Skip to main content

State Creation Divides "Clueless" Nigerian Delegates By Toyin Dawodu

July 7, 2014

We must evolve to the point where we recognize that good leadership has nothing to do with tribal origin.

Image
Map of Nigeria

As a Nigerian American and a concerned humanitarian, I would like to contribute my two cents to the ongoing conversation about the future of Nigeria as a Nation. 
To the so-called National Delegates who are working to create a new constitution for Nigeria, I have this advice: Start small.

Forget about creating new states. Instead, create instruments within the constitution that would allow communities to create small, self-governed regions – cities. Focus on developing infrastructure and allocating resources to support these new cities so that they can do what cities have done all over the globe for millennia – add new life to geographic locations and create communities that serve to propel its residents forward.

Why Nigeria Needs to Focus on Building Communities
Nigeria is still working to become a nation. By its definition, a nation is a gathering of people who share a geographic location AND are connected by a common culture and belief system. Nigeria, with all her glory and splendor and the potential she has to flourish, has one major problem: Nigerians.

Nigeria’s residents seem to have a fundamental lack of trust for one another. Neighbors from the same state have trouble trusting one another. Northerners do not trust Southerners. Southerners believe Northerners are the cause of most of Nigeria's problems. And whether residents are from the north or the south, the Nigerian government seems to have no real concern for its residents at all.

Nigeria should be a world-class nation. It is rich in human talent, overflowing with natural resources and ironically enough, according to an article in the New York Times, America is home to some of Nigeria’s sharpest minds, .  But back home some of the world’s smartest people cannot see beyond something as simple as tribe.

It is 2014 and Nigerians still segregate themselves into tribes. Tribal culture is a beautiful thing but it has no place in politics or nation building. Rather than elect an effective leader who happens to be from another tribe, most Nigerians are willing to live under the ineffectual rule of a kinsman, even if he is incompetent, corrupt, visionless, greedy and clueless. That was certainly the case during the years in which Northern Nigerians manipulated the political system, only to end up in a worse socio-economic position than their Southern counterpart 40 years later. Nigerians would be much better off if we learned to work collaboratively, both in our day-to-day lives and in the governance of the nation.

How the U.S. Capitalizes on the Tradition of Communities
After leaving Nigeria, I lived in Europe before moving to the United States thirty years ago. The U.S. is known around the world for its successful adoption of democracy. In a short span of time, the nation has grown from being an agrarian society to being a world superpower and has spent the last 70 years as a global leader in innovation. How? Not by inward fighting and corrupt policies that stifle the growth of its domestic economy, that’s for sure.

Say what you will about the American government, the leaders work to serve the people. Federal leaders serve the nation as a whole. State leaders petition the federal government to acquire more resources for their particular state. County governments petition the state, and city leaders petition county and state governments. The goal is always the same: To do what is necessary to make their particular community, city, county, or state the best in the Union. Now these aren’t arbitrary acts. On the contrary, action is almost always the result of a conversation that starts within the communities. Yes, sometimes it takes a revolution and sometimes the people have to raise their voices to make their requests known, but in the end, they expect their government to move on their behalf. They expect it. That’s what democracy is and I don’t doubt the tradition of democracy is part of what makes America great and powerful.

The American Opportunity is Real
Americans have an uncanny ability to create economic miracles. They see opportunity where seemingly none exists. I suppose that depending on your disposition, this ability to “see the money” can be admirable or distasteful. Either way, most Americans have the freedom to create opportunities out of thin air. The government encourages it and rewards its citizens with incentives for doing so. That kind of environment inevitably spurs creativity and economic growth.

American cities are in a constant race to one-up the other cities. Which city can create the most jobs, the most opportunity, the greenest pastures, and the healthiest residents? States try to poach businesses from other states by creating reasons for businesses to relocate. The governor of Texas can't wait to go on television to woo California businesses to the Lone Star state with commerce-friendly policies. When a city manager is good at attracting businesses to his city, you can bet the mayors of other cities are watching and it won’t be long before one or more of them are reaching out to have that city manager come work the same magic in their city. But that’s the power of American communities and the ideal of the American opportunity.

In Nigeria, that kind of open opportunity is virtually non-existent. It is almost unheard of to have a so-called non-indigene from one state come in and assume a leadership role in another state.

Case in point: My cousin speaks fluent Yoruba. Born in Lagos, she took a position in Osun state for her youth service corp. Unfortunately, her talents were not put to good use. In fact, she and the other non-indigenes who were posted in Osun were seldom given any tasks to perform while serving, simply because they were from other states. The result was that a well-intended policy designed to bring youths together was thwarted in favor of clinging to an unproductive and outdated notion of tribalism or state of indigene.

In all my years living in America, no one has ever made me feel like a non-American. Yes, racial prejudice is still alive and well in the States. But people face disadvantages everywhere. As a Nigerian-American, I can apply for government positions. As long as I meet the requirements, I can even launch a campaign to run for political office despite the fact that I was not born in this country. I cannot run for president, but I can certainly run for governor of the state of California, and I may win.

Two years ago, Akinyemi Abgede, ran for the U.S. Senate in Florida then turned around ran in the California gubernatorial primaries in 2014. Just in case you are not aware, California is the largest, wealthiest state in the union. Yes, America is truly great and we ought to emulate everything America is doing right.

Why the “Nigerian Opportunity” Can Be Better
My mom (may her soul rest in peace) used to tell me, "If you don’t know how to dance, you should look at the guy next to you, especially if he is a good dancer." Well, America is there for the whole world to see. It is not perfect, but by adopting some of America’s governing principles, Nigeria can reposition itself to become globally competitive. You know as well as I that it is unlikely people will ever elect a Yoruba man as governor of Kano, or a Fulani or Hausa man or woman as governor of Enugu. But history has proven that adopting a system that focuses on national pride and democracy is more beneficial than hanging onto antiquated tribal traditions.

If a group of citizens living under the leadership of a local government feels the government is neglecting their needs, they should do what Americans do. Come together collectively as one community and form a city wherein they can assert more control over the way in which they are governed. That means creating a city council, electing a mayor and appointing a manager who will run the city like a business. The city manager will report to the mayor. The mayor is held accountable by the city council and city council members must answer to the citizens they represent.

Starting a city may seem like a huge undertaking, but it may not take as much effort or time as you think. Many of us conjure up images of huge metropolises when we think of cities. One of the world’s most famous cities, New York City, has a population of about 8.4 million. New York City is the most populous city in the United States, but not all cities are so large. In fact, the smallest incorporated town in the United States is Lost Springs, Wyoming with a population of just four people – two men and two women.

Residents form cities for a number of reasons. Sometimes they do it just to gain more control over services like garbage collection or to develop their own downtown area. In the U.S., this happens on a regular basis.

Each new city has to incorporate, as a business would do. It cannot rely on handouts from state or federal government for its survival. Each new city has its own charter, akin to a constitution. That is how prosperity happens. I have lived in California for over 30 years, and during that time, I have witnessed the creation of no fewer than ten cities. New cities compete with older cities, but residents do not protest the chartering of new cities. The decision to create a new city is solely that of the people within those city limits they claim. As long as they can arrange their affairs to birth a viable city, more power to them. Each city has complete control of their city affairs, ranging from providing police protection to collecting trash and fixing their roads. Each city is responsible for generating enough revenue through taxes to remain viable. The city will sink or swim based on the action or inaction of its leaders.

When I moved into California in 1981, I settled in Riverside County. At the time, we had a population of about 181,000. Today, our population is over 300,000, and our city budget is over $900 million. In 1985, the residents of a small community known as Sunnymead decided to opt out of county control and create their own city. There was some opposition from residents in the community who preferred the solitude of rural living to creating a new city and attracting more people.

At its creation, the new city had a population of less than 50,000. Today, there are over 200,000 people within its city limits. It's the second largest city in Riverside County and the 20th largest city in the state of California. Such is the beauty of self-determination. When people determine what is best for them, they usually make a damn good choice. Nigerians should leave state creations alone and focus on building communities. We need to give Nigerians room to develop their own brand of self-determination. Let us focus on creating communities that will thrive without trying to opt out of the entity called Nigeria.

Creating more states does not solve our economic problems, neither does it resolve the trust issue amongst our people. What we need is to eradicate the system of indigene from our constitution and entrench in our constitution that once you are a Nigerian, you should be at home in any corner of the country without feeling alienated or discriminated against based on your tribe, language, religion, race, national origin, or color of your skin; this is the only thing that will stop all the clamoring of state creation. We must evolve to the point where we recognize that good leadership has nothing to do with tribal origin. Let’s do as my mother said and look at the guy dancing next to us and adopt a system that works. Let’s make Nigeria great.

Toyin Dawodu is the managing Partner 

Topics
Politics