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BALANCED FEDERATION IS NIGERIA’S IGNORED NEED -PROF OSUAGWU

A RESPONSE TO DR AKIN FAPOUNDA’S MEMO ON RESTRUCTUNG


When Akin Fapohunda circulated his ‘Memo’ on restructuring Nigeria and it started drawing flak, I sent Professor Ọbasi Ìgwè’s critique to him. He was, apparently, rattled. He called me to discuss it.
He complained about the complaints and asked that I suggest changes I wanted. I:
- Pointed out to him that this was not a matter for adhoc inputs, even when he felt his train had, irreversiblly, left the station.
- Reminded him that the Southern and Middlebelt Alliance group, in which we, both, are, had commissioned a group to develop working papers on this issue. It was, in fact, his nominee from the Southwest was the person that did not make submissions as expected. Nevertheless, we had discussed the submitted inputs and adopted concensus positions, which were not reflected in his memo. He seemed to forget or was confused about what we decided. But, I think he is playing the kind of games that has kept Nigeria in trouble. One doesn’t solve problems by creating problems.
What to keep in mind is that there was a reason why the first republic, which was a federal system with blooming economies failed. It collapsed because it was based on an ‘IMBALANCED FEDERALISM’. The British, as reflected in their declassified colonial office documents, made a conscious decision to create an imbalanced federation dominated by a DOMINANT NORTH; controlled by the Fulani Viceroys. That way, they stated brazenly, they would control the Fulani and, thereby, control Nigeria as part of an INFORMAL BRITISH EMPIRE. So, the neocolonialism Nigerians have endured since 1960 was by Britain’s design, not Nigerian mistakes only.
The impatient Igbo that lack expertise in enduring racist and feudalist predation, of course, led the upturn of such insolent and unsustainable contraption. This added to the fear and hatred of the Igbo by Anglosphere, that Lugard wrote about, and the Biafran genocide.
So, any proposal for a federal Nigeria that doesn’t deal with the IMBALANCE PROBLEMATIC, such as Fapohunda’s ignored is a misguided non-starter.
I, Chidi Osuagwu, originated the idea of a SIX REGIONAL FEDERATION in Nigeria. The idea was to solve the problem of inbuilt DESTABILISING IMBALANCE, which had collapsed the first Republic as outlined above. I am, by nature and training, a structuralist. So, I think of problems and their solutions in structural terms.
I came up with the six regional structure for Nigeria as a student in America, just like I had proposed a seven regional structure for Africa (Professor Wole Soyinka will testify to this as I sent him a copy in 1975).
In 1982, after I had returned to Nigeria, Dr Chuks Osuji published my proposal, as an article, in his OPINION magazine. The idea was widely canvased. I sent the article to Zik, Mbakwe, etc. That is how the idea of six regional federation started to spread in Nigeria.
The essential or Lynchpin concept in the proposed six regional federation is STRUCTURAL BALANCE. With structural balance, which the British forebade in the ‘Independence’ structure for Nigeria, the country would be stable and prosper with the 1963 Republican Constitution.
What does proposed six regional federation of Nigeria BALANCE?: - Balance North (3 regions) and South (3 regions) and
- Balance majorities of Hausa, Igbo and Yoruba (3 regions) and all Nigerian Minorities (3 regions).
Abacha, a Kanuri, worked hard with the Igbo to legislate the six regional system to free his people from Fulani political stranglehold. Unfortunately, Abacha died and imperialist Fulani removed it from the Abacha draft constitution as to retain Northern Nigeria as their imperial realm from which to dominate Nigeria’s indigenous peoples. Only the Fulani are opposed to a balanced Federation of Nigeria. They, like their British allies and mentors, are skilled in managing and profiteering from Chaos. This is a Taqqiya game!
So, any realistic proposed model must deal with this BALANCE issue, to solve the BASIC PROBLEM. Balance North and South as well as Minorities and Majorities. Even if more than six regions are desired, then it SHOULD BE multiples of SIX, such as 12, 18 etc. To not deal with the BALANCED PROBLEMATIC is to not know why Nigeria’s first republic failed or why Nigeria has remained a troubled British neocolony. The British who understand the relationship of STRUCTURE to STABILITY have profited, perhaps trillions of dollars, from Nigeria’s instability and chaos as per their deliberate design. Nigerians should wake up and stop bouncing sterile memos.
Chidi G Osuagwu