By Francis Abayomi
It is no longer news that a group of governors and governors-elect, under the aegis of All Progressives Congress (APC), led by Rochas Okorocha of Imo State, while meeting with the President-elect, Muhammadu Buhari recently, made frantic, but futile efforts to justify reasons why states are unable to meet their financial obligations and notably the payment of the backlog of salaries arrears owed to civil servants which run into months in some states. It should be noted, however, that the looming danger of near bankruptcy which has led to non-payment of salaries also involves states under the control of Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) and others.
But it is rather curious how some governors came to the strange conclusion that the president of the federal republic in a democracy would be in a position to bail them out of the financial crises most of which are self-inflicted. If the governors were not up to needless mischief, they would have been courageous enough to admit responsibility for their failures.
The mischief of the governors is coming on the heels of Buhari’s admittance to being nervous at the expectations of Nigerians from his government. But Buhari must be told in plain language that nervousness only becomes an option for the chief helmsman when propaganda remains a tool in governance. There would not be need for unease the moment he begins to live with the reality of the tasks ahead; beyond the convenience of political propaganda and unrealistic promises.
Whatever the case, the months ahead, no doubt, promise to be interesting as the new administration will be faced with the reality of governance beyond the fancy that fuelled the change mantra in the wake of the recently concluded election. Of course, there are those of us who will prefer that the much-talked about change addresses the basic issues that could strengthen our federalism rather than mere allocation of resources among the tiers of government.
It is however doubtful if these governors appreciate the compelling challenge beyond gaining access to more money from the Federation Account. While the governors-elect could well be pardoned, it is evident that those who have been governors in the last four years are merely dodging the real issues involved in the affairs of their states and are still probably pretending that the people can be taken for granted for too long on the strength of their propaganda.
While it remains to be seen how and where the president is expected to get the resources or exercise the power to offer lifeline to debt-riddled states beyond what is legitimately within the confine of fiscal entitlement or regulation in a federal system, the immediate concern is that these governors are running away from the most important responsibility of accountability to electorate in their respective states. It can be recalled that prior to the distress call by APC governors, some of the state executives with the aid of their political choristers had sought to create the impression that the Federal Government should be held responsible for their failure to meet financial obligation to workers in their states. That such tomfoolery was digested hook, line and sinker by supposed enlightened electorate says much about the danger of political propaganda or evil of misinformation that is fast becoming a norm in our democracy.
While some of us wondered aloud how the Federal Government under a supposed ‘clueless president’ could possibly withhold legitimate resources due to the states without appropriate judicial intervention from the camp of these progressives, such deceit served with the required doses of political gimmickry, it was meant to achieve, nevertheless became so easily digested and assimilated by credulous section of the society. But, the political tide has since changed and the truth can no longer be stood on the head; perpetually for too long.
With the coming of a Federal Government under the control of the APC in a matter of days, the governors can no longer force the lie of withheld allocation down the throats of gullible and hapless victims in their respective states. It therefore became expedient and convenient to sing a different tune with stories of emptied treasury by the outgoing government. Of course, the governors do have legitimate rights to express concerns over national treasury if there are sufficient reasons for such. But, the governors must be honest to let the world know how the treasury has affected revenues that were legitimately due to them from the Federation Account.
But it is about time Nigerians asked pertinent questions as to how governors prioritised federal allocations in their states. Why would state governors not accept responsibilities for the state of affairs in their respective domains in a federal system where there are established procedures and mechanism for resource allocation and management? It would have been a different thing altogether if these governors were querying the yardstick for allocating resources between the federal and the 36 states to the extent of demanding a review of existing formula. Indeed, such justifiable demand for a review of formula for allocating resources accruable to the federation would however require a holistic reassessment of the prevailing federal system beyond the mere cosmetics of allocating more resources to state governors who have being turned into emperors or demigods with the way they covet and dispense allocation to local government councils in their states.
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This is precisely why it would amount to playing the Ostrich for the governors to be pretending that Nigerians are oblivious of the level of rot and mismanagement being perpetrated at the level of the states in spite of huge resources they collect. But, here we are in a federal system whereby we have Arkansas states behaving as though they are in the league of Texas. The tragedy of the scenario today is that federal allocation to some states can rarely, conveniently take care of overheads when deductions are made by banks and financial institutions as a result of huge debts in which the states have been dragged into by some governors. What is left in the coffer of most states in the face of giddying debts being defrayed as obligation on a monthly basis is so insignificant that salaries of workers have had to pile up for more than six months in some cases.
But our governors would want the world to believe that the financial maladies confronting their states stemmed from the cock-and-bull story of an emptied treasury for which the Federal Government should solely be held responsible. The incoming president may just get more nervous when the reality dawns.
Unfortunately, it seems Buhari does not appreciate (or pretending not to) that the system can hardly survive for too long under the prevailing federal system. It is reckoned that beyond the urge to exercise power under the prevailing skewed federal arrangement, the incoming president has never demonstrated commitment or willingness, in and out of office, to the quest to have critical national questions that bother on our federalism holistically addressed and settled as a basis for an enduring and stable republic. That he was reported to have dismissed the outcome of the National Conference organised by his predecessor shows lack of understanding or denial of issues that are germane to addressing the problems. But those who genuinely appreciate the challenge at hand beyond what the governors are orchestrating may have to be prepared to see the new president getting more nervous in the next four years. Meanwhile, we can only hope for concrete and enduring change and in the right direction too!
