Tuesday, December 14, 1999
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Chief Cornelius O. Adebayo
(former Governor of Kwara State)
Forwarded by: Mobolaji E. Aluko, PhD
This address was presented by Chief C.O. Adebayo, Canada Representative, NADECO-Abroad, at the Official Launching of Oodua Mass Education Fund and the Yoruba Autonomy Certificate in New York on Saturday, May 30, 1998.
EXCERPT OF SPEECH:
"With the atomization of Nigeria by means of state creation almost to the point of rendering the constituent units prostrate, I find the concept of zones as the basis of our federation worth examining.
At this stage of our development, we can not abandon the federal system but perhaps the federating units should be zones rather than the existing states. Each zone should be large enough to be viable, and made up of local governments.
We may be able to save some costs and administration for development. The time has also come when as a mark of true federalism, revenue resources and responsibility of each constituent component should determine wages and salary scales of each constituent. The forum for dealing with this matter, as I see it, is a National Conference.
A Constitutional Conference can deal with a number of relevant issues, but will remain somewhat limiting."
- General Olusegun Obasanjo, in The Sunday Magazine,
Anniversary Edition, Vol. 9, No. 8, 27th
February, 1994: "Views of 30 Distinguished Nigerians on the Basis of Unity (in) Nigeria"
[HISTORICAL NOTE: GENERAL OBASANJO IS CURRENTLY PRESIDENT OF THE FEDERAL REPUBLIC OF NIGERIA.]
".... the decision of a Sovereign National Conference 'are not subjected to change, alteration or manipulation of any group or government now or in the future. We must draw attention to two conditionalities.
First, a Sovereign National Conference, because people-based and people-willed, distinguishes itself from a National Constitutional Conference which is government-based and vernment-directed.
In the language of the Romans: "Salus populi suprema lex" (The will of the people is the supreme law.) Therefore, let us all press for a Sovereign National Conference and let us all kick down the contraption which goes by the title of National Constitutional Conference..............................That is to say that the people shall have the right to REVOLT and should REVOLT, if any decision adopted at the Sovereign National Constitutional Conference is in any way or manner altered, amended or rejected.'
- Dr. Chuba Okadigbo, in The Sunday Magazine,
Anniversary Edition, Vol. 9, No. 8, 27th February, 1994: "Views of 30 Distinguished Nigerians on the Basis of Unity (in) Nigeria"
[HISTORICAL NOTE: Dr. OKADIGBO IS PRESENTLY PRESIDENT OF THE NIGERIAN SENATE IN ABUJA]
FULL TEXT
I am grateful for the privilege of a brief address at this important ocassion.
Some very well meaning friends of mine had cautioned me about my involvement in functions such as this so that my NADECO assignment may not be compromised.
My response is that nothing can compromise my position worse than failing to take advantage of every opportunity to address issues that are crucial to the survival of Nigeria in a gathering of component organizations which make up NADECO. Then of course I am Yoruba myself and I have a duty to identify with every positive effort to advance the lasting happiness of my own nation.
My first encounter with Gen. Abacha, way back in December 1993, when he still operated from Dodan Barracks in Lagos, was in the company of Chief Anthony Enahoro, Chairman of MNR (Movement for National Reformation) of which I am the Secretary General. NADECO was not born then. Our
concern was for the Soveregin National Conference which we knew Nigeria needed and Nigerians wanted, at a time when General Abacha promised a Constitutional Conference.
The difference between a Sovereign National Conference and a Constitutional Conference is not merely semantical. When the General pleaded that he did not know the difference, my Chairman patiently explained. We were promised that we would get what we demanded and even more.
Subsequently, I personally submitted the MNR position to the Constitutional Conference Commission when it was established. I was also signatory to the Middle Belt proposal which was very similar to what the Afenifere submitted. Practically every one wanted Nigeria to be
restructured.
It is a shame that forty years later, with eight coups, nine heads of state or government - three murdered in coups - a thirty-month civil war, numerous inter-ethnic, religious and communal conflicts involving thousands of lives, we are still asking the same questions.
The sovereignty of nationalities within a Federation was the issue. It is the issue here today and I am of the view that all Nationalities must educate their people on this matter particularly at this time when the younger ones are beginning to say that time spent attempting to save Nigeria is time wasted.
I have been confronted with the situation in which people, Yoruba people, ask me how much longer I want to continue pursuing a mirage, nursing the terminally sick who has no will to survive.
Quite clearly then, this issue cannot, indeed, must not be swept under the carpet.
When it became clear that Gen. Abacha was on a time-buying enterprise in the guise of a conference, many organizations across the country with shared concerns over the direction of the Nigerian polity and the future and survival of the Nigerian Federation got together and formed a
coalition in April 1994. That organisation was the National Democratic Coalition.
NADECO is therefore grouped around a minimum agenda that enables member organizations to continue their individual existence and prosecute their other programmes provided they do not conflict with shared objectives which unite us in NADECO.
These objectives, broadly speaking, are:
- the demilitarization of Nigerian governance through the immediate establishment of a government of National Unity and Reconciliation built around M.K.O. Abiola who clearly won the June 12, 1993 election;
- the convocation of a Sovereign National Conference to debate, negotiate and resolve the nature and structure of the new Nigerian federation,
- the restoration of basic human rights and the sovereignty of each nationality within the Federation of Nigeria.
Every development in Nigeria and in other parts of the world, since that time, has further confirmed the inevitability of these positions. It will be observed for example that while Europe is moving steadily towards a Union, the component countries are recognizing more and more the necessity of devolving power to nationalities within them.
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland is a good example. Power is being devolved to the component nations and this structure will be consolidated before Britain fully integrates into the European Union.
The process is, unfortunately, being reversed in Nigeria. We have progressively unitarized a natural federation because of the incessant militarization of Governments. Ironically, in promoting Regional Unity in West Africa, we put much of our resources on ECOWAS.
We expect independent governments in the region to surrender their sovereignty to
a Community in which Nigeria is so obviously dominant, when nationalities within our federation are not sure they want to remain in the Union.
I may appear to be digressing but this really is the issue: Sovereignty or Self Determination or Self Government, as it was called as the first step towards Nigeria's Independence. It will be recalled that each of the federating regions got its own self-government at its own pace. Can I but support the Yoruba nation in the bid to fully educate our people on the essence of autonomy, sovereignty, self government or self determination as we may call it?
I would rather urge all other nationalities in Nigeria to go and do likewise lest we find ourselves unprepared when the change we are working and praying for in Nigerian comes suddenly, as it well may.
The cries of the people to God Almighty will not be neglected for ever.
The time of the oppressor may soon expire.
[HISTORICAL NOTE: ABACHA EXPIRED WITHIN 9 DAYS OF THIS SPEECH, ON JUNE 8, 1998!]
At the height of the debate in 1994, before the unwary got diverted, in spite of NADECO's successful call on Nigerians to boycott the Constituition Conference election, there were very few informed voices against the restructuring of Nigeria.
Indeed TSM, The Sunday Magazine, published by Chris Anyanwu, who Abacha has since railroaded into prison, devoted its Anniversary Edition Vol. 9, No. 8 of 27th Feb. 1994 to what it
called *The Great Debate - Views of 30 Distinguished Nigerians on the Basis for Unity (in) Nigeria.*
Here I quote rather generously to show the popularity and multi-nationality of the gospel of national sovereignty. The call that is being made here today will thus be seen as a logical and
popular one. Views on the mechanics of national reorganization will also be seen to be remarkably close.
In a well researched submission, Dr. Uma O. Eleazu went back to colonial history and the beginning of our togetherness in a federation. You will recall that most of the Nations within Nigeria had their independent existence before colonization and the Yorubas were arguably the most sophisticated.
"The method for doing this should be similar to the one used for the first National Conference, 1949-50. When the British imperialists discovered that they really had no legitimacy to rule Nigeria (as the military hopefully today has found out), they set in motion a machinery
to ascertain the wishes of the people.
It is instructive to note that during the debate in the Legislative Council on March 11, 1949, Sir Hugh Foot (later Lord Caradon), the Chief Secretary to the Government, said, 'There is some inclination to believe that all that is necessary is to send a committee like Moses on to the
mountain and that all the people need is watch and pray - pray that the committee will in due course return from the clouds, with the perfect constitution to last for ever, written on tablets of stone.
No one can hand over his responsibility in this matter to others.
Every Nigerian has a stake in his own country and it is for him by means of village meetings and divisional meetings and provincial meetings throughout the country, and through the organizations of which he is a member to make his views known....'
That was a British imperialist defending my right to participate in such a momentous affair that affects my life!! The process he recommended was exactly followed. I was a pupil teacher then and I remember carrying my Headmaster's files to one of the district meetings and was thus afforded the opportunity of listening to a lot of speeches and hearing high sounding words like democracy, sovereignty, responsible government, federalism, etc.
It was only later I realized that I was lucky to have been present at such auspicious meetings as an observer. According to Prof. Kalu Ezera, 'The select committee which included all Nigerian members...unanimously recommended...that public opinion should be thoroughly canvassed at every level through the process of starting first Village and district meetings, then at Provincial and Divisional Conferences and then at Regional Conferences, and at conferences in the colony (of Lagos.)'
The views from all of these conferences were then collated by a Drafting Committee of experts and submitted to a General Conference which met at Ibadan in January 1950. To aid the discussions at various levels, the colonial government drew up a list of 14 questions.
The first two questions are still apropos today:
- 'Do we wish to see a fully centralized system with all legislative and executive powers concentrated at the center or do we wish to develop a federal system under which each different region of the country would exercise a measure of internal autonomy?'
- If we favour a federal system, should we retain the existing regions with some modification of existing regional boundaries or should we form regions on some new basis such as the many linguistic groups which exist in Nigeria?'
It is a shame that forty years later, with eight coups, nine heads of state or government - three murdered in coups - a thirty-month civil war, numerous inter-ethnic, religious and communal conflicts involving thousands of lives, we are still asking the same questions.
And in concluding, he recommended that: 'In the meantime, the present 30 states should be allowed to re-group and coalesce into five or six large political entities which should then become the federating units of the Nigerian Federation.
The new units should not be the creation of the Federal government but rather through a political process of consultation and negotiations, those who feel they belong together, can work together and live together in peace should be allowed to stay as a unit.
But the whole process should start from below so as to avoid boundary disputes or fear of marginalisation. Thereafter, the emergent federating units will meet in a conference to create a new federal system."
As far as I was concerned, that was a sound proposal.
Dr. Suleiman Kumo (who briefly toyed with membership of MNR) also asserted that no amount of tinkering with the constituional provisions could satisfactorily deal with our situation.
Full-scale structural changes are unavoidable. He delved into history and recalled the pre-independence agitations for autonomy.
"So, to put it briefly, Nigerian leaders agreed to a federation of three Regions. And the new system began as from 1954. And from the first Conference, demands for more Regions were made - the Middle Belt in the North, the C.O.R. (Calabar Ogoja Rivers) in the East and the Mid-West in the West.
This led to the appointment, in 1957, by the British Colonial Secretary, of a 'minorities commission' (the Willink Commission) to enquire into the fears of the minorities throughout
Nigeria and make recommendations. And when the final Conference (before Independence) resumed in 1957, there was hardly any doubt about the need and the genuineness of the demands for more Regions.
The only reason why they were not granted was the Colonial Secretary's proposition that if new Regions were to be created then Independence would have to be delayed to enable him (Mr. Lennox Boyd) to see how they settled down and operated. And if Nigerian leaders wanted Independence in 1960 then there would be no new Regions, but there would be provisions for their future creation in the Independence Constitution."
He then made a proposal on federating units: "To return to the subject of the federating units of the proposed new federation of Nigeria, the following is proposed: the former Northern Region to be divided into two: 'The North' and 'The Middle Belt.' The Middle Belt to comprise Benue, Plateau, Taraba, Southern Zaria, Southern (ie Sayawa part of) Bauchi.
But from Plateau, Keffi, Lafiya and Nassarawa emirates are to be excised and merged with the North. And similar excision can be made from other parts of the Middle Belt if any community so wishes, e.g. Muri from Taraba.
From the North, Southern (i.e. Yoruba) parts of the former Ilorin Emirate should be excised and merged with the Yoruba West.
And any other area which desires should be excised from the North, to either join the Middle Belt or the West, and should be allowed to go. But wherever there is dispute in an area or in respect of any community, concerning a merger or excision, then a plebiscite should be held in the area to determine the wishes of the people."
He went further to suggest that: "These six new regions should each have their own constitutions, their own judiciaries and their own police forces. Whether a Region should operate a Regional or State (or Local Government) police force should be purely a Regional matter.
The existing thirty states should remain as sub-units of the Regions (with whatever boundary or other adjustments that may be necessary or desirable.) The functions of states and local governments shall be spelt out in the Regional constitutiona but both tiers have to be democratically constituted.
His conclusion was "that Nigeria should return to the proper federal system, under which regions should be the most important tier of government. The new regional groups should bring together people who have the largest ethno-cultural common factors.
This should give Nigerians the opportunity of eliminating the fear (real or imagined) of domination."
A colleague of Dr. Kumo, Dr. Mahmud Tukur, after a very cynical interpretation of what he saw as the wolf cry over Fulani domination, came close to others in his conclusions: "Perhaps instead of concentration on the disintegration of Nigeria and solving the boundary drawing disputes and the assets division wars, the national conference can tackle the substantial issues of the National Question which include the following:
- Working for a proper federation in which only defence, external affairs, commerce, currency, banking, energy, immigration and transport belong to the center, and the rest of the powers devolved to the regions and/or states.
- A restructured armed forces, the membership of which would reflect regional population profiles and a federation which has regional security services.
- A federal public service based on regional or state representation or quota.
- A judiciary essentially based on the regions with Supreme Court dealing with constitutional issues and matters between states and state institutions.
- A titular or honorific President supplied by regions in rotation.
- A revenue and resources allocation formula which is equitable and pays attention to derivation and responsibility ie. a formula which recognizes both that petroleum is mined from the land of the Ekwerre while he (the Ekwerre) is entitled to full citizenship rights when he makes a home in Yola.
Our late friend, Ken Saro-Wiwa, in a characteristically frank submission, asserted:
"It is to be admitted that the problem of Nigeria today has been the
abandonment of federalism by the Military for the force of violence
of unitarism. It is most annoying that while they professed to be
running a federation, they imposed a unitary state by fiat.
Obafemi
Awolowo reserves for them the ultimate condemnation: 'For reasons
which we have failed to grasp, those who advocate a unitary
constitution for Nigerian look upon themselves as THE true Nigerian
patriots who sincerely desire, and conscientiously work for, the unity of Nigeria, while federalists are the enemies of that unity and are therefore not true patriots.
Saro-Wiwa even insisted that:
"all Constitutions should provide that any ethnic group can have a separate state if it wishes at any time, and that it can secede from the federation if it so wishes. Each state, whether it consists of one or several ethnic groups must have a written constitution.
The Federating units shall not be obligated to have similar administrative or political structures. Each shall be free to govern itself according to its political genius and the wishes
of its people. Local government shall be the responsibility of each unit of the federation."
General Olusegun Obasanjo, inspite of a misplaced faith in his junior colleague - the faith that led him to turn down suggestions to remain abroad before walking into Abacha's ambush - said: "With the atomization of Nigeria by means of state creation almost to the point of rendering the constituent units prostrate, I find the concept of zones as the basis of our federation worth examining.
At this stage of our development, we can not abandon the federal system but perhaps the federating units should be zones rather than the existing states. Each zone should be large enough to be viable, and made up of local governments. We may be able to save some costs and administration for development.
The time has also come when as a mark of true federalism, revenue resources and responsibility of each constituent component should determine wages and salary scales of each constituent. The forum for dealing with this matter, as I see it, is a National Conference. A
Constitutional Conference can deal with a number of relevant issues, but will remain somewhat limiting."
The flamboyant Dr. Chuba Okadibo insisted that the decision of a Sovereign
National Conference: 'are not subjected to change, alteration or manipulation of any group or government now or in the future. We must draw attention to two conditionalities. First, a Sovereign National Conference, because people-based and people-willed, distinguishes itself from a National Constitutional Conference which is government-based and government-directed.
In the language of the Romans: "Salus populi suprema lex" (The will of the people is the supreme law.) Therefore, let us all press for a Sovereign National Conference and let us all kick down the contraption which goes by the title of National Constitutional Conference..............................That is to say that the people shall have the right to REVOLT and should REVOLT, if any decision adopted at the Sovereign National Constitutional Conference is in any way or manner altered, amended or rejected.'
Our good friend, Prof. Anya O. Anya was also fully supportive of self-determination:
"The new Nigerian Federation should be a responsive and functional federation of nationalities rather than the current patchwork of unviable and dependent states.
A close examination of the distribution of the peoples of Nigeria shows that Nigeria can be zoned such that there can be six zones - one for each of the three ethnic majors and three for ethnic minorities organized in such a manner that there can be no permanent minorites or majorities within the zones predominantly made up of the so-called minorities.
I am aware of course that at the periphery of or within these zones, there will be ethnic groups too small to stand on their own. Following the principle of self-determination, such peoples will constitute special or autonomous districts within a contiguous zone of their own choosing.
This scheme should result in viable, balanced and truly federating units in which the ethnic majors and minors can be guaranteed their rights in an atmosphere of healthy competition and responsible sharing.
Dr. Patrick Dele Cole [HISTORICAL NOTE: CURRENTLY ADVISER ON POLITICAL AFFAIRS TO PRESIDENT OBASANJO] had no doubt that the survival of Nigeria would depend on self-determination through a sovereign national conference.
"People calling for sovereign national conference are calling for a restititution. Nigeria is already gone. It has already disintegrated. We have no economy. The political system has collapsed, national confidence has been eroded. Social infrastructure is no longer there. So all we are saying about the sovereign national conference is that all these problems will be put down and discussed and common solutions will be found."
Mallam Lawan Danbazzau, the respected old nationalist from Zaria asked that we "reduce the Federal Government into a tier that handles only matters like defence, external affairs, finance, national planning and so on."
Cyprian Ekwensi thought that the Sovereign National Conference should settle once and for all the need and the basis of our continued existence as one nation.
Finally, let me quote from The Middle Belt's Agenda for A New Nigeria, the Memorandum we submitted to the Constitutional Conference Commission:
"Owing to the diversity of the cultures, history and values of the various peoples of Nigeria, the Federal System of Government is much more appropriate than a Unitary system as it would allow unity in diversity and also allow the various compones reasonable autonomy on their local affairs.
What is required is an ingenious division of power between the federating units and the center to guarantee true federalism.
With eight regions in the country, the south would have four. Their minority tribes (forgive the expression) would have two regions, the SouthEastern and SouthWestern minorities having one region each.
The Igbo and Yoruba would have one each. Thus there would be a balance not only between the East and West, but also between the minor and major tribes of the South. Also in the North, the Middle Belt would have two regions and the North two regions.
I have gone to this length to show the degree of national consensus on this matter and the need to come back and address this crucial issue especially now that all those who had been deceived are getting wise to the tragicomedy that is going on in Nigeria today. Every one suddenly realises that Abacha is toying with the destiny of Nigeria.
Each nation must therefore begin to educate its people and prepare their minds for the final resolution of the future of Nigeria. This is a matter for all Nigerians to determine. Not only should the ethnic nationalities send their authentic representatives to the sovereign national conference, they must decide in a referendum to accept or reject what the Conference proposes.
This occasion must therefore be seen as a very important one.
This ceremony must be replicated across all Nigerian nationalities at home and abroad, and that needs to be done quickly. Most of you must know that the rats have started deserting the sinking ship. One by one, the upholders and patrons of tyranny are withdrawing their support. Babangida has found his voice, Buhari has served notice that he would not remain at the helm
of the Petroleum Trust Fund beyond August, even if Abacha stays on.
Even Shonekan now condemns sit-tightism. Are you surprised? [HISTORICAL NOTE: LEADING UP TO THE DATE OF THIS SPEECH, SUDDENLY SEVERAL VOICES (INCLUDING THE ONES MENTIONED HERE) AROUND THE COUNTRY STARTED TO SPEAK UP BOLDLY AGAINST ABACHA'S SELF-SUCCESSION PLANS.]
All those things that were the pride of Nigeria in our youth are now the shame of our country.
Let us take a few obvious examples. Just think of public media in Nigeria today. Since the Federal take-over, WNTV and Radio OYO have shrunk, not only in the quality of their output but also in the scope and reach of their transmission.
Government institutions that worked like Big Ben have collapsed.
The Health system which Abacha condemned at his first coup broadcast when he sent us packing in 1983 hardly exists anymore. He said our hospitals had become mere consulting clinics; now all the Consultants are over here in North America, in the Arabian Penninsular and Europe, not to talk of other African countries.
A young friend called me from Winnipeg a couple of weeks ago, he told me that Canada and the US together harbour no less than 3,000 Nigerian doctors. How many countries in the world can survive such high level of manpower haemorrhage?
The collapse of these institutions followed the collapse of regional autonomy. The few universities we had in Nigeria when we were a Federation were centers of excellence. Sir Ahmadu Bello would not lend his name to anything inferior to what existed in the competing regions.
So, ABU competed with UNN which competed with the University of Ife of those days. Nigerian institutions trained manpower of the highest level, from all over Africa and even other parts of the world. Those Nigerian experts are now here, where they can be spared, but our institutions have to make do with those waiting for their own opportunity to escape.
Our universities now lack facilities comparable to what the few Higher School Colleges had in our time.
I was in Barewa College in Zaria when the school turned 40. The Sardauna, Premier of our Northern Region, was so concerned about what he saw as the low level of discipline in the school, that he summoned two student representatives from each of the Northern post-primary institutions for pep talk on discipline.
Today, the least disciplined Nigerians are the rulers of the land. But the Military Institutions have become elite establishments where our armed rulers groom their own children as their own successors, before our very eyes.
Issues that should have been left for the Regions to handle, using an acceptable revenue distribution formula, have become unmanageable in the hands of a Federal Military Government which, unlike those leaner days, now has unlimited financial resources to squander on indefensible projects or convert to the personal use of the tyrants and their collaborators,
including highly placed foreigners.
While our people are starving, these armed robbers spend billions of dollars prosecuting wars, sponsoring coups, sustaining tyrants in other lands and terrorizing neighbouring countries. Regional development suffers in the face of unitary military dictatorship.
The Revenue system is inverted, competitive spirit is killed. The so-called states lack powers that municipal authorities used to enjoy. If Nigeria is to survive, things cannot continue like this.
It is time to begin planning ahead. Do we carve Nigerian into eight federations, regions or zones, as we suggested in the MNR proposal, or more or less? How would the smaller nations wish to be grouped, if we all agree to stay on together? Those who are capable of reasoning and
planning had better start now, before the ruthless overcome the planless and confusion gets confounded.
I plead earnestly with those of you here today and others who are unavoidably absent, to contribute generously to this fund. The essence of democracy is self-determination.
Self-government or national autonomy is an essential ingredient of true federalism. The Yoruba nation knows where it is going. Other nations within Nigeria must make up their own minds. A meeting of minds at a Sovereign National Conference may yet save Nigeria.
Let us prepare for the kind of system that will make home a place to yearn to return to, and Nigeria a country to be proud of again.
I thank you for the privilege of this podium.
Oduduwa a gbe wa o.
Guides
Governor C.O. Adebayo on Sovereign National Conference