A new lease of life for local government areas in Nigeria, by Kene Obiezu

Many years after gaining independence and returning to democracy, Nigeria continues to search for the best form of government for its diversity.

A recent supreme court judgment granted autonomy to Nigeria’s 774 Local Government Areas. The judgment which stressed that Nigeria’s 774 local government areas should control their finances was groundbreaking in many ways. It was also a judicial attempt to correct a historical injustice.

The adoption of the 1999 Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria which recognized 35 states and the Federal Capital Territory, and 774 Local Governments, heralded the end of military rule and a return to democracy. By virtue of Section 7 of the constitution, the local government system was made a cornerstone of Nigeria’s federalism and democracy.

In recognizing the local government as the third tier of government after the Federal and state government in that order, the constitution which is by no means an all- encompassing document, sought to institutionalize the importance of the local government to democracy in its stated interest of wholistic development.

Despite the valiant attempts of the drafters of the constitution, the flaws inherent in Nigeria’s federal structure have hit the local government especially hard. Local governments have remained at the receiving end of executive recklessness and legislative cowardice in many states.

Working closely with state legislators many governors who desire to govern their states as they deem fit recognize the danger posed to their greed by the local government. They are also acutely aware that they cannot properly line their pockets with state funds without suppressing the local government areas.

So they usually rig local government elections to put their stooges in office or outrightly refuse to conduct elections, filling local government positions with their stooges as caretaker chairmen. .

The result of this chilling chicanery is crippling underdevelopment that has continued to mire the grassroots in poverty and underdevelopment despite their undeniable status as the livewire of democracy in Nigeria.

In many ways, the supreme court judgment is a victory for Nigerians at the grassroots, who have long been victims of the shameful failure of Nigerian leaders to get their acts together. The judgment has renewed hope that with better resource control and allocation to local government areas in the country, Nigeria’s prodigious resources will pour into areas where they are needed most.

However, this surge of optimism must be tempered by the fact that though a battle has been won, the war is far from over. A key cause of Nigeria’s lethargic national development is executive disregard for judicial decisions. This often manifests in either ignoring court judgments entirely or obeying them only partially or in breach. Judgments that compel the executive to act in a particular way are frequently ignored or obeyed only in part, often with no serious consequences. The fear is that this far-reaching judgment which seeks to finally free local government areas from the shackles of state governments will be met with disdain.

To prevent this from happening, Nigerians must maintain resolute vigil against the pseudo-democrats and despots they have as governors who constitute the greatest threat to the local government system in Nigeria. This should be done in salutary recognition of the place of the local government areas in Nigeria as the government closest to the grassroots and rural areas.

Nigeria’s rural citizens who play an invaluable role in preserving the country’s democracy continue to bear the brunt of the country’s failures. Many rural communities in Nigeria are without basic infrastructure, clean water, decent healthcare or quality education. Neither do many of them have any access to decent employment opportunities. To add insult to injury, insecurity has compounded the woes of those who live in rural areas. In deed, many who live in rural areas can argue that Nigeria rather than give them anything has taken all they had.

The supreme court judgment Is a historic opportunity to bring good governance to local government areas. It is a rare opportunity to breathe new life into the grassroots, which have contributed more than other areas to the growth of democracy in the country. It is time to repay those who live in rural areas for their unwavering faith in Nigeria’s democracy. The debt owed them for the invaluable contributions to the growth of democracy in Nigeria can only be repaid by good governance.

To achieve this, free and fair elections must become the norm at all local government areas. This would ensure the transparent administration of local government areas. This would also bring about accountability in the use of public funds available to local government areas.

To achieve this, Nigerians must prevail on state governors to abstain from usurping the powers of local government areas within their states. Now that the constitutional authority and autonomy of local government areas in the state has been reaffirmed by the supreme court, the powers, and duties of the local government areas can no longer be subject the whims and caprices of state governors.

As local government areas begin a new dispensation in Nigeria, it is important for democracy to be enshrined at every level as Nigerians cannot afford to have despots at the grassroots. It will defeat everything the local government system stands for.

It is also another achievement for Tinubu administration which obtained the judgment in court and is showing signs that Nigeria may yet get it right.

Kene Obiezu
keneobiezu@gmail.com