While appreciating President Bola Ahmed Tinubu, GCFR, on the Renewed Hope Agenda of his administration which secured financial autonomy for local government areas in Nigeria through the Supreme Court, one cannot but add to this commendable effort that local government which is the fabric of other tiers of government, state, region or federal. It is the mother of any other tiers.
The conglomeration of these local governments brings about, state, regional or federal government. Each other tier office is situated within one of these local administrative areas. Therefore, it is laudable and we have to give it to this President Tinubu-led administration for treading the right path having discovered that the local governments, not only the fabric but also the bedrock and foundation over which other tiers of government are erected or/and built.
Nonetheless, the effectiveness of local government administration is envisaged and secured if traditional rulers or native authorities (for the word ‘local’ means ‘native’) are allowed to make native laws suitable for administering their respective local government areas.
Thus, the local government administrations should be the blend of a democratically elected chairman who will choose his supervisory councillors from each of the wards that constitute the local government area as the executive. At the same time, the legislative arm is native by using traditional institutions in their respective local government area (where their domain falls).
The benefits from the above facts are enormous. There will be no parallel government in the local government area, with huge contributions of the Obaship in the service of their respective local government areas. It will also save the cost of unnecessary waste in the local administration and conduction of an election.
More so, there would be effective management of the resources in the local government area, just as it will foster security of lives and properties. It will also promote oneness and unity and aid development while engaging human resources at local governments for effective service, rendering.
Furthermore, it will ban rascal behaviour that tends to maturity in the administration and accords respect. It will debar fraud practices of loading local government areas with none natives of the local government which is a cheat on the natives. This practice is prevalent among career officers from service commissions in the state. And the ridiculous situation the traditional Rulers have found themselves in the hands of the state governors will be abated. A traditional Ruler could be installed today and removed tomorrow.
Whereas these traditional institutions were the government of their land and people before the advent of colonization and at colonization, the colonial government had them at the foundation of the colonial administration unlike the inglorious decorated status they are posed by “modern emperors. This will be reversed and they will have a say in the administration of their people to be part of government and governance.
Moreover, as there is less interference from the Federal Government in each state, our constitution should ensure that each state has less interference over local government administration.
Activities or roles should be properly defined among the tiers of government.
For example, in Education, each Local government should be empowered to run their primary schools in collaboration with UBEC from the Federal level whereas secondary schools should be the sole business of the state government. Nothing like SUBEB should exist.
Agriculture and Food Production should be the business of all tiers of Government. Under the Ministries of Agriculture and Rural Development, food security should be guaranteed as each tier of government should endeavour to have landed in each rural local government at least #1000 hectares of land for agriculture and food purposes which will enable each tier to look after rural roads in the vicinity of their food security and agro-processing engagement.
In terms of road infrastructure, while streets within any community should be shouldered by Local government areas, major roads in the town or intra-state or inter-local government areas should be responsible for by the state government; inter-states and frontier or international roads should be looked after by the federal government.
If our constitution could accommodate these, then there would be full autonomy for the Local Government.
*Adedeji sent in this piece from Ogun State.
Very important, that, before the traditional institution can be accorded, the relevance and recognition, you mentioned, there must be total overhaul of the traditional leaders. We must first of all, identify the authentic and fake one’s, the ones that has integrity, separate the grains from the chaff or else the genuine efforts of local government authonomy will be jeopardize.