No to false bill on Local Government Autonomy, by Adewale Adeoye

 I have read about the bill seeking autonomy for 774 Local Governments in Nigeria. This is a bill that seeks to castrate Nigerian indigenous people and tie the fate of their political economy to the Abuja hegemon.

We must think critically, and employ symbolic logic to understand the immediate danger this bill represents. We must kill it.

The day this bill becomes law is the day Federalism dies in Nigeria. While many Nigerians are clamouring for devolution of power to states, through the backdoor, the same Federal Government wants to take back the ground norm of Federalism by seeking to be in control of the economic fortunes of Local Councils.

They call it the LG Autonomy Bill, but in reality, it is FG-veiled control of Local Governments.

The LGs are the souls and arteries of states. When their rights to funds are determined by the FG, it empowers the Federal Government to the detriment of states and empowers the LG to the extent that they can be set against the states.

It is a cunning way to take over the country and fortify centralism

Without the LGs, each state becomes a snail without a shell.

Autonomy for 774 LGs only means they are now under the direct control of the Federal Government which is very dangerous. The Federal Government can manipulate the process and subvert states or cause asphyxiation of belligerent Local Councils.

The law we need is that which makes the States to be more autonomous and for the states to have the right to create LGs and to ensure their funds get to them through the State Legislature. This can be done without FG’s meddlesomeness.

FG direct funding of 774 LGs means Federal Government control of Local Councils in a Federation. This is an attack on the principles of good governance. It impugns the right to self-determination.

It’s like the landlord of a house with 21 rooms and each of the 21 rooms has a leader that pays the rent and receives some levels of control from another power different from the landlord who is expected to be the landlord of the house.

This is a garrison structure and reactionary politics by all means. It is an attempt to build a house from the rooftop.

If the FG disburses funds to the 774 LGs, it is another disguised means of FG control of Local Councils instead of some level of control by the states. 

The States are empty without the Local Governments. Why should Ihiala, Nguru, Ikole, Ajoni, Angas, and Odukpani Local Councils look up to Abuja for their monthly allocation?

The accusation is that States and Governors mismanage the funds meant for LGs, but the truth of the matter is that FG is not more morally superior or better than states.

There is no indication that any President of Nigeria is more transparent than state Governors.

The same FG allocates resources to MDAs and we see how such funds are embezzled. We have seen corruption right inside Aso Rock, so what credibility is Abuja selling that it is in a better position to hold in trust and distribute at will, LG funds?

There is no guarantee that Federal Officials would not take kickbacks from LG Chairmen if this bill becomes law.

It will also mean double expenditure from public funds since the LG Chairmen will now need to frequent Abuja where their funds come from more than their state capitals.

The central government can also use it as a bait and propaganda weapon. 

In this country, the FG once seized LG funds belonging to Lagos State for many years. It can happen again.

Why are people in support of the Bill?

It appears people supporting this bill have not done a critical analysis of the consequences.

It is a very harmful and irresponsible bill that must be killed and buried. It is a beautiful porridge but laden with Hemlock.

I’m aware many Local Government Chairmen support this bill for some reasons: To have total control of local funds and ward off the prying eyes of the state Governors. 

That control could mean two things: To be able to embezzle the funds without any challenge and secondly, to be able to assert political authority that can counter any checks and balances by State Legislature.

If the reason is that they want to deliver dividends of democracy, they can do the same with the little resources they have, even at present, through creative thinking.

Questions to ask

We ask: How many local Governments have farm settlements and how many have embarked on fishing or poultry, tree planting campaigns, community farms to feed pupils of primary schools or even sports competitions in local schools in their domain? Very few.

 Nigerians are crying for state autonomy, self-determination, Resource control and not LG autonomy which contradicts each other. 

Once you have a law that creates direct funding of LGs by the Federal Government, you have automatically destroyed State Autonomy which is crucial to democracy, good governance and the rule of law.

The bill is the handiwork of those who want to sustain Nigeria as a bellicose and tyrannical state hidden under Local Government autonomy to give a false impression of creating conditions for good governance.

We want to look up to states and not to Abuja for our salvation, an important ingredient of justice, pluralism, multi-partism and equity in democracy which this bill seeks to destroy.

We must start the campaign now. This bill must die.

 The autonomy we need is Federalism in its true sense, that is a minimum demand; freedom and life more abundant through party ownership and control by the people, choice of candidates by the people and management of the electoral process in a transparent and equitable manner.

States should have greater control over their resources, over oil, over solid minerals, over tax, over their forests, their stream,  their low and high fields, flying and creeping things, and their land.

 Creating a third tier of partnership between Local Governments and the Federal Government is a deceitful plot to take the rug off the feat of the States, to abrogate indigenous rights, to undermine the people, to subvert the spirit of Federalism and to oil the wheel of fascism, which we must all resist.

LG Autonomy and Corruption

To check corruption at the state is as important as checking corruption at the Local Government and at the Presidency.

Direct sourcing of Local Government funds from the Federal Government does not in any way eliminate profligacy 

It may in fact fuel it.

If this bill sails through, the logical sequence is that Local Councils will in fact lose their autonomy in the real sense because each fund they collect will mean paying some tax to the Federal Government which is just a crab eye blink from another bill seeking states to pay a royalty to the Federal Government on resources in their domain or for the FG to insist on direct access, boycotting the states, to resources in any LG it deems fit.

When Iyanibo brought a well-oiled but poisoned porridge to the Lion as a gift, it took the wisdom of the wife of the Lion to alert the tortoise that Iyanibo, the tortoise, has, in history, never meant well for the Lion. Today’s Iyanibo in the National Assembly are offsprings of those who upturned Nigeria’s regional Governments into a unitary civilian Government

We should remind ourselves of the past, and the present and choose a brighter future out of our free, prior and informed consent.

Let states Assemblies and Nigerians kill this snake of a Bill. The time is NOW

–Adeoye is a Senior Journalist and Civil Rights Activist