Beyond the Rhetoric: Why Local Government Autonomy Matters? | Ajadi Isaac Writes Gov Makinde

Your Excellency,

I write to you today not only as an indigene of Oyo State but as a concerned Nigerian who is passionate about the development of our nation.

First, I must commend your firm stance on local government autonomy, as stated during the governorship debate leading up to the 2023 general elections, especially during the Splash FM debate. Even in the face of potential electoral consequences, you made it categorically known that we have only two federating units (Federal and State governments), implying that the local government should be an appendage of these federating units.

You also remarked in one of your interviews that Nigerian federalism is more mysterious than real, considering the concentration of power at the center and referencing the items on our exclusive and concurrent lists.

In a recent viral video, Your Excellency, you raised a fundamental point that Nigeria needs to be productive, and that should be our priority, suggesting that local government autonomy is more of a distraction.

While I acknowledge your brilliant insights, I find some points disagreeable.

First, the local government is a recognized tier of government, the third tier after the Federal and State governments. It is designed to bring governance closer to the people at the grassroots. The first local government system in Nigeria was introduced during the colonial period but became more structured with the establishment of the 1950 Local Government Ordinance in Western Nigeria, which created elected local government councils. This system aimed to provide a more organized and autonomous local administration, working alongside the existing federal and regional governments.

The significant and more uniform establishment of local governments as the third tier of government in Nigeria came with the 1976 Local Government Reforms. These reforms standardized the local government system across the country and delineated their roles and responsibilities within the federal structure. Local government administration aims to manage primary education, healthcare delivery (especially primary healthcare) in accordance with the provisions of the World Health Organization (WHO), agricultural and natural resources, grassroots infrastructure like intra-village roads, environmental sanitation, potable water supply, and local economic development, to mention a few.

So, Your Excellency, local government is not an isolation to federalism. Even though, in my opinion, Nigeria is not operating in accordance with the true meaning of federalism but rather a quasi-federalism, local government autonomy is not a mere distraction but a win for the grassroots. Ideal development should take a bottom-up approach. You should genuinely focus on grassroots development through an agricultural revolution. Your approach to agriculture is cosmetic; state governments (across Nigeria) should stop exonerating themselves from their co-responsibility with the federal government. Governor Bago of Niger State is a good model in this area. Oyo State has a comparative advantage in agriculture; God has blessed us with arable land. Governance should not be viewed as a tea party but as serious business.

While I absolutely agree with Your Excellency on Nigeria’s need for productivity, only a productive country can have a stable economy. However, productivity can also take a bottom-up approach, especially in the area of small-scale businesses, which will be developed through local government empowerment policies following autonomy. What about an agricultural revolution through local government loans and support to genuine farmers? Your Excellency, you too have a role to play in Nigeria’s productivity status.

I am skeptical about the recent verdict of the Supreme Court on autonomy, perhaps because I am only familiar with basic law provisions. I used to think the only way to autonomy was through traditional legislation and the approval of two-thirds of the state assemblies. Maybe I was wrong. But my skepticism remains due to the provision of Section 162(3), which empowers states to have a joint account (JAC) with the local government, as governors may manipulate local government chairmen to return the allocation to the usual account or another. The provision:

Section 162(6): Each state shall maintain a special account to be called “State Joint Local Government Account,” into which shall be paid all allocations to the local government councils of the state from the Federation Account and from the state government.

Unless the above section is expunged, we are not ready.

My other skepticism is the mode of conducting elections into the council in accordance with Section 197.

Paragraph 4(a): State Independent Electoral Commission shall organize, undertake, and supervise all elections to local government councils within the state.

The above constitutional provisions will, no doubt, pose a lacuna to full-fledged autonomy.

It is, however, worthy of note that local government autonomy is the way to go. Other sectors can now be focused on, and productivity is the bedrock of economic development, Your Excellency should take responsibility and work on sustainable approach to food security and higher productivities.

Ajadi Isaac,
ajadiisaac76528@gmail.com.