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The dynamic nature of federalism was on display on Tuesday, November 28, 2023 at the Nigerian Institute of International Affairs (NIIA) when the Guardian publicly presented a book titled “Federalism is the Answer: Federalist Papers from the Guardian”. The book is based on a series of 61 editorials published by the newspaper on federalism from 2000 to 2021. What is more interesting is Professor Eghosa Osaghae, reviewer of the book who was also the keynote speaker on a topic : If federalism is the answer, what is the question? shocked the distinguished audience when he gave a brilliant review of the book and addressed the theme bluntly. He prepared a document that he never looked at once. This was after the Guardian’s 40th anniversary lecture titled “Making the World Respect Africa” delivered by Dr Akinwumi Adesina, President of the African Development Bank (AfDB), which also drew a standing ovation: he s This was an important performance with so many people. expected results for African and even world leaders.
Read the article below as an introduction to the book:
Yes, federalism matters, but not for our representatives in Abuja, 36 state capitals and headquarters of 774 local government councils in Nigeria, who do what they want while enjoying the spoils of their offices guaranteed by the federalism system. unitary government created by Unification Decree 34, (1966). Since the consolidation of the unitary system of government through the 1975 seizure of institutions, including regional universities and media outlets, which until then had showcased the majesty of federalism, there have been only laments and crocodile tears for lost federalism. The men whose national greed solidified what Major General Chris Ali (retd) astutely smeared The Federal Republic of Nigerian Army in his 2001 classic are the ones responsible for the one-shot seizure of three universities established by Acts of Parliament in three regions, namely the University of Ife in the South West, the University of Nigeria, Nsukka in the South East and the Ahmadu Bello University, Zaria, North West .
How many youths know that the current Nigerian Television Authority (NTA) was made possible by the military government through technical and human resources recruited from the Western Nigeria Television Service? It was originally known as Western Nigerian Television (WNTV), the first television service station launched in Nigeria. In 1977, the Federal Military Government of Nigeria established the Nigerian Television Authority Network Unit and acquitted all television stations in Nigeria to form the network. WNTS then became NTA Ibadan.
How many old men also remember that the pioneer Managing Director of the NTA, Vincent Ifeanyichukwu Maduka, an engineer, was first the Chief Broadcasting Engineer (1969) and then the Managing Director/CEO of WNTV-WNBS (1973) in Ibadan, then capital of the West. Region? How many older people know that the Western Region actually had the first envoy to the UK called Agent General in 1956? How many remember that the Federal Government actually inherited the official residence of the Western Region envoy? The West’s first Agent General in the United Kingdom was an Itshekiri-born lawyer, Chief ME R Okorodudu. Can anyone believe that the official residence originally found for the Agent General of Western Nigeria in a posh area of the United Kingdom is still the official residence of the Nigerian High Commissioner to Nigeria. UNITED KINGDOM? There is record that Chief Okorodudu used his charming and affable personality, fueled by his genius, to give Western Nigeria far more publicity than was achieved by the Federal Government. It was then said that the situation was not improved when the federal government appointed one of its young ministers, MT Mbu, as Nigeria’s first high commissioner. Mr. Mbu studied for and passed his bar exams while serving in this important position. There was competitive regional federalism then, soon after Okorodudu’s appointment by Western Nigeria, the Eastern and Northern regional governments followed the Action Group government in appointing their own Agents General in the United Kingdom. United. But since the decree of General Aguiyi Ironsi in 1966, the West has no longer been able to regain its pre-independence momentum which gave the regions so many firsts, notably the first television channel and the first football stadium. ‘Africa.
No doubt, all this happened in Nigeria because Nigeria never had its own zealots of democracy and development such as Alexander Hamilton, James Madison and John Jay, who today are remembered as fathers founders of modern America.
James Madison, the fourth American president (1809-1817), made a major contribution to the ratification of the Constitution by writing The Federalist Papers, alongside Alexander Hamilton and John Jay. Later he was nicknamed the “Father of the Constitution”. When delegates to the Constitutional Convention met in Philadelphia, Madison, 36, took a frequent and emphatic part in the proceedings. Madison made a major contribution to the ratification of the Constitution by writing, with Alexander Hamilton and John Jay, the Federalist Essays. Later, when called the “Father of the Constitution,” Madison protested that the document was not “the product of one brain” but “the work of many heads and many hands.” .
Written between 1787 and 1788 by the Three Musketeers with the specific aim of convincing Americans that it was in their interest to support the creation of a strong national government, enshrined in a constitution – and they played a major role in the debate among the supporters of this proposal. a federal state, with a government based on central institutions housed in a single capital, and supporters of states’ rights.
The newspaper authors believed that a centralized government was the only way to bring their newborn country together, while still preserving individual freedoms. Closely involved in the politics of the time, they saw a real danger of seeing America divided, to the detriment of all its citizens.
Faced with fierce debate, the three statesmen knew they had to convince the general public by putting forward clear, well-structured arguments – and by systematically confronting opposing points of view. By writing checks and balances into a constitution designed to protect individual liberties, they argued, fears that the central government would oppress the newly free people of America would be assuaged.
The constitution that the three men helped to forge governs the United States to this day and remains the oldest written constitution still in force in the world.
Don’t get it twisted, the Guardian editorial board has seen the other side of federalism, which is that it’s not the only answer everywhere. As they argue at the Brooklyn Institute, nations sometimes face a stark choice: allow regions to federate and govern themselves, or risk national dissolution. There are clear examples where federalism is the solution. Belgium would probably be a divided state today if Flanders had not been granted broad self-government. If, under the Italian constitution, Sardinia, a large and relatively isolated Italian island, had not been granted significant autonomy, it could well have been home to a violent separatist movement, like the one plaguing a neighboring island, Corsica, a rebel province of unitary France.
However, where deep regional linguistic, religious or cultural differences persist, federation is by no means a guarantee of national harmony. Canada, Spain and the former Yugoslavia are well-known cases of federations which either were periodically confronted with secessionist movements (Quebec), or had to continually fight against them (the Basques), or collapsed in barbaric civil wars (the Balkans). Iraq seems to suffer the same fate. The Sunni minority there is resisting a proposed constitution that would grant regional autonomy not only to the Kurds in the north but also to Shiite sectarians in the oil-rich south. So far, the federalism proposed for Iraq is proving to be a recipe for disagreement, not accommodation.
But while navigating the laboratories of democracy, there is some consensus within the intellectual house of the Guardian that, in principle, as far as this country is concerned, empowering citizens to manage the affairs of their own community is supposed to strengthen civic engagement in a democracy. Its “free and popular local and municipal institutions,” John Stuart Mill asserted, provide “the particular training of a citizen, the practical part of the political education of a free people.” From there are instilled informed deliberation and a pragmatic ability to respect both the will of the majority and the rights of minorities – in short, fundamental democratic values.
If local autonomy is of less interest to average citizens than it should be, it may still have a lot to teach its elected officials. By providing thousands of state and local elected offices, a federal system like that of the United States creates a vast market for professional politicians. Many of them (e.g. state governors and big city mayors) have demanding jobs. Their challenges have in any case helped prepare the country’s pipeline of future political leaders. It should be like this. There is no doubt that those who reach high public office in the United States mostly rise through the ranks of the multiple levels of the federal system and have been educated there. At the time, fifty-six congressional senators were former state legislators or statewide elective office holders. Four of the last five American presidents have been governors.
It is not clear, however, whether former governors who have risen through the ranks of federalism eclipse, for example, national leaders in the United Kingdom. In the 20th and 21st centuries, America has elevated former governors such as Franklin D. Roosevelt, Ronald W. Reagan, and George W. Bush to the presidency. Were they better equipped than British leaders (think Winston Churchill, Margaret Thatcher or Tony Blair)? The answers may be floating in the wind, but the federalist articles in the Guardian (from Nigeria) provide many thoughts on why the unitary system that the disruptive military imposed on us 57 years ago contributed greatly to the failure of our system. Moreover, as I have noted elsewhere, the unitary system has contributed greatly to the rampant national greed that is expected to collapse if we do not have a stable national network.
These are just some of the examples of useful facts you will encounter in the Guardian’s “Federalist Papers” since our Hamilton, Madison and Jay are nowhere to be found at present, even after about 25 years of excuses and lamentations on the question of whether we really need democracy and democracy. his discontent.
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