Why restructuring more complex than you think it is

agbalumo
agbalumo
Jul 25, 2017 · 5 min read

Restructuring is a complex move, there is no doubt that it is a step in the right direction; Nigeria must exist but she cannot exist in her present state, it is our one chance for a fresh start, but we must not get caught up in the vibe. Given the nature of the exercise, we may be facing the biggest power tussle in modern Nigerian history, one that may even rival the political intrigues of the first republic.

Tribal Map of Nigeria

Already, there are disagreements on what restructuring should and shouldn’t be. Some people want a state oriented federal structure in which every state of the federation has a constitution, with powers to make laws, full autonomy in economics, security, mineral exploration, etc. Others want a return to the old system of regional integration and some even more curious factions want restructuring without fiscal federalism. Recently, Mr. Femi Falana, one of Nigeria’s leading political and human rights activists argued that the exercise must be restricted to the economy alone and that politics must have very little to do with it. While I agree that most of the exercise should be limited to the economy, more specifically the tax remuneration system, I must also insist that we restructure from a sociopolitical perspective too.

Although Nigeria is a democracy, much of the country’s political system, especially at local level, is still feudal. This has created a political divide which is the source of much of the confusion in the polity. Simply put, we cannot have both an Oba and a Local Government collecting taxes at local level. One must give way. Nigeria’s problem is not limited to bad leadership, it may surprise to find that most of the problems we face today are deeply rooted in bad followership, after all, in a democratic environment, a government is a reflection of the people. In a country where traditional institutions still call the shots at local level, it makes sense to say that restructuring must have a social aspect to it; a cultural revolution.

It is that time of the year again; I received this text on WhatsApp recently;

“Tomorrow is a no go area to both Ikorodu and Iperu town for any female as from 3pm pls forward to any female you can help remember your families too. There will be Isemo in the two towns while Oro festival starts today in Sagamu for 9days no night crawling pls. This info might be helpful for someone. So don’t ignore, pls share dis Information is key”

Oro Festival is an event celebrated by towns and settlements of Yoruba Origin. It is an annual traditional festival that is of patriarchal nature, as it is only celebrated by Male descendants who are paternal natives to the specific locations where the particular event is taking place. During the festival, females and non-indigenes stay indoors as oral history has it that Oro must not be seen by women and non-participating people. The ceremonies surrounding the celebration of Oro differs from town to town, and one is often called after the death of a monarch. (Wikipedia)

While what you have read above sounds like harmless fun, the reality could not be farther from the truth. Does it make sense for people to give up their fundamental freedom and liberties over some archaic practice that really holds no relevance as far as societal advancement is concerned? At what stage do we begin to recognize that the root of most of our problems today lay in traditional institutions?

Oro is only a tip of the ice berg of backwardness. There are townships in Nigeria today that have very bizarre practices; for example, human sacrifice was not uncommon in pre-colonial Ijebu territory and some of it is still in practice today. Some of the areas most affected by random disappearances are on Ijebu territory today. Shagamu is Nigeria’s kidnapping capital! And guess who the aboriginals of Ikorodu are; home of the infamous badoo cult group, Ijebus! We see stories of Nigerians who are kidnapped and used for ritual purposes, these disappearances are so common, anyone could leave their home and not be back by evening.

Other bizarre practices is when the traditional rulers of a town refuse to have the roads in the town tarmacked because it blocks them from effectively digging holes in the ground to offer sacrifices to their gods. It may also surprise you to find that these practices are the main cause of emigration from Nigeria. We have heard of men who earned chieftaincy titles in their town of origins and had to flee because of the requirements for holding these titles. In an environment where insanity is mainstream and mediocrity is celebrated, men of wisdom cannot thrive. As such, they are forced to flee; bad company corrupts good manners hence the reason why Nigeria loses talents, which could have been used to develop the country, to first world countries.

Democracy is ideally a process and activity of creating a self-determined society of free and equal individuals; keywords free and equal. The members of such a democratic society have the same rights and obligations. The ideals of our traditional institutions are the direct opposite of this; feudalism. Feudalism is the reason by party leaders will seek to impose their own candidates on party delegates, it is the reason why after paying the Federal and state tax, business men still have to pay taxes to an Oba in some obscure area. Feudalism is the reason why there are gates on nearly every street in your neighborhood, it is the reason why Nigerian society is highly fragmented at local level. Our traditional institutions today are the product of centuries of feudal struggles and due to the nature of indirect colonization, Nigerian nationalism is of artificial origins hence the reason why a referendum must be carried out to determine whether it should continue to exist as a country.

For restructuring to be a successful exercise, a socio-cultural-political aspect of it must be carefully examined. A cultural revolution is long overdue, we cannot continue to move around in circles when we clearly know where the problems are. It may take some blood, sweat and tears but it must happen.