LG autonomy: Is Makinde unhappy? Grassroots people are not!
Ben GEORGE
The statement credited to Oyo state governor, Engr. Seyi Makinde, in respect of the fiscal autonomy granted the 774 local governments in Nigeria in a landmark judgment on Thursday by the Supreme Court of Nigeria, seems uncharitable, it indeed bewilders the nation. The opinion reflects his perspective, which however he is entitled to. But still this position seems at variance with the grassroots’ thinking.
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Amid widespread commendation of the judgment, the Oyo state governor while receiving the National Executive Council of Nigeria Union of Journalists on Friday, said, “I think it is just a distraction. We must face the real issue that we have. The issue that we have is that we are not producing enough. We are not productive. Maybe it may be part of the problem (LGA autonomy), we want to have value for what is being shared (federal allocations) but our problem is productivity. How much are those LGAs generating within their domains? Can they survive without handouts from Abuja? Handouts from Abuja, is that the way to go? Is it sustainable? I think it is just a distraction. We must face the real issue that we have. The issue that we have is that we are not producing enough.”
His submission is beautiful but one is tempted to ask what he has done in the last five years to initiate a spike in productive activities at the local governments in his state? There is no doubt Nigeria’s problem is multifarious – one is what the governor has identified, lack of productiveness – nonetheless, gradually smashing into smithereens the faulty foundations giving rise to the problems will propel us into redemption. Why is it now that Governor Makinde is advancing low productivity at local government levels to criticize local government autonomy? His position appears ill-conceived suspected to have been inspired by the loss of cheap revenue staring him and his colleagues in the face.
How many states (not local governments now) of the federation have survived without what he called “handouts” from Abuja? What have the states done about it? Truth be told, Makinde has made significant efforts to increase the IGR in Oyo state but local government autonomy presents an opportunity for him to teach those at the helms of affairs at that level of government now to re-engineer governance for positive transformation. And that starts from ensuring competent people are allowed to emerge to run affairs in council areas. Imposing chairmen and councillors and others appointees in that tier should be discarded. A critical look at council areas in Oyo state presently will reveal that many “elected” officers and “appointees” are not in position on the basis of their capability, competence, visionary leaning and whatnot but largely based on their level of fawning to political leaders who dispense patronages. When competent men are not in position of authorities, from what reservoir do they muster resources to expend to expand development and productive activities in their council areas? Governor Makinde should divert his anger really to provoke local government areas to generate increased internal revenues, this will definitely make them survive without the so-called handouts from Abuja. We all know relying on handouts is not the way to go. We know it is not sustainable. He is the helmsman in the state, he should activate the local governments to “face the real issue that we have. The issue that we have is that we are not producing enough.”
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The local government autonomy is not a “distraction,” thank God he also underlined that he “thinks” so. It is the takeoff point for grassroots development, that is what the grassroots people have realized and why they are happy about the judgment. The gradual collapse of local governments since about 14 years ago (in Oyo state) coincided with the period of loss of autonomy, which assumed the ugliest dimension under Makinde’s rule. Now, local governments cannot construct a mere culvert without approval from the state, a situation that holds up development and productivity at the grassroots level. Roads are in general state of disrepair and un-motorable, new residential areas remain unopened, initiative for development is smothered, competitiveness capable of igniting development is zero since the trend is to await directive from the state’s ministry of local government and chieftaincy matters. Gone are the days when local governments are bastion of growth and development, when it’s a beehive of activities contributing immensely to socio-economic developments of the grassroots through award of contracts to local contractors, patronage of community based businesses, embracement of local contents, employments and so on. We witnessed this in Ogbomoso and the community was better for it. The days of Ayantayo Ayandele, Remi Odetomi and so on as council chairmen will remain evergreen.
I agree local government administrators including their career officers’ counterparts were the cause of the appropriation of councils. Recall the days chairmen and councillors took other people’s wives with reckless abandon because they had so much money, when they patronized pepper soup joints in far places for fun time, and when career officers, senior and junior, dipped avariciously into council coffers for personal use, misappropriating and mismanaging funds, and pumped up in arrogance at the expense and detriment of the generality of the people. It was annoying , it reeled. The fact remains the councils undermined their own sustenance by their fund diversion from development and thus precipitated their fall. Another opportunity is now opening, it is hoped the present helmsmen will be more circumspect, guided by vision, sense of accomplishment and leaving good legacies. Those who mismanaged funds yesterday where are they today, haven’t they gone into oblivion?
We want robust local governments now, in which council’s funds stay within the councils and not “siphoned” to the governors who behave like some emperor; where councils’ funds stay within to contrive grassroots developments and not diverted for development of a section of the state as is presently playing out in Oyo state, where the capital city, Ibadan, receives the lion share of the federal allocations of other component zones for its developments aside gulping the main of the state’s funds. Everybody wants developments for his/her zone after all. That should be the new order, council bosses should not jeopardize the drive.
Echoing this sentiment, national president of the Association of Local Governments of Nigeria (ALGON), Aminu Muazu-Maifata, retorted, while reacting to the development, “I assure Nigerians that we won’t disappoint them. We will meet their expectations…We know the mood of the masses and that of the majority of Nigerians on this issue. We will know how to persuade our principals on it. We are not going to face any challenge from the governors because of the way we are going to approach the whole issue and the way we are going to relate with them…In the next four years, the story would have changed for the local governments, most especially those states that are not enjoying liberty.”
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Under the current revenue-sharing formula, the federal government gets 52.68% of the revenue, states 26.72%, and local governments 20.60%. The fund enables the three tiers of government to meet their obligations. A report recently shows that local government areas in Nigeria got N1.42 trillion from disbursed federal allocations in the first five months of 2024. Ogbomoso North local government it is learnt is allocated about N375m monthly. Can we say that humongous amount reflects in its development index?
In the face of the unfolding dispensation the people of the grassroots need to show more grit, be more involved in how they are governed and most importantly form a vanguard to ensure the fund is not misappropriated. Nonchalant attitude will be counter-productive. The men who will manage the funds will seek to steal the bulk of the money again but it is the people who should not allow it by asking questions and not politicize it.
Furthermore, agencies against corrupt practices need to gear up to come through for the people in the circumstance by waging war against heist often associated with the local governments administrations. The Nigerian Financial Intelligence Unit (NFIU), Economic and Financial Crime Commission (EFCC), Oyo State Anti-Corruption Agency (OYACA) in the case of Oyo state – and so on should rise to the occasion and not be accomplices in the fleecing of local governments. The agencies should help to track council funds and prevent their diversion to state governors by council chairmen, so that insecurity, lack of good roads and enjoyment of more dividends of democracy can be the lot of the people. Also, the Federal Account Allocation Committee (FAAC) can help curtail the pilfering of local governments’ allocations by ensuring what is allocated to the local governments is published monthly just as media outfits should leverage on the Freedom of Information Bill to monitor the disbursement of the funds and ensure what is received is commensurate with the development on ground. In addition, the legislative arm at the local government level should be aware that it is empowered to carry out oversight functions on local government expenditures and prevent hemorrhage, they should stand their grounds not to be tools for forces without to be manipulated against their principals or be abettors with forces within to exploit the councils. History beckons! The grassroots are happy and expectant about the judgment of the Supreme Court, because it hold prospects for developments at their level. Let Governor Makinde be too.
