugu. In the West, Ibadan was the capital. So, Nigerians in the Western Region always had to travel to Ibadan to get anything done. In other words, the political capitals during the regional days were very far from most Nigerians. Travelling to these regional capitals was like travelling to a foreign country due to the distance for many Nigerians.
Second, the creation of states brought the government closer to the citizens. Today, the capitals are not in distant places as before. Imagine travelling from Warri to Asaba compared to travelling to Ibadan or travelling from Akassa to Yenagoa compared to travelling to Enugu. Thus, citizens can visit their state capitals without facing many logistical problems. In the past, most people could not go to their regional capitals because of the distance and the financial cost.
Third, states facilitated the rapid development and modernization of Nigeria. How? For instance, 19 cities and towns are now political capitals in the North while 17 cities and towns are now state capitals in the South. This means that the creation of states has led to the rapid development, modernization, and urbanization of 36 cities from May 27, 1967, to the present. Thus, 36 towns have been turned into modern cities within a span of about 50 years. Therefore, it could be said that Nigeria has experienced a faster rate of development, modernization, and urbanization of its cities than any other country in Africa by turning the regions into states, thereby increasing state political capitals which results in the massive urbanization of many towns. Nigeria is going to have a higher number of cities than most African countries. For instance, in the former Eastern Region which used to have only one political capital, today, there are eight states capitals, including Abakiliki, Awka, Calabar, Enugu, Owerri, Port Harcourt, Uyo, and Yenagoa. The Western Region that used to have only one political capital (Ibadan) now has seven political capitals, including Abeokuta, Ado Ekiti, Akure, Asaba, Benin City, Ibadan, Lagos, and Oshogbo. Of course, Lagos and Ibadan were already huge metropolitan cities. The Federal Capital Territory (Abuja) is an added advantage to the state system. In the North, the creation of states has enabled the development, modernization, and urbanization of cities and towns like Bauchi, Birnin Kebbi, Damaturu, Dutse, Gombe, Gusau, Ilorin, Jalingo, Jos, Kaduna, Kano, Katsina, Lafia, Lokoja, Maiduguri, Makurdi, Minna, Sokoto, and Yola into major cities. Of course, Kaduna, Kano and Maiduguri were already large cities. Before, the entire Northern Region had just Kaduna City as its capital. All the identified cities and towns are being developed simultaneously, thereby facilitating the modernization of the country.
Fourth, the creation of states led to the establishment of 774 Local Government Areas (LGAs). Thus, all over the country, apart from the state capital cities, incrementally smaller towns are also being developed as local government headquarters. This means that the government is definitely getting closer to the citizens than during the heydays of regionalism. Almost every Nigerian can feel the pulse of the government because it is closer to him or her. This further means that the entire country is experiencing development, modernization, and urbanization at an unprecedented pace. For instance, in Akwa Ibom State, Ikot Ekpene, Eket, Oron, and so forth, are developing into major urban centers, apart from Uyo, the state capital, even though they are the headquarters of local governments. The same is taking place in the South-East, South-West, South-South, North-Central, North-East and the North-West. Of all the zones, it appears that the South-East leads the entire country in rapid development, modernization and urbanization, so much so that an increasing number of towns and villages are springing up like mini modern cities. The overall implication is that Nigeria, in twenty years, might end up being the most modernized country in Africa and probably one of the most developed and urbanized countries in the world due to the creation of states.
Fifth, the state system promotes democracy and equal representation by allowing every ethnic group, regardless of the size of the population, to have representatives and senators to represent them in various ways. The federal character requirement has enabled Nigerians from different ethnic backgrounds to gain employment at the local, state, and national levels of government. Thus, every corner of Nigeria now feels the impact of government.
Sixth, many young Nigerians are probably not aware that during the era of the regions, as indicated above, there was a debate about whether to establish more universities or not. The ethnic groups that had one of the major universities in their territories opposed the establishment of additional universities because having higher educational facilities in their territories enabled them to produce a higher number of university graduates than ethnic groups that did not have any university in their territories. Thus, the university was treated like a status symbol, as well as to control and dominate the government. Why? Because the ethnic groups that had universities in their territories had more university graduates. Since they produced most of the graduates, they were able to dominate the administrative and professional positions, both in the public and private sectors of the country. As a result, the educational gap between ethnic groups that had universities in their territories and those that had no universities in their territories was like the difference between night and day.
The debate about whether to establish more universities or not ended when the military regime of Gen. Yakubu Gowon, established a national policy under its Third Development Plan for 1975 – 1980 to establish four universities in the country. Eventually in April 1975, four additional universities were established (Nyewusira, 2014). The policy also enabled the states to eventually establish their own universities also. By so doing, Nigeria ended up having both national and state universities. Today, universities have proliferated because even individuals can now establish universities if they have the funds to do so. Thus, the credit for spreading university education in Nigeria goes to the military and not the civilian politicians who ruled Nigeria prior to the military takeover of power.
Indeed, Nigerians should be thankful to the military for opening university education to all Nigerians, thereby destroying the monopoly that a few ethnic groups had in controlling the growth of university education. Likewise, Nigerians must thank the military for creating states, thereby allowing the states to establish their own universities. Hence, within a short span of time, Nigeria has several universities that allow Nigerians from all works of life to obtain university education today.
Seventh, apart from opening up the university system through the creation of states, the Nigerian military under Gen. Yakubu Giwon also established the National Youth Service Corps (NYSC) program to familiarize Nigerian graduates with their country. Youth corps members are expected to serve in states other than their own states of origin. The program is intended to build a united nation in which all graduates can identify themselves as Nigerians first, thereby increasing patriotic commitment to the success of the country.
Eighth, the creation of states greatly contributes to the reduction of animosity towards the major ethnic groups by members of minority ethnic groups who felt that their political and economic rights were trampled upon during the regional era. Today, just as the major ethnic groups have states, so are the minority groups, thereby enabling all Nigerians to enjoy the fruits of self-governance through statehood.
It should be recalled that during the days of regionalism, members of the major ethnic groups dominated the political parties, government institutions, universities, and the private sector. The members of the minority groups could not do anything of substance without going through members of the major ethnic group in each region of the country. Political leaders of the minority groups were forced to create small political parties that they used to agitate for the creation of states.
Today, with thirty-six states, both the major and minority ethnic groups have produced governors, legislators, judges, and senior administrative officers. Thus, the creation of states has democratized Nigeria by opening the country in such a manner that enables Nigerians to have access to government through multifarious avenues.
Ninth, it is arguable that a regional form of government represents mostly the interest of the major ethnic groups, and the state form of government represents the interests of both the majority and minority ethnic groups, in proportion to their populations. This is why the three large ethnic groups have more states and local governments in their territories. The small ethnic groups also gain by having states and local governments in which they do not have to constantly compete with the major ethnic groups for political space.
Tenth, the military creation of states saved Nigeria from fighting two or more additional civil wars by now. The reason is that if states were not created, some minority ethnic groups would have resorted to armed rebellion after the civil war to demand self-rule or declare secession. Psychologically, states provide catharsis to many ethnic and sub-groups to breathe a sigh of relief from a regional form of government that choked them.
Eleventh, there is no need to change the state system in order to reduce burdensomeness and wastefulness. Instead, fight corruption uncompromisingly because it is the disease that is negatively impacting the state system. No political system can function effectively if public funds are privatized without legal consequences. Right now, Nigeria is like a basket filled with holes where water slips through uncontrollably. It is bringing down the country and creating hardship.
Twelfth, Nigeria is a highly populated country and requires a political system that can bring government closer to the masses. It is obvious that states represent decentralization of governance which brings government closer to the people. On the other hand, regionalism reflects a certain degree of centralization of authority, thereby inhibiting a closer relationship between the government and the people. The eight-regions bill, if passed into law, would create a distance between the people and the government.
Dr. Fapohunda’s Regional Proposition
The eight regions proposed by Dr. Fapohunda bill is likely to cause more political confusion, dissatisfaction, and pain to Nigerians at a time the country is facing tremendous pain due to massive corruption by the ruling elite, uncontrollable foreign debt, severe economic hardship, and lack of social programs to cushion the effects of hardship necessitated by failed leadership. Already, the indigenous people of Lagos State have declared that they do not want to be part of Western Region (Akinrefon, 2024, June 3). The Igbos have also expressed dissatisfaction over the attempt to remove Ohaji/Egbema from Imo State and place it under Southern Region while they are working to unite all Igbos, (2024, June 24). Naira Forum.
Moreover, the effort to regionalize the country again is akin to giving people freedom to run their affairs through states and then attempting to take away the freedom through regionalization and expecting them to accept the change without opposition.
The eight-regional plan seems to integrate all the Yorubas in the Western Region and the Hausas in the Northwestern Region while failing to integrate all the Igbos in the Southeast Region.
Likewise, the plan is not sure of what to do with the South-South ethnic groups. As a result, some of the ethnic groups (Bini, Ishan, Isoko, Urhobo and Itsekiri are included in both the Southern Region and the Mid-West Region. Additionally, the plan does not alter the states that make up the present North-West political zone while seeming to scatter the North-Central and the North-East states. Thus, Dr. Fapohunda’s plan rewards the South-West and the North-West and penalizes all the other zones by scattering and regrouping them in strange arrangements that might cause severe political problems.
It is apparent that a return to the regional form of government will amount to re-suffocation of the political and economic aspirations of minority ethnic groups. It could instigate a series of riots reminiscent of the Tiv riots of the 1960s, because it is doubtful whether most minority groups that are now enjoying a certain degree of self-rule would be eager to devolve their political power at the states and allow distant regional capitals to make decisions for them. Imagine the development that is taking place in Abia, Akwa Ibom, Bayelsa, Delta, Benue, Ebonyi, Edo, Imo, Katsina, Nasarawa, Ondo, Plateau, and Zamfara states today because of the state form of government. In the days of regionalism, the Ijaws had no single major road in their territory. Today, roads are being built in every part of Ijawland.
Recommendation
Instead of going backwards to embrace the regional system that turned Nigeria into a confederacy, as Dr Akin Fapohunda is suggesting through his “A Bill for an Act to Substitute the Annexture to Decree 24 of 1999 with a New Governance Model for the Federal Republic of Nigeria” bill, it is preferable for Nigerians to solve their constitutional issues by looking at fresh ideas.
Therefore, instead of trying to replace the state system, why not adopt the existing six zones and turn them into regions. In other words, the six political zones comprising of the North-East, North-Central, North-West, South-East, South-South, and the South-West seem more practicable and cost-effective than the eight regions being proposed. The six zones make more sense because Nigerians have been acclimatized to it and the states fit neatly into the zonal arrangements. The six zones will cost less, both politically and financially to implement than the confusing eight regions being proposed at this time that Nigeria is facing serious economic and financial crises.
It is doubtful whether the eight-region plan will be more effective in curing Nigerian ills than the state system. It might end up like the previous regional system by rewarding some ethnic groups while penalizing other ethnic groups. Moreover, if emphasis is not placed on fighting corruption, no amount of reengineering of the political system can solve the thorny issues afflicting the country.
In peroration, the most important step that should be taken to solve Nigeria’s problems is to convene a constitutional conference which could be referred to as a Sovereign National Conference (SNC). A Sovereign National Conference involving all ethnic groups in the country should be held to discuss openly the kind of country and political system that Nigerians want. A SNC is needed because Nigeria was created by a foreign power to satisfy its geopolitical and economic interests and not those of the indigenous African ethnic groups that were forced to become part of the colony of Nigeria.
Therefore, to get rid of the colonial hangover and recreate the country in the image of the ethnic groups that make up the country, Nigerians should be allowed to freely express their political desires through a genuinely organized Sovereign National Conference. If a SNC is not possible, then it might be necessary to allow Nigerians to revisit the reports of the 2014 National Conference as the Afenifere had suggested. From such effort, a new nation could be created that reflects the cultural, political, judicial and economic aspirations of the Nigerian people.
In the process of engaging in a constitutional restructuring conference, if any ethnic group wishes to leave Nigeria, it must be allowed to do so and those groups that want to continue to remain in Nigeria should be allowed to do so. It is ridiculous to claim that Nigeria is a sovereign state and yet, continue to perpetuate a colonial system that was imposed through force by an outside power.
References
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Nyiekaa, T. (2024, June 13). Tinubu introduces draft bill for new eight regions. Independent. https://independent.ng/tinubu-introduces-draft-bill-for-eight-new-regions/.
Nyewusira, B. N. (2014). Politics and the establishment of public universities: Implications for University Education. Journal of Education and Practice Volume 5, No 19. https://core.ac.uk/download/pdf/234636098.pdf.
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Pam, J. G. (August 2022). Introduction to the Middle Belt Movement in Nigeria. Academia. https://www.academia.edu/86768005/INTRODUCTION_TO_THE_MIDDLE_BELT_MOVEMENT_IN_NIGERIA_mbc.
Undiyaundeye, U. A. (2021, July 3). Agitation for the creation of Calabar-Ogoja-Rivers State, the 1st phase. In witness to history in honour of Sir Sebastian J. Umoren, edited by Philip Afaha. https://www.researchgate.net/publication/352979985_Agitation_For_The_Creation_of_Calabar_Ogoja-Rivers_COR_State_03-Jul-2021_17-44-43
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