Will another dialogue put an end to the security challenge that is fast turning the north-eastern part of the country into a war zone? Will talks resolve the crisis of our education in which our universities are perpetually on strike? Will it address the problems of poor governance and impunity at virtually all levels and in all sectors?”

Perhaps the only time I’ve written in this column about my childhood schoolmate friend of mine, Olukayode Ilesanmi, OON, was upon his retirement from the federal civil service at the pinnacle as Permanent Secretary a few years ago. Before then, when and if I alluded to him in my writing, it would have been by some other name in order to protect his jealously guarded observation of the civil service rules and regulations of which he is reputed to be its pope.

Kayode, as I call him, was a year my senior at the once famous Kiriji Memorial College, Igbajo, way back in the early 60s, but we were the closest of friends and have remained so, with our families bonding literally into one. US-trained, Kayode is one of Nigeria’s most respected but self-effacing economists. He was known as “Mr. Integrity” in the federal civil service – personal integrity and civil service integrity. And even after retirement, he was headhunted (and he had to yield against genuine protestations to be left to enjoy his retirement) to go help reorganise the administrative structure in the Presidency. He did this for a year, accomplished the task set, and quit – yielding no more to pleas to stay longer.

That long introduction is necessary so that the substance of his opinion in this my engagement with him on troubling national issues can be better appreciated. Kayode fired the first shot through an SMS text to me, and followed with an email for elucidation. Enjoy:

Kay: I don’t believe one bit in national conference, sovereign or otherwise. If our leaders at every level give us good governance, whatever problems will become manageable. Unless, and until, the leaders and the led alike imbibe sincerity and integrity as a national ethos, bakodaya!

TF: True, up to a point.  The history and inherent prejudices, in the midst of scarce resources make our present structure unmanageable and un-progressive even with the best intentions and governance. If our leaders can summon the honesty and political will to restructure the country without fear of hurting their personal or group interest, then by all means forget conference. That is the essence of it – in my mind. Shi kenan.

Kay: The politicians will love this (National Conference). It will take attention away from the fundamental fact that it is primarily their insatiable looting of the treasury that has put us in this mess. If only we can get value of 85 kobo for every one naira the government spends. Is that asking too much? You are one of the nation’s leading columnists and you talk to them often. But if you can convince them to limit their stealing to the balance of 15 kobo, the predictable result is that life will improve for the masses to the extent that they will be more willing to accept the inconveniences that of necessity come from our being together.

But as it is, all people can see from our union are all the possible indices of low level of development: no jobs, no security, no infrastructure, no health, no power, gross income inequality, in-your-face impunity, do your worst stealing! We don’t need any damn conference. All we need is good governance. If we get that, our standard of living will go up most significantly, the inequality will reduce and stop being a fodder for public anger, and our other problems will become tolerable and manageable. If only the idiots will spend what they steal in Nigeria.

But, alas, no! They must take it all to Dubai or UK or the States. Now they are worried and perplexed as to why they can no longer sleep with both eyes closed while they are here. Now they’ve made the place unsafe for everyone. Proper idiots!

TF: Brilliant, as usual, Kayode. Nevertheless, I have little to add to what I have already sent you by SMS, namely, that the “good governance” paradigm goes hand-in-hand with progressive restructuring of the polity. There’s need to decentralise, and with it necessary unfettering of the component parts, such that governance and development go at the pace chosen by each part. Call it “true federalism”, or what have you, the important thing is that smaller units paradigm are more realistic and effectual.

Kay: I agree with you that the centre is too powerful which is why the competition for the presidency is always seen as a ‘get it or die in the process of trying’ affair. Ordinarily I would’ve suggested that we take some duties/powers from the federal and give to the states, but I then remind myself that even the little the states have now constitutionally, they are always so willing to donate back to the centre. Every little problem they have, they beg for federal intervention, even in basic areas of their responsibility like education/health or arterial roads. ?

The main reason for this unfortunate mindset in my view is a fundamental shift in our general psyche. Up till the end of the first republic, the trust of the citizenry was very much in his region, which was why the great Sardauna preferred to stay in Kaduna and chose to send his deputy to rule in Lagos.

The game changer was one of the major enduring legacies of the military administrations of many years, to wit, by the time they stepped aside, the citizen had been effectively schooled not only to look up to Abuja for solutions to all and any of his problems but more importantly to also believe that the federal government was the only tier of government worthy of his trust.

So I am not sure the ordinary man on the street would go along with a proposal to give more power/money to his governor as opposed to the president. And given the records of the generality of the governors, can you blame him? Well, can you??As to your position that smaller units will facilitate faster development, does the evidence on the ground fully support that? For an inkling of the answer, just compare the performance of Lagos, arguably our most populated and best performing, to the performance of our small states.

May be the fault is not in size but in lack of good governance. Give a country to a good man committed to good governance, no matter her size, and you will see wonder. Walahi!

TF: You are wrong in this. All the governors in the western states, almost without exception, are performing wonders. Go and check. And what is going on in that zone supports my zonal paradigm argument.

Quotes of thoughts

Olusegun Adeniyi:

“That our nation is not working is all too clear to everyone but do we need a conference to stop the massive oil theft in the Niger Delta? Will another dialogue put an end to the security challenge that is fast turning the north-eastern part of the country into a war zone? Will talks resolve the crisis of our education in which our universities are perpetually on strike? Will it address the problems of poor governance and impunity at virtually all levels and in all sectors?”

Femi Fani-Kayode:

“Is it not clear that each region or each nationality ought to be able to develop at its own pace? Is it not time for us to have a confederation of nationalities in Nigeria and to restructure the country drastically to give maximum autonomy to the various regions and nationalities…Whatever happens in 2015 and whoever wins, whether it be a northerner or Goodluck Jonathan of the south-south, I see blood on the horizon and I see disaster approaching.”

 

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Reproduced with the permission of the author.

 

Op-ed pieces and contributions are the opinions of the writers only and do not represent the opinions of Y!/YNaija.