Nigeria must move from unitary federalism to succeed, says Adamolekun

Professor Ladipo Adamolekun, who turned 80, recently spoke to MUYIWA ADEYEMI about the challenges that frustrate the country due to the unitary system of government introduced by the military government and supported by democratically elected governments.< p> /em>

You said Nigeria got off to a good start; when did the country start to deviate? When General Aguyi Ironsi seized power in 1966 in a military coup, I was one of those who led a rally to welcome the new government as the leader of the University student union from Ibadan. But as soon as it was clear that Ironsi was not going down the nationalist path, I also led a student demonstration against that government. They took a misstep by imposing a unitary system through their command structure and Nigeria took over a federation.

The military culture is unitary so he did what his culture told him but something that was not good for Nigeria. And it lasted because some scholars worked with them in different ways. I worked with them, but never in a political capacity. I did not have and still do not have the temperament to be in government. I served as a councilor in Ekiti State because Governor Kayode Fayemi invited me.

So it was a big step that confused and weakened Nigeria.

Would it have been possible for Ironsi to maintain the federal structure under military rule? I doubt. Military culture normally trumps democracy. If you look at de Gaulle, I admire him and his resignation is proof of my thesis that military culture trumps democratic culture. Ironsi couldn't maintain the decentralized federal system we had in 1966. I researched it and lived it. A militarized Nigerian cannot and can never be a democrat, it is not possible. Ironsi couldn't have behaved differently if he was in fact a trained military man, which he was.

Why did you support the coup? I initially supported the coup because I was involved in politics and the elections in Western Nigeria in October 1965 which were rigged. So, instead of allowing the federal government to continue, I supported the coup. For us, it's good riddance to bad nonsense.

Unfortunately, successive militaries have deepened what I call “the oxymoron of unitary federalism”. For example, that's when they started taking all our money and gave the lion's share to the federal government. General Olusegun Obasanjo decided that Nigeria needed free basic education and the federal government needed more money to justify the free basic education he had introduced which had no meaning. Primary education should be left to local government, while state governments should be in charge of secondary education, and states that have resources can own universities like the federal government.

What prevents democratically elected governments since 1999 from changing the characteristics of military government? The political class in Nigeria lives from politics and not for politics. Living from politics means that you are in politics to earn money, to lift yourself and your family out of poverty. The greedy among them just want to make money. Look at our legislators; they legislate to favor the things that allow our politicians to live from politics.

Furthermore, the majority of them did not grow up to know what democracy and good governance are. I started primary school in 1955 and we were the first beneficiaries of Chief Obafemi Awolowo's free universal primary education. We attended the first TV channel in Africa. I don't think a single President of your Senate ever went to school or was at an age where he could have had those fond memories that I spoke of or could have had them.

They don't know the beauty of true federalism; they live under the oxymoron of unitary federalism. They got used to it and used to it, so it will require re-education, which some of us are trying to do through articles and publications.

I would like to say that The Guardian, through its series on "Federalism is the Answer", which I have reviewed, has played a very important role in educating Nigerians about the essence and beauty of federalism and why it is best for this country. And I appeal to the management of The Guardian to turn the series into a book to help with the rehabilitation that I believe is essential.

Before the military gave us the oxymoron of unitary federalism, Nigeria was once a prosperous country, but things no longer work. Forget the fact that we have oil money and General Yakubu Gowon's statement that “money is not our problem but how to spend it”. Forget that on paper Nigeria's GDP grew very sharply under President Goodluck Jonathan when we rebased the GDP and became Africa's largest economy but we are the poverty capital of the world, the world capital out-of-school children and kindergarten...