Restructuring For A Better Nigeria: South-South Priorities

The people of the South South geopolitical zone comprising the states of Akwa-Ibom,
Bayelsa, Cross River, Delta, Edo and River States have always championed the values of fairness, equity, autonomy and solidarity as motivations for federating with other Nigerians in a Federal Democratic Republic.
The people of the zone were therefore in the forefront of agitations to provide guarantees in the foundational constitutional compact to ensure that governance in Nigeria was not informed by tyranny of any groups or nationalities over others, which informed the concerns and representations of the people of the zone before the Willinks Minority Commission in 1957.
Despite the justifiable and recurrent fears and concerns expressed by the zone, the Nigerian polity has incrementally degenerated to the state where the people of the South South constantly have to reconsider if the cost of federating within the Nigerian state is worth the benefits to its people; Making the call for Restructuring ever more urgent.
Restructuring from the South-South perspective simply refers to policy and administrative remedies to defects in regimes and practices for effective and ideal Federal governance in Nigeria, for enabling better wellbeing and livelihood of citizens.
To perpetuate the tyrannies and injustices which make federating with others difficult within the Nigerian polity, beneficiaries of the injustices which distort the ideal federalism that Nigerians crave for, make claims that they do not understand what the South South and the majority of Nigerians who genuinely want to live in a better country mean and demand when they call for Restructuring, for this reason and to avoid conflations of the issues, the South South geo-political zone through the South South Study Group (3SG) has decided to outline the priority issues that should shape initiatives and steps towards a genuine implementation of restructuring.
Whereas more granular details are embodied in the priorities outlined below, the South South geopolitical zone expects a minimum of the following priorities to be implemented constitutionally and administratively to begin the journey towards Restructuring:
1. Clearly defined founding principles which embrace values that will provide for an enduring Federal democratic republic;
2. Agreement and commitment to provide for geopolitical zone constitution for constituent federating units in each geopolitical zone.
3. Agreement and commitment to constitutional devolution of powers to enable; community policing with regulation of levels of weaponry at state and local government; licensing jurisdictions for federating units over electricity utilities, mining, conduct/contracting of Marriages, Birth and death registration, Driving and car licensing as well as Port and Jetties related activities, all with provision for minimal central Federal royalties/rents and stamp duties as the case may be;
4. Agreement and commitment to enable derivation principles as enshrined in Sections 134-136 of the 1960 Constitution of Nigeria, extended to reflect current geopolitical facts with 50% derivation as preferable target within by date of referendum accenting these agreements; with provision for a Federal fund to support states requiring an agreed period for developing their mineral endowments
5. Agreement and commitment to enable power rotation/zoning of elective offices particularly Presidential, Gubernatorial, LGA Chairmanship and legislative seats on consociation basis between constituents of all constitutionally defined jurisdictions
6. Agreement and commitment to enable constitutional organization of the Armed forces such that the federal Army is made up always of a 40% contribution of the armed forces from each of the six geopolitical zones, where each zone retains 60% within their geopolitical zonal command.
7. Unequivocal constitutional clauses to enable national and sub-national referendum with clearly defined procedures for enabling public participation in such referenda for key public decision-making.
To propagate these priorities of the South-South zone with respect to the implementatio of Restructuring, the South South will lend its support and commitment to all causes, social movements, political and social organizations that will see to the earliest implementation of these priorities and the granular details needed to make them into implemented state and federal policies.
Prince Otoks-Dan Princewill
For South-South Study Group (3SG)