Nigerian Senators from both Southern and Northern regions have expressed differing views over the agitation for the return to a regional system of government.
They shared their opinions at the sidelines of a two-day retreat on the amendments to the 1999 Constitution, organized by the Senate Committee on Constitution Review in collaboration with the Policy and Legal Advocacy Centre (PLAC) in Kano.
While senators from the northern region vehemently opposed the idea, those from southern Nigeria described it as a welcome development that would improve the economy, tackle insecurity, and accelerate infrastructural development.
However, the Senate Leader, Opeyemi Bamidele, assured Nigerians that the issue of regionalism was not part of the ongoing constitution review.
A ranking senator from Bauchi Central Senatorial District, Abdul Ningi, told journalists that his people would never support the idea because they did not experience any form of development when the system was practiced during the defunct First Republic.
Ningi said, “I have heard so much about regional government or federalism, and I have heard people canvassing for such ideas.
“For a start, no matter how you see it, the current document (1999 Constitution) is still the grundnorm. It has also stipulated how it is going to be amended.
“Having said that, it is also imperative to know that it isn’t just enough for anybody to come and say they are the representative of one ethnic group or another at the National Assembly.
“The question that arises is: when was this mandate canvassed? When was it received? You are a representative of a particular ethnic group in Nigeria, at what time were you given the mandate to canvass that?
“The only people that are given this mandate to look at the Constitution and amend it are, of course, members of the National Assembly.
“Therefore, it is important for those who go about selling these ideas, false ideas in my opinion, that they are representatives of the people, to let Nigerians know where they are coming from, on whose mandate, and when was this mandate given to them.
“We have seen how the regional government was operated in the past. My part of the country that I am representing didn’t enjoy the development of that so-called regional government that was based in Kaduna.
“We aren’t going back there again! I am speaking for my senatorial district. It is either the Nigerian Federation or nothing. We can’t go along; my senatorial district will be satisfied independently with Nigeria, if that is what is required.
“As far as regional government is concerned, my constituency, my people aren’t for it. What we need is reform of the current Federal Government structure and fiscal federalism because there is nothing like true federalism.”
The Chairman of the Senate Committee on Finance, Senator Sani Musa, advised Nigerians against mistaking the establishment of zonal development commissions for regionalism.
He said the various geopolitical zonal development commissions were strictly for the social and economic development of their areas.
He said, “It is wrong for anybody to think that the development commissions being established for the six geopolitical zones are a plan towards regionalism. It is not.
“Those who are advocating for it should come up with bills through their representatives in the National Assembly and test the popularity of their proposal.”
Similarly, former Senate Leader Ali Ndume said the idea of true federalism was no longer fashionable because many countries in Africa had discarded it.
He advocated for the creation of strong institutions that would enhance good governance and curb corruption and insecurity.
“When the government puts these in place, there won’t be clamour for true federalism because there will be justice, equity, and fairness in all regions of the country.”
The Chairman of the Senate Committee on Tertiary Institutions and TetFund, Senator Muntari Dandutse, representing Katsina South Senatorial District, also disagreed with the proponents of regional government.
He said the essence of the ongoing retreat was to improve on the defects and anomalies discovered in the nation’s constitution over the years.
He said, “We should not have myopic thinking about ourselves. There is no section of this country that is not blessed.
“What is important is that we should have good governance and credible and responsible access to the resources that we have because Nigeria is blessed.
“We have all the comparative advantages that will move this country forward unless, of course, we are serious and determined.”
However, Senator Abdulfatai Buhari, representing Oyo North Senatorial District, disagreed with those condemning the regional system of government.
Buhari said, “Recall that the regions were able to harness their resources in the First Republic.
“We were able to harness all our resources. There was no dominance of particular resources.
“In those years, the North was known for the groundnut pyramids, the South West for cocoa. We should be able to do that.
“When you make the center less attractive, you cut off corruption. You can’t wipe it off, but you can cut it down, because there is what is called ‘watch your team.’ People will watch their team within their locality or within their region.”
Asked whether the South West region had a specific agenda for the ongoing constitution review, Buhari said it would be presented at the appropriate time.
He said, “We don’t want to disclose that agenda yet, but we have agreed among ourselves that the person who will present it is the Chairman of the South West Forum when the time comes. It would be very unfair for me now as a member to start discussing that.”
However, the Senate Leader emphasized that the issue of regionalism could not be changed through a constitutional amendment.
He said, “There are some decisions in the state where an executive bill cannot come to the parliament unless there is some political consensus.
“For me, going back to a regional form of governance is something that will go beyond a bill being sponsored, either as a member’s bill or as an executive bill.
“It’s also not something that you sit down in a public hearing room and organize a public hearing to take a decision on.
“An example is when people say, ‘Oh, you are in parliament. As a parliament, you cannot discard the entire constitution. Nigeria needs a new constitution because this one cannot work.’
“It’s easy for people to make such arguments, but that is not something we can sit down in parliament and do.
“We aren’t changing the constitution because that would require political consensus, and it would also require the buy-in of the Nigerian people themselves.
“Why is it so difficult to amend even one section of the constitution, let alone discard the entire constitution?
“To amend a single provision in the constitution today, the National Assembly and all chambers have to go through this entire process, which we go through in every legislative assembly, and many of you have been a part of this process.”