When was the last time you entered a local government secretariat in Nigeria? What did it look like? Was it lively and full of activities, activities that benefit the people? I doubt it. Most local governments in Nigeria are dying, being suffocated by the strong arms of state governors. As almost lifeless as they are, it seems they would have been scrapped by most governors if the Nigerian constitution was not explicit about their existence. They were supposed to be the third tier of government, which is close to the grassroots and actively engaged with bottom-up development. However, most governors have pocketed the local governments (LGs). They have been reduced to appendages of the Governor’s Office in most states. Let the Local Governments Breathe!
The issues of local government financial autonomy border mostly around the freedom of receiving and spending money by the LGs, which will increase accountability to local constituents. They also involve freedom of operation as the LGs deliver their constitutional responsibilities to the people. These freedoms are essential if our local governments will fulfil their potential. Fulfilling these potentials is a secure route to sustainable grassroots development in our country.
Local governments are uniquely positioned to address the issues that are pertinent to the citizenry, which means there would be a faster response to local needs and emergencies. Their proximity to the masses makes it easy for them to identify low-hanging developmental fruits. With adequate access to their funds, local governments can enter into strategic partnerships with the private sector and NGOs and invest in initiatives for developmental projects (processing, logistics, etc.) that will benefit their people. Thus, they are better able to unlock the abundant resources from the hinterlands than the state governments.
However, they have been muscled out financially, hobbled administratively, and diminished politically. They are now shadows and skeletons of what they should be. When local governments have access to their own resources rather than being maligned and dispossessed by state governors, citizens at the grassroots enjoy their constitutional right to a government that is close to them.
The governors do not know that they are shortchanging themselves by denying the local governments much-needed autonomy. If the local governments are functioning properly, they will easily expose areas where the respective state governments can collaborate with them for greater impact through policies and further investments. It is much better than the wild goose chase for white elephant projects that is the norm. Any sensible governor who really desires to improve the livelihoods of the citizens will know that this is a path to strategic, large-scale impact across the state.
I am from the Ibarapa region of Oyo State. Consecutive governors in the state have essentially sidelined the region in terms of real development. Our people are primarily farmers. Yet, we lack good roads to move our produce from the farms to the towns. This is at the same time when other regions in the state not only have good roads but also several kilometres of dual carriage roads.
If our local governments had financial autonomy, they would have been able to, at least, fix some of our roads. However, since they are handicapped, courtesy of our governors, they can barely afford to grade roads. Our people have been stripped of the basics that they can associate with having some form of government because of some people’s greed for power and control. What a shame!
A common excuse for taking over local governments’ functions is that misappropriation of funds is rife there. This opinion is as dumb as it is lame. Why do we have laws? If people misappropriate funds, they should face the consequences. If there are loopholes in the laws, fix them through additional laws.
When a governor spends money that belongs to the local governments, is that not misappropriation? It does not make sense that people whom we call “His Excellency” show themselves devoid of excellence in this matter. How on earth will you collect over 200 million naira from the federal government on behalf of a local government, give them a token, and then embark upon one useless prototype project on their behalf? Who needs a prototype project when the needs our demands and needs are very different in each local government?
Unfortunately, these local government chairmen can do nothing about this. Most local governments are controlled by appointed administrators. They are beneficiaries of the skewed “benevolence” of their benefactors, the governors. Hence, their allegiance is to the spoon that feeds them through the position. Unfortunately, the food crumbs they are fed belong to them and their people. However, since they were not elected by the people, they lack the capital, confidence, and courage to demand what belongs to their local governments.
It is high time we let our governors understand that despite having 774 local governments in Nigeria, our needs and demands are very different. You can never know other local governments better than yours because those who live there know where the shoes pinch them. For example, with local government financial autonomy, the local government chairman in an agrarian community can target investment in rural infrastructure like irrigation systems, respond quickly to local agricultural crises or opportunities, and allocate funds for agricultural developmental programmes; whereas a riverine local government chairman will have different needs and demands on these. A riverine local government chairman can decide to improve flood control and water management systems, invest in waterway transportation infrastructure, fund the fishing industry, and support aquaculture development.
A local government chairman whose community has tourism potential can decide to strategically invest in tourism infrastructure and promotion, preservation, and development of local cultural and natural attractions, ultimately reinvesting tourism revenue into community development. A local government in the city might value responsive urban planning and development, improved funding for public transportation and traffic management, and the allocation of resources for housing and urban renewal projects, while a local government that is full of mountains and rocks can focus investment in mining and quarrying industries, development of specialised infrastructure for challenging terrain and the allocation of resources for land reclamation and erosion control.
All these have proven to us that it is only through local government financial autonomy that the local governments can pursue and achieve innovative solutions to unique local challenges. As we await the certified true copy of the Supreme Court judgement on local government financial autonomy, we pray and hope the national assembly will scrap all siec and all local government elections should be conducted by INEC.
For many years, local governments in Nigeria have been suffocating, this is a great opportunity to revive them and give them a lease of life.
If the judgement did not cover how local government elections are conducted and who is responsible for conducting the local government elections,..
This financial autonomy for local government will be a waste of time and resources.
Let the Local Governments breathe!
Engr. (Dr.) David Olusegun Okanlawon can be reached via olusegunokanlawon@aol.com
