BY AYODELE OJO
One peculiar feature of the administration of President Goodluck Jonathan in the distribution of public offices is the exclusion of the Yoruba such that Nigeria is fast becoming an unequalled federation. National Mirror’s Deputy Editor (Politics), AYODELE OJO, provides an insight into the marginalisation of the South West.
The framers of the Nigerian Constitution had all segments of the nation at heart when the Principle was enshrined in the nation’s law book.
The essence of inserting the Principle in the Constitution was to give equal opportunity to all ethnic nationalities and geographical zones in the country.
Section 14 (3) of the 1999 Constitution provides that: “The composition of the Government of the Federation or any of its agencies and the conduct of its affairs shall be carried out in such a manner as to reflect the federal character of Nigeria and the need to promote national unity, and also to command national loyalty, thereby ensuring that there shall be no predominance of persons from a few state or from a few ethnic or other sectional groups in that government or in any of its agencies.”
But a cursory look at the distribution of public offices among the geo-political zones in the Goodluck Jonathan administration reveals an unequaled federation.
A skewed federation
Nigeria is grouped into six geo-political zones South South: In the Goodluck Jonathan administration, the South South occupies strategic positions.
The President being from the zone has strategically placed the people of the zone in vantage positions.
Apart from him, the zone produced Grade A ministers, chairmen of powerful federal commissions, Chief of Staff to the President, until recently, the National Security Adviser (NSA) and headship of heavy budget agencies among others.
South East: The zone is also a beneficiary of the lopsidedness in the distribution of public offices. The zone produced the Secretary to the Government of the Federation (SGF), Minister of Finance and de facto Prime Minister, Minister of Power, Health Minister and Labour Minister.
At the federal legislature, the South East is number two in both chambers of the National Assembly; Deputy Senate President and Deputy Speaker of the House of Representatives.
The zone also produced the Chief of Army Staff as well as man several strategic positions in government.
North West: This zone is the major beneficiary of the present government in the distribution of public offices.
The Vice- President, the head of the nation’s judiciary – Chief Justice of Nigeria (CJN), Speaker of the House of Representatives, Governor of the Central Bank of Nigeria, Grade A ministers (Defence until lately, National Planning, Education, Mines and Steel Development), Group Managing Director of Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation, NNPC, Comptroller-General of Nigerian Customs Service (NCS), Inspector General of Police, chairman of the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) and National Security Adviser, NSA, among others are from the North West which voted mainly for Gen. Muhammadu Buhari of the Congress for Progressive Change (CPC) in the April 2011 presidential election.
There are seven states – Kano, Kaduna, Sokoto, Jigawa, Zamfara and Katsina – in the North West. Buhari defeated President Jonathan in all the seven states in the presidential poll.
North Central: The head of the federal legislature, the Senate President, the Clerk of the National Assembly as well as Attorney General of the Federation and Minister of Justice are also from the zone.
North East: The Head of Civil Service, Alhaji Isa Bello (Adamawa); Economic and Financial Crimes Commission, EFCC, Ibrahim Lamorde (Adamawa) and chair-men of some federal agencies and bodies are from this zone. South West: In all the three arms of government: Executive, Legislature and Judiciary, the Yoruba of the South-West are not represented. The distribution of public offices at the federal level was skewed against the geo-political zone such that prominent Yoruba leaders have cried out that the race is marginalised under the Jonathan administration.
Nigeria’s power house
In Nigeria, there are six critical positions that influence governance in all aspects of the nation’s life.
These positions are: The President, Vice President, Senate President, Speaker of the House of Representatives, Chief Justice of Nigeria (CJN) and Secretary to the Government of the Federation (SGF). Unfortunately, the South-West is missing in the power equation as no Yoruba occupies the headship of any of the three arms of government. In the executive, President Jonathan, from Bayelsa State in the South South holds sway while his deputy, Architect Namadi Sambo is from Kaduna State (North West).
Senator Anyim Pius Anyim runs the secretariat of the Federal Government as the SGF; he is from Ebonyi State in the South East. At the federal legislature, the North controls the National Assembly. Senator David Mark is the chairman of the National Assembly by virtue of his position as the Senate President.
The North also produced the Speaker of the House of Representatives. Rt. Hon. Aminu Tambuwal from Sokoto State (North West) is the Speaker. The head of the nation’s judiciary, Chief Justice of Nigeria (CJN), Justice Aloma Mariam Muktar is also from the North West. The only opportunity the people of the South-West had to be in the power bracket was when the House Speakership was zoned to the region. But the zone lost the slot as political horse trading gave the position to the North West.
Federal Executive Council (FEC)
In the Federal Executive Council (FEC), the South West has equal representation in terms of number per state (one minister for each state) and geographical representation (one minister per zone). But in terms of influence, the seven ministers from the South West are not that favoured in terms of placements. Of the more than 10 first class/Grade A ministries, the Yoruba only head one; Agriculture. There are seven ministers from the South-West of which there are three females.
The three females are Ms. Jumoke Akinjide, Minister of State for Federal Capital Territory (FCT) from Oyo State, Erelu Olusola Obada, Minister of State for Defence from Osun State and Mrs. Omobola Johnson from Ondo State. She heads the newly created Ministry of Information Technology. Also, most of the seven ministers from the zone have no political clout except Ms. Akinjide and Obada.
Lagos was allotted the Ministry of Trade and Investment, occupied by Dr. Segun Aganga who is from Edo State; Ekiti has the Ministry of Police Affairs; Foreign Affairs and Agriculture went to Ogun. Other zones grabbed the key ministries: Minister of Finance (South East), Minister of Petroleum Resources (South South), Attorney General of the Federation/Minister of Justice (North Central), Minister of Power (South East), Minister of Aviation (South East), Minister of Niger Delta (South South), Minister of Defence until lately (North West) Niger, Minister of Works (South South) and Minister of Education (North West).
Judiciary
The marginalisation of the Yoruba is well pronounced in the judiciary as the zone is missing in the top hierarchy. The Chief Justice of Nigeria (CJN), Justice Muktar is from the North; both the President of the Court of Appeal (PCA), Justice Dalhatu Adamu (Niger) and Chief Judge of the Federal High Court, Justice Ibrahim Auta (Borno) are from the North.
The President of the Customary Court, the Registrar of the Supreme Court, the Directors- General of the Law Reform Commission and National Judicial Institute are also non-Yoruba. The Attorney General of the Federation and Minister of Justice, Mohammed Adoke, and Solicitor-General of the Federation are also northerners. Adoke is from Kogi State in the North Central.
The North also dominates the National Judicial Council (NJC). The CJN is the chairman of the NJC. The PCA, Chief Judge of Federal High Court; President of the Customary Court of Appeal; one Grand Khadi of the Sharia Court of Appeal and some others NJC members are northerners.
Legislature
In the legislative arm of government, the Yoruba are also missing. In the last administration, the South-West was a bit lucky as the zone produced the Speaker of the House of Representatives in the person of Patricia Etteh and Dimeji Bankole. But in the Jonathan administration, the zone has taken the back seat.
The highest position the zone has is the consolatory position of Majority Leader of the House. A breakdown of principal officers of the National Assembly shows another lopsided equation: Senate President (North Central), Deputy Senate President (South East), Senate Leader (South South), Deputy Senate Leader (North East), House Speaker (North West) and Deputy Speaker (South East).
State House
In the seat of power, the State House, the Yoruba equally have no place. In a clear case of marginalisation, the South West has no representation as the Chief of Staff is from the South South, Deputy Chief of Staff (North), Principal Secretary to the President (North), National Economic Adviser (South East) and the National Security Adviser was from the South South until the removal of Gen. Andrew Azazi who was replaced by Col. Sambo Dasuki from Sokoto State.
Federal Commissions
Section 153 of the 1999 Constitution talks about the establishment of 10 Federal Executive bodies (Commissions), namely: Code of Conduct Bureau (CCB ); Federal Character Commission (FCC); Federal Civil Service Commission (FCSC); Federal Judicial Service Commission (FJSC); Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC); National Population Commission (NPC); Police Service Commission (PSC); Revenue Mobilisation Allocation and Fiscal Commission (RMAFC); Independent Corrupt Practices and other related Offences Commission (ICPC); Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC).
Of the 10 sensitive bodies none of the chairmen of the federal commissions listed in Section 153 of the constitution is from South-West. The allocation of the commissions’ chairmen is as follows: CCB – North East; FCC – North Central; FCSC – South East; FJSC – South East; INEC – North West; NPC – South East; PSC – South South; RMAFC – South East; ICPC – South South; and EFCC – North East.
National Defence Council (NDC)/ security apparatus
The nation’s NDC is made up of the President, Vice-President, Minister of Defence, Chief of Defence Staff, Chief of Army Staff, Chief of Air Staff, Chief of Naval Staff and other members as the President may appoint.
The only representation the South West has in the nation’s security command is the Chief of Defence Staff, Air Marshal Oluseyi Petinrin from Osun State.
The zone produced none of the three service chiefs.
The Inspector-General of Police, Muhammed Abubakar is from Zamfara State, (North West) while the Director General of State Security Service (SSS), Ita Ekpeyong is from Cross River, (South South).
The National Security Adviser (NSA), Sambo Dasuki is from Sokoto (North West).
Revenue generation and heavy budget agencies
A painstaking look at the various revenue- related agencies and extra ministerial departments paint a picture of total neglect of the South West in the distribution of the headship. The North, South South and South East monopolised the positions leaving the Yoruba to their fate. The highly coveted Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC) is in the hands of the North-West; the chairman of the Federal Inland Revenue Service (FIRS), Mr. Kabiru Mashi, is from Katsina, North West. As expected, the Niger Delta Development Commission (NDDC) and Nigerian Maritime Administration and Safety Agency (NIMASA), Millennium Development Goals Office are in the grip of the South South.
The South East heads the National Identity Management Commission (NIMC), National Electricity Regulatory Commission/ Power Holding Company of Nigeria (NERC/PHCN), Federal Road Safety Commission (FRSC), Revenue Mobilisation Allocation and Fiscal Commission (RMAFC), and Federal Roads Maintenance Agency (FERMA).
The North also has its fair share of the distribution of key agencies of government. Sanusi Lamido Sanusi from Kano (North West) heads the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) while Abdullahi Dikko from (North West) is the Comptroller-General of the Nigeria Customs Service (NCS). The North is also in the headship of the Petroleum Trust Development Fund (PTDF – North West), Education Trust Fund (ETF – North East); National Health Insurance Scheme (NHIS – North East); National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA – North Central), Nigerian Ports Authority (NPA – North West), Universal Basic Education Commission (UBEC), Federal Housing Authority (FHA) and the Nigeria Deposit Insurance Corporation (NDIC) are Northerners.
National Economic Council (NEC)/National Economic Management Team (EMC)
Today, these are two all-important bodies that oversee the nation’s economy.
From the available facts and figures, the South West also took the back seat in the nation’s economy. The NEC is a creation of the 1999 Constitution (Section 153) with “power to advise the President concerning the economic affairs of the Federation, and in particular on measures necessary for the co-ordination of the economic planning efforts or economic programmes of the various governments of the Federation.”
The NEC, according to the Third Schedule, Part 1 of the Constitution, comprises of (a) the Vice-President, who shall be the chairman; (b) the Governor of each state of the Federation; and (c) the Governor of the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN). Herein, the North has a say with the Vice President, CBN governor and 19 out of the 36 state governors. Except the six state governors, the South West still lag behind in the economic management of Nigeria.
In the 24-member EMC saddled with the responsibility of finding solutions to the economic challenges confronting the nation, the Yoruba race also have a low representation.
The EMC is chaired by President Jonathan while the Finance Minister, Dr. Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala (South East) acts as coordinator of the team. Other members include: Vice-President Sambo as Vice Chairman, Minister of National Planning (North West), Minister of Trade and Investment (South South/SW), Minister of Power (South East), Minister of Petroleum Resources (South South), Minister of Agriculture (South West), Minister of Works (South South), Minister of Education (North West), Minister of Health (South East), Minister of State for Finance (North East), Minister of State for Health (North East), Governor, Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN – North West), Chief Economic Adviser (South East), Special Adviser, Monitoring and Evaluation; Director General, Budget (South East), Director General, Debt Management Office (South-East); Director General, Bureau for Public Procurement (South East), Director General, Infrastructure Concession Regulatory Commission (North), Honorary Adviser on Agriculture and Governor of Adamawa State (North East), Honourary Adviser on Finance and Governor of Anambra State (South East), Honourary Adviser on Economy and President, Nigerian Economic Society, Mr. Atedo Peterside (South South). In the influential 24-member EMC, the South West only has two representatives: Aganga (Trade and Investment Minister) and Akinwunmi (Agric Minister).
The Managing Director/Chief Executive Officer of the Nigeria Deposit Insurance Corporation (NDIC), Umaru Ibrahim, is from North West (Kano). The only slot the South West has in the nation’s economic position is the Accountant General of the Federation (AGF) who reports to the Minister of Finance.
But why?
What must have informed the lopsidedness in the distribution of public offices in which the South West was technically edged out? Did the Yoruba sin against the Jonathan administration?
The Yoruba through former President Olusegun Obasanjo facilitated the geometric rise of President Jonathan in politics. Obasanjo was instrumental to his becoming the governor of Bayelsa State and Vice President.
In the April 2011 presidential election, the Yoruba voted massively for the Jonathan- led Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) even more than many of the zones which the president has now accorded priority attention in the distribution of offices. Jonathan won in five of the six states (Lagos, Ogun, Ondo, Oyo and Ekiti, with exception of Osun) of the zone during the election.
Even though the PDP lost the zone to the Action Congress of Nigeria (ACN) in other contests, it is expected that the race should have been compensated in the distribution of public offices to strengthen the party in South West. But this has not been the lot of the Yoruba. As at today, there is no clear explanation as to why the Yoruba are being marginalised under the Jonathan administration.
Yoruba leaders kick
Speaking on the marginalisation of Yoruba in the administration of President Jonathan, the leader of Yoruba socio-cultural group, Afenifere, Pa Reuben Fasoranti said the development appears that the Yoruba are not wanted in the federation. “Yoruba are being marginalised in the present administration, no doubt about that. It appears that they don’t want us in the federation. But we have made representation on the matter to the president. I hope something will be done on this.
The marginalisation of the Yoruba is very glaring. I don’t think it is deliberate; I only hope it is one of those things that needed to be corrected,” Fasoranti told National Mirror.
Founder of the Oodua Peoples Congress (OPC), Dr. Frederick Fasehun also shared the same sentiment in an interview with National Mirror. His words: “It is very apparent that the Yoruba are being marginalised in the distribution of political and public offices in the country under President Jonathan. To me, the situation is like an official policy of the Jonathan administration to marginalise Yoruba because today, there is no Yoruba holding sensitive position in his government.
You can check this out in the presidency, legislature and judiciary. “The South-West is being marginalised and unfortunately some of us who are saying this are being told that we are only crying wolf.
But going by the electoral support President Jonathan was given by the South-West in the 2011 presidential election, the marginalisation of Yoruba in his government is sheer ingratitude to the race.”
A former Bishop of the Anglican Church, Rt. Rev Emmanuel Bolanle Gbonigi admitted that the race is short-changed in the power equation in the country. “There are very clear evidences that Yoruba are being marginalised. It is very clear and this has been documented and a letter written to that effect to the President,” he told National Mirror.
Gbonigi, however, blamed Yoruba politicians for the development. His words: “We need to examine ourselves; where were the Yoruba politicians and top civil servants in the executive when the appointments were being made? What were they doing when the appointments were being made?
What do they say; why didn’t they ask for Yoruba rights? “We have met the President on the marginalisation of Yoruba and we hope the issue would be addressed.
The president is a human being like us. I’m not blaming him for what has happened; we should blame ourselves for not asking for our rights.” Chief Ayo Adebanjo, one of the disciples of the late sage, Chief Obafemi Awolowo, in an interview with National Mirror believed that when there is division in the race, there will always be denial of rights.
He said: “I don’t believe that the Yoruba should be begging for appointments. We must get ourselves fortified. There is a lot of dissension in the race and political parties. If the Action Congress of Nigeria (ACN) was conscious of the race, they wouldn’t have colluded to deny the Yoruba the Speakership of the House of Representatives zoned to the South-West. “We need to be united to fight for our rights. If we are divided, there is no way we will get what belongs to us.
If it were to be in those days of Awolowo when we were formidable, they will come and beg us. We can’t be divided and be asking for our rights. We don’t need to beg Jonathan. They must respect our feelings as a race. But we need to convince ourselves to forget personal interest for public interest.”
Source: National Mirror
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