Kayode Fayemi, former governor of Ekiti, says local government autonomy is a contradiction in a federal system of government.
Fayemi spoke on Thursday at the launch of a leadership and economic summit by St. Racheal’s People Consulting.
The summit — held to discuss leadership in Nigeria — was themed ‘Economic Prosperity- Secrets of Audacious Leaders’.
In May, the federal government filed a suit against governors seeking full autonomy for the country’s 774 local government areas.
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On July 11, the supreme court ruled that the federal government should henceforth pay allocations directly to local government councils from the federation account.
The seven-member panel of justices held that state governments have continued to abuse their powers by retaining and using the funds meant for local governments.
The apex court also ordered the federal government to withhold allocations of LGs governed by unelected officials.
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Fayemi said the federal government’s legal victory does not address the root causes of Nigeria’s socio-economic and security problems.
He said Nigeria is gradually returning to unitarianism, adding that states should determine local government operations.
“We cannot return to a unitary state. But unfortunately, we are gradually going back to a unitary form of government even though it is being dressed up as restructuring,” he said.
“The president is a federalist, he is a leader in my party, we share quite a lot in common, but I do not know any federal entity anywhere in the world where the federal government becomes the driver of what happens in the local government.
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“It does not happen anywhere in the world and the Nigerian Constitution in Section 2 is very clear that Nigeria is a federation of the federal (central government) and the state. it is not three-tier.”
Fayemi said it is ignorant to label local government as the third tier of government, describing LG autonomy as “a misnomer and aberration”.
“Anywhere in the world where we have federalism, it is the state or province or region either in India, US, Canada, or Australia. It is now up to the state to determine whether it wants to have 20 counties, or 50 or 200 local authorities based on its own local needs,” the ex-governor said.
‘This is a misnomer, it does not happen anywhere in the world; with this latest strategy, I assure you, in the first instance, I don’t see how workable it is; it is not going to work.
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“This is not the solution, we are unitarising the country instead of decentralising the country. If we can address this problem that we have all identified, we will see that Nigeria will be better. We cannot solve all the problems from Abuja, particularly the two critical problems of security and energy.
“We need to really drill down to the local level in order to resolve those two problems. if we fix those two problems, electricity and security, Nigeria will fly.”
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‘YOUTH DESPONDENCY IN NIGERIA A TICKING TIME BOMB’
Fayemi said the growing youth despondency in Nigeria poses a threat to the country’s stability if left unaddressed.
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The former Ekiti governor asked leaders to be visionary and resolute in driving reforms that benefit the people.
“Leadership is sacrifice. We don’t treat leadership as a sacrifice in Nigeria. We just have to do things differently if we want this country to go the right way,” he said.
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“Otherwise, the time bomb is ticking, and I think we are going to run into a major problem if we don’t address this feeling of despondency particularly among the youths and people.
“We all must contribute to leadership to build a transformed society- it isn’t just the president and the governors.”
The former minister of solid minerals said providing Nigerians with basic infrastructure, power, a supportive environment, and security would unleash their innate entrepreneurial potential, leading to a swift economic resurgence.
“We must recognise that leadership is not the title, it is not the office you occupy. Leadership is influence, it is what you do with it that is most important,” he said
“This ‘winners take it all’ system is not going to take us anywhere. I think we need to change our electoral system to proportional representation.
“Everybody who has sizable votes should be in a government of national unity.
“In this case, we pull all resources and interests together with no one kicking at the collective interest. We will all have a stake in it and want it to succeed. Right now, that is not the situation.”
The former governor said Nigeria has not yet reached its desired state, adding that the country would only get there if everyone contributes their quota.
He said the need for strong leadership to address the trust deficit and despondency in the country requires a shift in citizens’ values and sense of responsibility to drive societal progress.
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