‘The Patriots’ and the restructuring of Nigeria: One step forward, two steps backwards? (3), by Usman Sarki
“Little by little however, the process of generalisation takes effect”– Georgi Plekhanov
THE process of generalisation of the “National Question”, particularly the “restructuring” aspect of it has left many perplexed and bewildered. The idea that changing the 1999 Constitution and bringing back its 1963 predecessor will make for progress and betterment of Nigeria, seems a far-fetched notion that simply overlooks the most critical factor in national renewal and reconstruction, which is its economic system or prevailing mode of production. This singular oversight on the part of the “restructuralists” has made their case inadmissible and their premise untenable.
By insisting on addressing superficialities and refusing to acknowledge the fundamental issues underlying the problems with our governance and political system, the proponents of “restructuring” continue to needlessly churn up sentiments that are neither constructive nor rewarding in terms of providing us with a way forward. So far, what they have succeeded to do is to take us one step forward, and two steps back. This is motion without movement or movement without momentum. In fact, it is action without effect!
In the two preceding articles in the series, we highlighted the significance of the economic dimensions of the challenges of governance in Nigeria and dispelled the assertion that Nigeria needs to be “restructured” in order to make it better. We argued that the problems of Nigeria are associated with the overall economic system that has been forced upon the country and the manifest inability of successive governments to change it for the better. This is despite the clear provisions contained in Chapter 2 of the much-vilified 1999 Constitution which made egalitarianism the main ethos of the Nigerian State and government.
The underlying as well as visible problems that the Nigerian economic system has brought about consist of the disparities in access to resources and the share of wealth among Nigerians. The greatest evidence of this disparity is in the share of disposable income among Nigerians. The lack of equality is clearly illustrated by a set of figures pertaining to the situation regarding access to income in Nigeria. A deposit analysis in the banking sector of the country will, to a great extent, reveal the income disparities among the country’s population operating bank accounts.
The spread of deposit liabilities in bank accounts indicated the lopsided nature of income distribution in the country. Out of 128 million accounts at the end of December 2019 with total deposit liabilities of N31 trillion, about 97% (125 million accounts) had stable balances of N500,000 and below. In stark contrast to this, only about three per cent (3.7 million accounts) had stable deposits of N500,000 and above. The figures reveal a glaring imbalance in income distribution in Nigeria at the time, which might have been compounded and made even worse by the economic situation of the country by now.
The fact remains that as at December 2019, 97% of depositors only held 3% of the total deposits in the entire banking sector in the country, while just three per cent of depositors were in control of 97% percent of all the deposits. This situation reveals a deep and inherently unequal structural arrangement in the Nigerian economy whereby few individuals controlled virtually the entire money in circulation in the country, while the vast majority lived from hand to mouth in penury, uncertain about their future. The most fundamental problem with Nigeria is inequality, which no constitutional changes or political “restructuring” can remedy if the economic system that the country operates is not transparently corrected or changed.
This is also true with regards to other entitlements that have to do with the privilege of being a citizen of the country such as in access to food and nutrition in order to live a decent life. Apart from poverty and related aggravated situations, the country is facing the challenge of dealing with growing food crisis. By its own admission, the Federal Government acknowledged that 31 million Nigerians are facing acute food shortages across the country. This is another indictment of the system in a country that boasts of having over 80 million hectares of arable lands but could not feed its people. How introducing a new “people’s constitution” or implementing the report of the 2014 National Conference will address this critical condition remains a total mystery.
The Nigerian government is also contending with the vexatious issue of payment of subsidy on fuel (gasoline) which successive administrations have failed to deal with decisively. This policy of subsidising the import of petrol remains the greatest indictment of the ruling classes in the country, and the economic system that we are operating. According to a World Bank report, subsidy of fuel had cost Nigeria “over 8.6 trillion naira (US$22.2 billion) from 2019 to 2022 with empirical evidence showing it did not benefit the poor but rather benefitted relatively better off consumers and resulted in large-scale black market and out-smuggling”.
This massive scheme or scam has resulted in distortions in fiscal policies and the disarray in other areas of national economic planning. It has now become the stone of Sisypus that rolls back each time the old king pushes it up the hill. Development in Nigeria has also remained spatially unequal and discriminatory. The World Bank report indicated that spatial inequality between states in the different zones or regions of the country was growing, and that in most areas of the country: “State capacity is low, service delivery is limited, and insecurity and violence are widespread. Infrastructure gaps constrain access to electricity and hinder the domestic economic integration that would allow the country to leverage its large market size, which is aggravated by trade protectionism”.
The disparities in development among the different regions of the country is a singular matter that should normally be addressed as an existential proposition because of the interplay of interests and compatibility of aspirations of the Nigerian people. To what extent introducing a new “people’s constitution” will lead to the harmonisation of development across the country evenly and democratically is a big question that needs to be answered.
In the larger context of development, an equally very worrying situation was revealed by reports about abandoned projects in the country. These were projects into which vast and unquantifiable amounts of money were sunk, only to be abandoned half way and left uncompleted. A National Assembly committee recently referred to an audit report conducted by a previous administration which revealed that there are more than 11,856 abandoned projects across the 36 states of the federation in 2011. This tally included all projects that were started but could not be completed from 1966 to 2011. This indicates that 66% of all projects initiated by the federal government is never completed. This is nothing short of scandalous.
The number of such projects would have arisen considerably by 2024, knowing the nature of governance and the chaotic economic system that is obtaining in our country. How “restructuring” Nigeria and changing our constitution can provide remedies to this criminal negligence is simply incomprehensible, considering that it is people who make countries successful and not institutions or instruments of government alone.
The incident of abandoned projects is perhaps much more glaring in the roads construction sector of the country. According information provided by the federal government itself, Nigeria would need N16 trillion to complete such projects inherited from past administrations. This would encompass completion of more than 18,932 kilometers of roads across Nigeria that were left unfinished for which 2,064 contracts were awarded.
Nothing reveals more glaringly the destructiveness of policies of government than the phenomena of uncompleted and abandoned projects across Nigeria. Nothing more than these disclosures could reveal the true extent of the crisis of the capitalist mode of production and economic system that are being practiced in Nigeria. It is a system that is based on unearned privileges and absence of accountability owing to the inherently unpatriotic nature of our governance and political arrangements which no amount of constitution changes or “restructuring” of the country would correct, let alone the resuscitation of the the dead and buried remains of the controversial 2014 National Conference.
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