Nigeria must devolve powers or risk disintegration – Professor

A professor of political and administrative management, Ladipo Adamolekun, has identified Nigeria’s over-centralisation of its federal system as a major drawback in her quest for speedy economic and political development.

Speaking on the mantra, “devolve or die,” Mr Adamolekun referenced contemporary developing nations whose strategy of power devolution to constituent governments had contributed to their progress.

He argued that Nigeria’s power devolution had become imperative given her struggles with underdevelopment and weak institutions.

These positions are contained in his book, “Reflections On Governance and Development in Nigeria,” which was presented to the media on Thursday in Akure, the Ondo State capital.

The book is a compendium of published and unpublished papers he wrote between 2000 and 2010.

In his opening remarks, Mr Adamolekun said he adopted “Devolve or Die” as his political credo for Nigeria.

“This was in the context of drafting my reflections on 50 years of federalism in Nigeria: ‘Nigerian Federation at the Crossroads: The Way Forward,’ published in 2005,” he said.

“The following are the concluding two sentences of the article: ‘Only devolution can unleash the forces for consolidating democracy and achieving accelerated socioeconomic progress in Nigeria. The alternative to devolution will likely be the death of the federation'(italics and bold added).

“Eighteen years later, I elaborated on this conviction as follows in Nigeria & I. Getting Politics Right to Make Nigeria Work (2022). ‘A devolved federation is a necessity, not a choice The devolved federation that Nigeria needs will have [these] characteristics… six federating units (the existing six geo-political zones) instead of the existing thirty-six states of which only about six are viable; assignment of functions between the central government and the federating units based on the principle of subsidiarity similar, to a considerable extent, to the assignment of functions in the 1963 Constitution; and allocation of resources that is consistent with both the imperative of fiscal federalism and the proposed increased functions for subnational governments.

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“Adopting and faithfully implementing a devolved federation is critical to keeping Nigeria one; it is a fundamental condition for making our multi-ethnic, multi-religious and multi-lingual country work. In particular, a devolved federal system is very likely to enhance the ability of central and subnational governments to more effectively deliver goods and services to citizens.

“In my considered opinion, the reality that the pace of socio-economic development would vary among the federating units is a better outcome than the poor development performance recorded nation-wide under the prevailing overcentralisation and uniformity.”

The scholar further argued that among the existing 25 federations on the planet, none has recorded good development performance through the concentration of powers and resources at the centre.

Citing the 15 May 2004 edition of The Economist, Mr Adamolekun said the Indian experience is apposite: “A big part of India’s success has come from devolving power to the country’s state governments. What happens at the centre is of correspondingly less importance.”

He, however, noted that the establishment of regional development commissions in Nigeria was antithetic to devolution of powers as promoters and supporters of these institutions are entrenching over-centralisation and delaying devolution.

“I would confidently assert that delaying devolution in Nigeria is dangerous,” he warned.

While articulating the way forward, Mr Adamolekun advised President Bola Tinubu to use the same method he used to effect the change of Nigeria’s National Anthem to ensure the reallocation of functions and resources between the central and sub-national governments in the country.

“Specifically, I would recommend a 35:65 share for the central and subnational governments respectively, with respect to both powers and resources,” he added.

He also recommended a return to regional government which was the system Nigeria practiced before the advent of the military.

While reviewing the book, Dele Olowu, a scholar and and researcher in public policy and management, described Mr Adamolekun as an academic activist, who devoted much of his career to acquiring and transmitting knowledge of his fields of academic endeavour which are politics, public policy and administration and development management.

He summed up the main points of the book as what good governance entails, the decline in development performance especially in sub-saharan Africa post independence, a decline in the political situation and a proposal on the way forward.

Mr Olowu, however, observed that the author did not devote much space to some critical groups in his analysis of the interaction between good governance and economic development.

“Whereas much space has been devoted to politicians, administrators and the judiciary, not so much emphasis is accorded to some strategic civic groups.

“In fact, some critical groups of actors in the society are left out almost entirely. These would include: academia–senior professors have been the ones selected who officiate Nigerian elections at the national and state levels–and with but a few, very few exceptions, they have done a poor job of it,” he said.

He added that youths and students groups as well as faith based organisations were also left out.

The book reviewer also noted that things have actually gotten worse since 2010 and have reached crisis proportions, especially with regards to insecurity, given that the papers were written between 2000 and 2010.

“The economy might have experienced windfalls from economic liberalisation and end to oil subsidy but these have been mismanaged especially by many of the state governments-several of their officials are still not regularly and promptly paid their salaries,” he said

According to him, the worsening trend has resulted in the mass exodus from the country or the “Japa” syndrome.

“In spite of the above observations, this book is an important contribution to knowledge on governance and development in Nigeria and Africa. It is highly recommended for anyone who would like to know more about these issues. In fact, it should be compulsory reading for all those who are or intend to go into the administration of political, economic, social, judicial or executive/administrative power in Nigeria and indeed in the African continent,” he added.

The book launch was attended by members of the academia, journalists, politicians and diplomats.