BEVERLY HILLS, May 30, (THEWILL) – The Attorney-General of the Federation, AGF, and Minister of Justice, Abubakar Malami SAN, on Tuesday advised those championing calls for the restructuring of Nigeria to stop dissipating energy on the campaign, asserting that no amount of advocacy or agitation would make the restructuring of the country happen.
Speaking at the Think-Tank Conference on ‘Federalism and challenges of dynamic equilibrium in Nigeria: Towards a National Strategy,’ organised by the National Institute for Policy and Strategic Studies, NIPPS, in Abuja, he stated that although the alteration of the country’s structure was inevitable in view of emerging challenges, such restructuring must be effected methodically.
Malami pointed out that federalism was never imposed on Nigeria as the country adopted it in 1954 as a mechanism for managing the nation’s ethno-religious and cultural diversities based on the objective of combining unity and diversity to accommodate, preserve and promote distinct identities within a larger political group.
Acknowledging that reforms and modifications of institutional arrangements, systems and processes were normal in federations world over, he pointed out that they were not done in one fell swoop as advocated in Nigeria.
His words, “There were federalising tendencies that were as ancient as the Olumo Rock and which facilitated adoption in 1954 as a compromise between what Lord James Bryce referred to as centrifugal and centripetal forces. It is true that Nigeria’s federal system has been experiencing challenges and there have been agitations and prescriptions to reform and modify it.
“As things stands, restructuring requires amending the constitution to accommodate referendum or, in the alternative, a constitutional amendment to the 1999 Constitution which, in this case, must be supported by a majority of legislators in 24 states of the federation as enshrined in section 9 of the constitution.
“One thing that is certain is the inevitable implication that abolishing states through restructuring process will certainly translate to the eventual multiplier effect of abolishing the state Houses of Assembly and perhaps downsizing the National Assembly. This, indeed, is a tall order that cannot be achieved through advocacy, emotional outburst or provocative rhetoric and demonstration.”
“Change is a gradual exercise which must be democratic and subjected to legislative and administrative processes as provided by law. We must use democratic means to reform our federal system. We need to recognise that both federalism and democracy are mechanisms for managing diversity.
“Indeed, while federalism provides the institutional framework for managing diversity, democracy makes possible the negotiation of diverse identity claims, by providing them with representation, voice and political mechanisms by which their competing claims are balanced and reconciled.”
The AGF said federalism was embedded in Nigeria’s Constitution as contained in sections 2, 3 and 5 of the Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria 1999 (as amended), and insisted that Nigerians must use democratic means to find solution to the numerous challenges bedevilling the country’s federal system.
He maintained that as far as constitutional democracy was concerned “the idea of restructuring is not a function of advocacy or agitation. It is about constitutional accommodation and/or alternative constitutional amendment”.
Malami maintained that restructuring of the country presently requires amending the constitution to accommodate referendum or a constitutional amendment to the 1999 constitution, which must be supported by majority of lawmakers in 24 states of the federation as enshrined in Section 9 of the Constitution.
This was as he pointed out that a restructuring of the country would imply the abolishing of states which would make state houses of assembly cease to exist and, perhaps cause a downsizing in the number of those in the National Assembly.
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