By Chinelo Obogo
Yussuf Olatunji Kelani, is the acting president, National Youth Council of Nigeria (NYCN). He speaks on Constitution amendment and other issues.
What do you think of the ongoing Constitution ammendment by the National Assembly?
The action by the National Assembly is a good one for the country, especially if it is geared towards correcting the wrongs. By the wrongs, I mean taking decisions that will move the nation forward and ensure the practice of true federalism. My major concern is for us as a nation to truly and conscientiously practice its content as agreed. We’ve had constitution amendments in the past but we rarely followed the provisions.
Also, a major content of the constitution is the issue of devolution of powers. The agitations from all ethnic groups over the years, be it maginalisation, imbalance in appointments, resource control, self-governance are all centred around that important item in the constitution, devolution of powers. Unfortunately, this was dropped and there is the likelihood that the singular item could jeopardise the entire amendment process. I say so because it is the foundation of the amendment. The issue of exclusive list and the concurrent list in the constitution needs to reflect the practice of true federalism and practical governance in the land.
What exactly in your view has been the challenge of the present constitution?
The truth is, the current constitution gives the federal government lots of responsibilities, thereby making the centre too powerful, which is not a reflection of the practice of the principles of true federalism.
The federating units, which in our case are the states, submit certain powers to the centre (federal government) for general administration purposes. But, over the years, much of the sensitive responsibilities of the states have been taken over by the federal government through this same process of constitution amendment thus creating this national cry from all regions for restructuring. The first constitution drafted after Independence gave the regions some sensitive responsibilities and they were quite responsible; then the country experienced good and quality governance. Even when states were created, we still had good practical governance not until the amendments of 1979 that took certain responsibilities off the states and resided them with the federal government. The 1999 amendments increased the responsibilities in the exclusive list, further reducing the powers of the state. This is why everyone today is advocating for restructuring.
What is your take on the ‘not too young to run bill’, which sailed through?
Well, it is good and quite commendable that it was passed. At least, the reduction in age of office holders and the right to contest for those offices as well as independent candidacy will help to grow our political system and democracy in general. My reservation, however, is this: countries that have young leaders today did not push for any special legislation before achieving that level of progress. To me, it is like a man begging to be tenant in a house he owns. The youths constitute about 65 per cent of the country’s population. What stops us from achieving a goal if we all speak with one voice and collectively pursue one agenda? Even with this legislation, it is not certain that this will be achieved now. I am a youth and the truth must be stated. The orientation of a larger percentage of the youths is bad, which is quite unfortunate. It is also unfortunate that the main cause of this bad orientation is the elders, who have been in chrage of the country over the years. The foundation of our education and national orientation is faulty. Bad governance over the years has not helped matters. The elders who constitute the ruling class are simply selfish and wicked. The founding fathers of the country laid a very good foundation for them. Education was easy, subsidised, sponsored and job placement was effective because there was a formidable and well-articulated national plan. But the leaders of the country in the last 30 years have failed to put in place an effective national plan for the future, hence the reason we have more demoralised youths with no focus and direction today.
The system is simply faulty. What is the economic and intellectual capacity of an average Nigerian youth to effectively enforce the practicability of the ‘not too young to run’ bill? We have young people who can lead this country but the challenge is that the percentage of those willing is so low compared to our population. Secondly, the mindset of most young people has been manipulated by selfish politicians and leaders over the years. The percentage of morally-conscious youths is low, which is pathetic.
Are you in support of the calls for restructuring?
The anomaly in the system is actually responsible for this call. We have not been able, as a people, to apply and practice the constitution as it is. Also, we have always put up the constitution and its amendments in the past and yet it is not practiceable. We’ve been having this call in different languages from time. At a time it was ‘marginalisation’, later ‘resource control’ and now ‘restructuring’. The challenge I have is that we call for restructuring when our kinsman is not in power. But, quite frankly, there is need for restructuring. An item in the entire constitution amendment process at the National Assembly that strongly advocates for this restructuring is the devolution of powers, which, unfortunately, was stepped down. Federal character has not done us any good as a nation, rather, it has further divided us and promoted serious imbalance and inefficiency in the system. More responsibility should be given to the states, local governments should perform and be responsible. I strongly support financial autonomy for LGs but not outright autonomy on administration. We practice the federal system of government and as such we have just two tiers. If the local government is a creation of the states, which is a federating unit, then why outright autonomy for the local governments? We cannot continue to throw the baby and the bath water away. We need to sieve and make things work. The governors are not allowing for free and smooth administration of the local governments. For instance, the party in power at the centre (APC) needs to demonstrate more dedication and commitment to developing our democracy. So far, the party has not been able to convincingly prove to Nigerians that it is not business as usual in terms of true democracy.
The party’s primary held in 2014 for the nomination of its presidential candidate and governorship candidates was so credible. The conduct of that primary encouraged and convinced Nigerians to support the party with the belief that it was ready for the advancement of real democracy. But a reverse in that regard is being experienced at the moment; many of the governors are yet to conduct local government elections. The party needs to prove to Nigerians that it means well for the country. At this juncture, the dogged stance of Dr. Muiz Banire, SAN, the legal adviser of the party, must be appreciated. He has been mounting pressure on the governors to conduct elections at the local government level, which is yielding some positive responses.