•Afenifere, Ohaneze, YCE, INC root for restructuring, regional govt
•MBF, NEF insist on states’ creation
•New states not a priority now -Lawyers
By Vincent Kalu (Lagos); Oluseye Ojo (Ibadan); Stanley Uzoaru (Owerri); Noah Ebije (Kaduna); Femi Folaranmi (Yenagoa); Lukman Olabiyi (Lagos)
As part of the process of amending the Nigerian constitution by the National Assembly to accommodate various interests, zonal public hearings are being convened across the country. Among the major issues that have dominated demands by various ethnic nationalities are the creation of new states and the adoption of regional governments that would enable each zone to develop at its own pace. These issues are generating both interests and heated debates for the future of the country.
YCE backs regionalism, restructuring against creation of more states
The Yoruba Council of Elders (YCE) has said the proposed creation of more states in Nigeria should be approached with utmost care.
Secretary-General of the group, Chief Oladipo Oyewole, told Sunday Sun that there have been many blunders to which the populace had been subjected since the country returned to democratic rule, making the creation of new states unjustifiable.
He said: “In the past, Nigeria had three regions, namely East, West, North. Then, through unhealthy politics, the Mid-West got created.
“At that time, Nigeria did well by harnessing the natural resources in each of the regions. They were managed by properly coordinating human efforts and encouraging production of produce meaningful to the GDP economically.
“Each region had a specific product, which earned them money for effective participation and administrative management by the executives of each of the regional governments.
“Looking back, the trademark in the North was production of groundnuts; the East had coal and palm oil, while the West was rich with production of cocoa beans aside from other cash crops.
“This beloved country, Nigeria, thrived in those years by effectively managing and monitoring its activities to maintain itself. She was known for specific economic products at international levels. We did well.
“By the time 12 states were created, the original foundation got destroyed and unity became shaky.
“In the end, oil came and the seriousness of purpose got totally destroyed. As if that was not enough, we were further broken into 33 states and the Federal Capital Territory and we lost all completely.
“We lost our sense of direction. We lost our common goal. We lost our oneness and our common aspiration.
“As elders, who saw it all from the beginning we now ask: What is the purpose of creating more states, if not for Nigeria to be fragmented and be further dismembered?”
He cautioned that the future must not be totally destroyed by power hungry politicians, who are clamoring for power for control.
“This considered opinion of YCE does not favour the creation of more states. Rather it promotes restructuring. We ask for reorganisation that will go back to the basics for economic cohesion through regionalism for the actualisation of the progress desired by all at this time.
“Creation of more states may be inimical to the welfare of Nigerians. YCE stands firm in anticipation for regionalism, restructuring progress for Nigerians to be secured and for Nigeria to move forward.”
We need more states because of huge population, land mass in the North-NEF
The Northern Elders Forum (NEF) has thrown its weight behind creation of more states across the country, particularly in the northern region.
Spokesperson of the forum, Prof. Abubakar Jika Jiddere, told Sunday Sun that many states in the country have large population and land mass that qualify them for additional states and local government areas.
“If people have demands on the political system, they put it forward. If on the other hand they don’t have, like the South East, so be it. No one will ask or request the South East to demand for state creation if they don’t want any more state. The viability of a state depends on so many factors ranging from the availability of resources in the area, landmass, population to mention just a few.
“We have a large number of untapped resources which can be used to develop other sectors. We are still not cultivating up to 25% of the agriculturally viable lands in Nigeria. Agriculture is the largest employer of labor in Nigeria and the only sector that can stimulate economic growth and diversification easily. For instance, in Akwa-Ibom state, we can plant more than two million palm trees, in Benue we can plant five million, in Taraba we can plant 10 million.
“All the states from Kaduna to Lagos, from Taraba to Rivers are good for palm oil production and similar export commodities and which can stimulate industrialisation. The problem of Nigeria is leadership. If Dangote as an individual can establish one of the biggest refineries in the world why can’t we fix our existing ones,” NEF spokesperson said.
Only S’East deserves new state, restructuring – Ohanaeze
The Ohanaeze Ndigbo Worldwide has renewed its call for the creation of additional states for the South East geopolitical zone, stressing that political leaders from other zones that are clamouring for an additional state are only hoping to rely on oil revenue of the country for survival.
President General of the Igbo apex organisation, Azuta Mbata who expressed this concern in a statement released through the office of the spokesman of the regional body, Ezechi Chukwu regretted that the Federal Government has turned deaf ears to its proposal for restructuring of the country to make life more meaningful for people in all the regions in the country.
Mbata said “Ohanaeze has been calling for restructuring over the years in order to unburden the center and make the Abuja I never belly full politics less attractive.
“Ironically, everyone today needs more states because they rely on Abuja as the distribution centre. It is obvious that some of the proposed states are potentially not viable.
“Their only bedrock for survival is the Abuja distribution center and not their economic viability, natural resources or exploration of the 21st century ICT or Artificial Intelligence prospects.
“Everyone is asking for more states because of the oil dependent mono economy and not because they have the potential, determination or economic road map for self sufficiency.
“I wonder what will happen when the oil is no longer there. No wonder, Nigeria today is a less competitive nation-state which consumes everything and produces nothing because of the Abuja dependent distribution center.
“There is no doubt that the South East is the only zone that was treated unfairly during the successive state creation exercises by past governments. It is the height of injustice that for decades, the South East is the only zone with five states, when other zones have six or seven as the case may be.
“If we are truly talking of one nation and one people, rather than rhetoric and make-belief, justice demands that at least another one state should be created for the South East now before talking of new state creation in the country.
“You may recall that the 2014 National Political Reform Conference made a recommendation to this effect,” Mbata stated.
State creation okay, but we want restructuring – Afenifere
The pan-Yoruba socio-political organisation, Afenifere, has declared that although it is not against the creation of new states in Nigeria, what is more important is the restructuring of the country.
National Publicity Secretary of the organisation, Mr. Jare Ajayi, in a chat with Sunday Sun, threw a spotlight on the absence of good governance and fairness.
According to him, if fairness and justice were the hallmarks of how power is wielded in Nigeria, the incessant agitations for more states would diminish significantly.
Ajayi noted that good governance, rooted in fairness and justice, is the antidote to the swirling debates over state creation.
He stated that the crux of Nigeria’s problem is not necessarily the number of states, but rather the skewed manner in which appointments are handed out, projects are allocated, and justice is sometimes meted out.
“There is no doubt that fairness and equity did not fully characterise the creation of existing states in Nigeria.
“If fairness and justice were applied in the way those in positions of power handle public issues, the strident complaint of marginalisation coming from various parts of the country would either not come up at all or would be minimal.
“This means that if those in political offices at any level of government are fair and justice is dispensed without fear or favour, we would easily accept that state creation or non-creation is not as much of a problem as some are trying to make it look like.”
The organisation also emphasised the urgent need to restructure Nigeria in a way that would empower constituents to have more control over matters affecting them directly.
“Besides, it is a known fact that many existing states cannot thrive without monthly allocations from the central purse.
“What this means is that further balkanisation may make the states to be more at the mercy of the Federal Government.
“By the foregoing, we’re not saying that states should not be created where there are genuine reasons to do so.
“What we are saying is that the priority now should be to restructure the country in such a manner that the constituents would have more control over matters peculiar to them respectively.
“Were there to be good governance, agitations for state creation would be less, especially since viability must be an important factor in the determination of the issue,” he stated.
Demands for more states justifiable – MBF
The Middle Belt Forum (MBF) has justified the demands by various ethnic nationalities for the creation of more states.
President of the forum, Dr. Bitrus Pogu, stated that both the existing states and the ones to be created will be viable because every part of the country is viable, adding that the only problem is the management of the resources of the country.
Pogu said: “Let’s be sincere with ourselves, every part of this country is viable, it’s just that we are deceitful and corrupt. They have been mining gold in Zamfara and so many other places. Has it reflected in the national budget or national savings?
The answer is no.
“There is lithium all over the place; it is the fuel of the 21st century. Hardly do you see it in other countries. Has it been accounted for? So every part of this country is viable if we use the resources and develop them for the common good.
“There are places where you find just granite. You know how much you pay for granite tiles? So, even such places are viable. So in terms of viability, everywhere is viable.
“The military favored themselves and their cronies when they created and bloated some states with local governments, and they are using these local governments to siphon money from the centre, and shortchanging others who don’t have the requisite number of local governments. “The future of Nigeria will be such that local governments will be taken off the radar, it will be the concern of the states, which are the federating units. If any state wants, it can create as many local governments as it desires, but they will not attract something from the Federation Account; they will be components or the development areas of the state. By the time such is done, the states being the federating units may then eventually congregate to form zones or regions like we have today, depending on what is beneficial to Nigeria.
“The creation of more states is trying to address our plurality because we were lumped together by the British through the bringing together of the Northern and Southern protectorates; and then in the North, they placed the Northern nationalities under the caliphate and Sultanate of Borno as satellite groups under the indirect rule principle. These areas continue to be the subjects or colonies of these emirates.
“So, creating states will free them out of these shackles of bondage so that they will be free people in the democratic independent Nigeria. It doesn’t matter how many states we create; every state in this country is viable if these resources are harnessed and utilised judiciously. All we are after is that something that works for Nigeria should be explored.”
Regionalism’ll stop the clamour for more states – INC
The Ijaw National Congress says the adoption of a regional structure will put an end to the clamour for the creation of new states in the country.
President of congress, Prof. Benjamin Okaba, who stated this position, also said that the essence of the ongoing constitutional amendment exercise is to create equity and justice in this nation because several ethnic nationalities feel aggrieved by the provisions of the 1999 constitution, which, in the first place, is not a people’s constitution.
“Going into the issue of finances for the new states, if we have resource control, resource management, and principles of derivation are properly entrenched, Nigeria will be better.
“Secondly, if we have devolution of power in the sense of leaving just a few items in the exclusive list to be operated by the federal government, it will be better for us. The call is for regionalism.
“The Ijaw people are proposing ten regions. So, if we have ten regions as federating units, each region can decide the number of states it wants. If you decide to have 100 states, it is your business.”
Okaba pointed out that “If we go by that, the question of whether Kano wants to have another state will be solved once and for all. For us, we are not looking at the number of states, but going back to regionalism. Ijaw people are saying, give us the Niger Delta region, if we now decide to have three or five states, so be it. So whatever resources accruable, we would pay taxes. So the question of South-South clamouring for more states will go into limbo.
“Kano had about 20 local government areas, and Jigawa was carved out of it. Jigawa has about 20 local government areas, and Kano has 44. Altogether, it is about 64 local government areas, and the cheating is too much. If we reduce everything to regionalism, each region will know the number of states it can cater for. The allocations will now go to the regions. This will bring about economic viability of the states.
Lawyers kick against state creation
Former Chairman of the Nigerian Bar Association (NBA), Ikeja branch, Dave Ajetomobi, has voiced strong opposition to the ongoing calls for the creation of additional states in the country. His remarks come amid the proposed constitutional review currently being considered by the National Assembly.
Ajetomobi argued that the existing states are already grappling with limited resources and struggling to sustain themselves.
According to him, adding more states would only deepen the nation’s socio-political and economic challenges.
“In my candid view, existing states are struggling to survive. Creating other states will bring more crises into the federation,” he said. Rather than creation of more states, Ajetomobi advocates for a decentralisation of power, suggesting that more autonomy should be given to the regions to allow them to develop at their own pace.
Another lawyer, Ige Asimudara expressed the view that the creation of new states won’t solve Nigeria’s problems.
Asimudara dismissed the creation of new states, describing it as an unnecessary move that would do little to address Nigeria’s deep-rooted political and economic challenges.
He said the country’s problems stem largely from poor leadership rather than the structure of the federation.
“It is my humble view that more states are not necessary at the moment. Nigeria has a myriad of economic and political problems exacerbated by bad leadership,” he stated.
Asimudara argued that many of the states being proposed are not economically viable, and even those that may be viable do not justify the need for further subdivision.
“Creation of more states can never solve any of these problems. Many of the proposed states are not viable. Even if they are, they are not necessary. Creating more rooms in a dilapidated house will not strengthen the house. It will rather impact the house more negatively,” he added.
He emphasized the need for reforms in Nigeria’s leadership recruitment process, noting that systemic change must begin with how leaders are chosen.
“We need to address the way and manner we hire our leaders,” Asimudara added.
Similarly, Chijioke Ifenkwe said that state creation is not a priority for now.
Ifenkwe in his opinion stated that while such a move could improve governance if handled properly, it is currently a distraction from more urgent national issues.
Ifenkwe acknowledged that state creation, in theory, could help decentralize administration and bring government closer to the people. However, he warned that Nigeria has more pressing challenges that should take precedence.
“If things are done properly, creating new states will not be much of a financial stretch. It may ease administration and governance,” he said. Despite this potential, Ifeknkwe cautioned against diverting attention from Nigeria’s core problems.
“This country has the pressing issue to address, state creation is just a distraction at this time,” he added. A human rights activist and lawyer, Kabir Akingbolu, criticized the ongoing agitations for the creation of new states in Nigeria, describing the move as insincere and politically motivated.
Akingbolu asserted that Nigerian politicians lack the genuine commitment required to push for the creation of new states.
According to him, only the military has historically succeeded in creating states in Nigeria, as their processes were less bureaucratic and not driven by sectional interests. “The governors are not sincere; the National Assembly is not sincere; even the state houses of assembly, which are expected to ratify any constitutional amendment for state creation, cannot be trusted to act in good faith,” he said.
He cited recent attempts by some state governments to create new local government areas, noting that many of such efforts have been marred by favouritism and political bias.
“They are proposing to create more local governments than currently exist, not based on need or development, but on favouritism. That same approach will kill the agitation for new states,” Akingbolu warned. He also questioned the financial viability of existing states, pointing out that many struggle with basic governance and service delivery due to poor funding.
“There are states today that should not have been created in the first place. Now we want to create more? How well have we even funded the ones we have?” he asked.
While some proponents argue that state creation will drive development, Akingbolu disagreed, noting that Nigeria had recorded significant growth and progress in the past with fewer states.
“Nigeria was once a country of just four regions, and there was development. When it became 12 states, there was still development. Even with 19 states, the country still progressed. The issue is not about the number of states, but about sincerity and good governance,” he concluded.
Akingbolu called for a shift in focus from state creation to strengthening existing structures and addressing the core issues of governance, accountability, and resource management.
