By Ayodele Fagbohun

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As a result of peculiar circumstances of Nigeria as a multi-lingual and multi-national,  fiscal federalism is imperative and sine  qua non to her  survival.

According  to political  analysts, historians and  anthropologists, it is identified and vigorously asserted that   Nigeria  as  a federation must be  organized  and constituted into  constituent states on dual basis of language  and nationality.

To salvage and prevent the polity from  unnecessary  and profuse shedding of blood,  borne out  of ethnic,  political rivalries and mutual  discontent concomitant  with  unhealthy  contest for political office at the centre, fiscal federalism is necessary,  important and the ultimate answer.

Where the contest is a matter of do-or- die, desperate desire for filthy lucres and juicy perks of office which is the bane  of national development, fiscal federalism  is also sacrosanct.

Fiscal federalism will certainly “ceteris paribus” address the situation  and restore  some sort of financial  sanity to the almost decadent polity. And this  will motivate some political  leaders and aspirants  to  remain contented at the state level to prove their mettle and serve the  best  interests  of their  people. Rather than going to the  centre to flex political muscles; and steal  from the  public  coffers.

Fiscal federalism will  afford  the constituent  states to marshal and deploy  available resources to be  judiciously  managed  to promote  equity,  justice and  fair play in good  conduct of  government business. And to  reduce to the barest minimum  if not totally  stamp out from public life the bitter  recriminative  tendencies, vulgarity and mediocrity that  incommode the cause of good  government at the centre.

Towards this end,  fiscal federalism is an article  of  faith,  ‘desideratum’ which must be diligently applied  by the federal government  to  enable  the states  in performing  the allotted  inherent functions  enshrined in the federal constitution.

Federal Government  will  always have greater financial  powers and ample  resources than state governments.

It must however,  be underscored that those  powers should not be flagrantly applied  to destroy the  autonomy of the state as a federating unit if the  scenario currently playing out is anything to go by. Neither is it to  reconfigure the constitution  beyond recognition.

Rather, Federal Government should continuously deploy its  munificent financial  prowess and resources to  influence state policies and programmes  in the right direction in the vigorous pursuit of agriculture, education, health  and  other  issues on  the concurrent list.

Instead of  taking over state  functions and reduce state to  “beggar” governments, the Federal Government should  further assist  and galvanise  the states to exercise their  functions under the constitution.

It will be  unconstitutional and unconscionable for the   Federal Government   to   interpret the  provisions of the constitution for  naked  self interest  and  aggrandizement of some players to the detriment of the entire federation.

The  unfortunate and barbaric military incursion in our politics cum its naked  financial rapacity on the  nation’s  economy continues  adnauseam to exact without ceasing  untold and wanton strains, pressure and reverses in the  operation of constitutional development which has  brought the country to this sorry pass!

As an illustration, significantly the Third National Development Plan (1975-1980), the brain child of the military administration was a  complete  domination  of the  economy by the  Federal Military Government (FMG) and  virtual reduction of state  government to a mere agent of FMG or at best a glorified  local government council  area, if it could be  so called.

Alas!, the country is still in the vicious  circles! Thank  the providence, for the progressive government  of President Ahmed Bola Tinubu will certainly leave no stone  unturned, do the  needful in fixing  the nation in order to fully  restore normalcy in good governance acceptable  to best practices in civilized clime. Nigeria cannot  be an exception!

The aberration can only  be tolerated or excused in a military junta, or  under  so called civilian rule but  gestated, nurtured by the military  generalissimo.

This  was the  intolerable scenario; iron curtain  oligarchy, until President Ahmed Bola Tinubu assumed the mantle of leadership.

Now, we are in a full blown democracy where the rule of law subsists, it must be conceded that the  Federal  Government has  a duty  to discharge those responsibilities  which  fall within its own exclusive  jurisdiction.

It should  be re-emphasised that the basic principle of fiscal  federalism is that state governments  are by  no means subservient or subordinate to the  whims and  caprices of the Federal Government.

Unless when the rule of law was gradually  eroded or in abeyance as recently obtained in the Rivers  State which necessitated  emergency rule as currently  proclaimed by the  Federal Government to avert  the looming  anarchy in the embattled state!

This is  the spirit of Independence and Republican constitutions reasonably copied and emulated in the  present military  inspired constitutions  of 1979 and 1999 as amended.

It is  a sad commentary that the spirit is conspicuously absent from the operators of the constitution who largely were retired military personnel and their  acolytes.

Having  suspended people’s  constitution, this cadre of  military rulers and civilian apologists in the  civil  service  and  in the academics, erected unitary  system of government which palpably runs contrary and  negates the spirit and  practice of fiscal  federalism.

An element of state autonomy  in a federal system  is the principle of  independent  revenue  like the contentious  Value Added Tax (VAT) which in  normal circumstance where there is  no friction or mutual  ethnic  suspicions  and avaricious tendencies among the  political  gladiators, the situation should not be subject  to undue litigation.

For, it  is unassailable that  every  component  past of the federation  should be able to raise its  own revenues  independently without let or hindrance. In  addition to  whatever it may  receive as grants from the  Federal Government, this  is enshrined in the  Nigerian Constitution. States must   not  be reduced to beggar  government  by going  cap-in-hand to the Federal Government for  more funds to prosecute projects and agenda. State should be given to levy  personal income tax in  accordance to the tenets of federal constitution to  which every  component part subscribes.

If we  have our way,  Federal Government  may run to the  state government by way of collecting  credit facilities from  the latter depending on the Internally Generated  Revenue (IGR) and financial buoyancy  of the particular state.

It  happened in the  democratic experiment put in place by  the British Colonial masters in Nigeria which culminated into First Republic. When Federal Government ran to more financially formidable Western  Region  led by Chief Obafemi Awolowo, for  financial aid. If  you rub my back and vice versa, there is no crime in exchange by barter.

Another source of independent  revenue  for  state governments was the Marketing  Board System. Under this  system, the state fixed  the producer  prices of the  export  and the difference between  these  prices and the  market prices were  available to the state government  plan.

As soon as Federal Government  assumed  responsibility  for producer prices, the state automatically  lost  this  source.

The  net result is that the  Federal Government   becomes the  main source of revenue for all the state governments combined together. Hence  the incapacity of state government, to make  sustained  efforts to generate revenue  elsewhere.

Coming  back to the Third National  Development Plan which presumably  castrated the financial muscles of state  governments to raise revenues for developmental purposes.

It  gives vent to the Federal  Government  to invade all the  functions  previously  reserved exclusively for state  governments: Such functions include primary and post- primary education,  building of hospitals; health facilities,  road  infrastructure, housing, land, water, light,  to mention a few.

What is more, the states have  also  blatantly encroached  on the duties of local government council arcas such as  markets cemeteries, maternity centres/dispensary clinic  now styled  primary health care, refuse disposal, etc.

The  provisions of the Nigerian constitution which   define  specific functions of the Federal  Government are no  longer  effective due to grave  assault  inflicted on the people by the operators and players of our constitution.

This  breach and obvious  failure in  national leadership to do justice to the federal constitution provokes inter ethnic envy, hatred, avuncular animosity  and bad blood  which further  fuel religious bigotry, inter  tribal  suspicion, mutual  distrust, disharmony  and petty squabbles among the  otherwise peace loving communities  to take up arms and resort to self help in demanding separate and balkanized  fiefdoms out of federation to themselves.

It is  God for all and everyone to himself. Not  until  we scrupulously as a united and  honest body adheres  strictly to fiscal federalism  in addressing our multi-dimensional and faceted needs as a nation with one destiny, the tension will continue ad-infinitum  and  in  quadruples to the peril  of all and sundry. God  forbids! 

With  the present innovative and brand new political  dispensation led by  President Bola Ahmed Tinubu and  his vice President, Shetimah, the sky is the  limit for the president Bola Ahmed Tinubu to prove his  mettle as former distinguished performing  governor of  Lagos State.

President Tinubu will  surely  and definitely enthrone and  consolidate purposeful and  record  breaking civilian government and among others  entrenches fiscal  federalism to  correct and  adjust the lopsidedness of the past in the polity.