‘Devolution is the answer’

Osun State Governor Gboyega Oyetola spoke on the role of traditional rulers in fostering security, sustainable development and good governance in Western Nigeria at the colloquium organised by Sultan Maccido Institute for Peace, Leadership and Development Studies (SMIPLDS), University of Abuja, Abuja. Excerpts:

 

To a very large extent, every governor works with different stakeholders; the most formidable are traditional rulers. There is a lot to learn from working with them. I must therefore appreciate the University of Abuja for providing a formal platform for discussing their role and mainstreaming them as we seek to do in this colloquium.

As you all well know, I come from Osun, a state rich in cultural traditions and respect for traditional political institutions. Hence, I refuse to underestimate the significance of the issues you asked me to address this morning. The assignment is to link three key issues with traditional political authority. The issues are insecurity, governance and economic development in Nigeria. The three issues are weighty.

First and foremost, this is a most challenging moment for us as a country in the area of stability and security. From the North to the South, to the West, the East and even the Middle Belt, different facets of insecurity stare us in the face.  We need great wisdom at this moment to ensure that, as we respond to the problems, we do not end up taking wrong steps that could further compound them. Not taking the wrong steps requires innovative governance styles at the federal, state and local levels. We must all collaborate for optimum results.

 

Sources of insecurity:

Notable sources of insecurity are poverty which creates a gulf between the rich and the poor; unequitable allocation of resources which pits one region against the other; injustice which makes offended parties to result to self-help and consequently take up arms against state; illiteracy which makes innocent citizens willing tools at the hands of unscrupulous elites and elements; youth unemployment which makes able-bodied; and educated youths susceptible to crime, among others.

 

Insecurity and governance:

Security, governance, and sustainable economic development are the tripod upon which a nation’s prosperity and wellbeing stand, with security being the facilitator of the other two factors.

Abraham Maslow identifies security as one the foremost of the seven needs of man. This classification is true for all entities and it means that security is and should be the first desire of man or any entity. The corollary of this classification is that insecurity is the first enemy of man or entity.

Experts aver that security is a crucial factor in governance. Security makes governance, business, development, trade, commerce and every ingredient associated with governance possible and predictable.

 

The imperative of good governance:

I now wish to talk about the imperative for good governance in light of the discussion above. As stipulated in Section 14 Sub-section 2b of the 1999 Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria (as amended), it is the responsibility of the governors to ensure security and welfare of citizens and maintain law and order in their States. In other words, governors are expected to be in-charge of protecting the lives and property of all residents of their state.

However, there is a latent contradiction in this expectation of governors.

Whereas the Constitution assigns such sacred duties to state governors, there is a corresponding lack of empowerment and control of the security agencies. To appreciate how much of a farce this has been, one only needs to consider how helpless governors are when confronted with emergency security situations and the leadership of the various security agencies in the states insist that orders must come from above before anything is done.

It is against this backdrop that we should situate and appreciate the growing clamour for state police. The response of the Federal Government with the establishment of community policing even though desirable, is still considered inadequate because it is still controlled from the centre. Many Governors have registered this inadequacy by establishing their own security agencies to assist the police. There is no doubt, however, that until governors are allowed to control the security apparatus of their state, we are not likely to have improved security in the country.

 

Sustainable economic development:

Sustainable economic development involves addressing the challenges of a nation or state through planning and institution building in a stable political and economic environment to achieve strong, stable and prosperous outcomes.

Security holds the master key in this planning enterprise as the whole outcome could be jeopardised by insecurity.

Without any doubt, effective security management requires adequate funding. However, in a situation where, similar to security on the exclusive list, mineral resources of states also belong to the federal government, states are handicapped. States are now heavily dependent on monthly resource allocation from Abuja.

This explains why Governors are advocating devolution of powers and fiscal federalism that would allow states to manage their resources and by so doing, control their destinies.

The reality of the present economic situation in the country, especially with the fluctuation in the global oil prices and attendant dwindling in our national earnings, the future appears bleak, except something drastic is done.

 

Insecurity as bane of development:

Insecurity hampers sustained economic policies and strategy. Banditry, for instance, has badly affected the capacity of farmers in the Southwest, thus challenging the economy of the region and bringing about famine, hunger and low GDP. Similarly, the kidnapping of school children, especially in the North, is a declaration of war against the future leaders of the nation.

 

Southwest:

Since Nigerian independence in 1960, the South West has, as a constituent of the country, had its share of challenges and accomplishments in terms of forms of government, governance and development.  It has also had its share of instability and insecurity as a constituent of the 61-year-old nation.

Insecurity threatens everything South-Western – its people, values, commerce, identity, philosophy and economy. Though it is the seat of commerce, being home to Lagos which experts say is the 5th largest economy in Africa; South-West Nigeria is a predominantly agrarian region with agriculture as its mainstay. It is blessed with arable soil and tropical vegetation suitable for cash and other crops, chief among which are cocoa and coffee. About 70 per cent of its people live in rural areas and earn their living from peasant farming. Agriculture was the main earner of its income in the 60s and landmark institutions such as Cocoa House, the First Television in Africa, Western Nigeria Television, and the University of Ife (now Obafemi Awolowo University) were established during that era of the cocoa boom.

The governments of the South West have embraced the diversification policy of the Federal Government to stimulate the economy and achieve food security. They provided huge acres of land to create farmland to attract youths to farming. The plan is to bring back the good old days of productive farming. Unfortunately, escalating insecurity is standing in the way of planned economic rebirth.

Insecurity is making the people to sit on the edge. Kidnapping, banditry, armed robbery and other crimes now connive to drive people away from their farms; make transportation of merchants and their goods and farmers and their produce, to other parts of the country, a nightmare.

The good news, however, is that the governors of the region have been unanimous in fighting the monsters; keeping the people safe; and restoring ongoing efforts at diversifying the region’s economy, focusing on agriculture, mining, and other mineral resources.

Amotekun: A child of necessity

The effects of insecurity in the scale painted above necessitated the need for governments of the South West to collaborate to secure the lives and property of our people and rescue the economy of the region from imminent collapse. Doing otherwise would have portrayed us as irresponsible leaders.

Governors of the Southwest, therefore, collaborated in establishing a regional security network, popularly known as Amotekun, to complement the work of state security agencies in policing the region’s forests and roadways. Amotekun is the region’s solution to tackling the problems of kidnapping, banditry, armed robbery and other crimes besetting it. This security arrangement, has become necessary because the nation’s conventional security agencies are overstretched and sorely underfunded. The Police once confirmed the sorry state of its manpower when it said the Force needed 155,000 additional hands to effectively police the nation.

The nation’s security agencies as presently constituted are too centralised and too far from the grassroots to adequately provide the required security for the nation. Worse still, they are unfamiliar with the terrains where crimes take place. It is our belief that our people understand the topography of their communities more and can govern them better.

The nation’s expansive forests have unfortunately become the hideouts of bandits, kidnappers, and other criminals. With the establishment of Amotekun, the forests of the Southwest are now better policed.

The issues that make Amotekun inevitable in the South West are the same in other regions of the nation.

Other regions may wish to emulate the South West to put structures in place to rid their regions of crime. Our recent experience where the attempt to confront armed banditry headlong in the North resulted in their incursion into the South West and other regions that were erroneously perceived to be immune from the insecurity challenge is proof that each region has to be adequately policed for the region to know peace.

In a globalised world where whatever happens in a region has butterfly effect on others, collaborative efforts to tackle our security challenge is inevitable and expedient.

In establishing Amotekun, we consulted traditional rulers and the people at every stage of the Amotekun developmental process. Every state passed the Amotekun Act to regulate the activities of the Security agency. In Osun, for instance, Amotekun has a Board that governs its activities and a Public Complaints Board that elicits feedback from the people in the event of abuse. The States collaborate and compare notes to foster synergy among one another for the effective operation of the regional security outfit.

The Southwest believes that insecurity has no religious or ethnic colouration and that crimes must be dealt with decisively in line with the dictates of the law. Amotekun in the six States of the Southwest work together with other States bordering them to prevent the influx of criminals and to keep the region safe.

 

Traditional rulers and security:

The role of traditional rulers dates back to the pre-colonial Nigeria era when traditional rulers of the over 250 independent nations that now constitute Nigeria had responsibility for the governance of their respective domains with the support of their chiefs. During this period, traditional rulers exercised legislative, executive, judicial, cultural, traditional and religious powers over their domains except in Igboland.

Historically, Yoruba traditional rulers are responsible for fostering both affection and security in the communities within their realm.

 

In Yoruba culture, it is in the Obas’ palace that a stray will find refuge. It is in the Oba’s palace that the vulnerable in the society like the albinos, Siamese twins and orphans find empathy, shelter, succour and a sense of belonging. The extended family or agbole served as the social safety net, with the olori ebi or family head, representing the family both in the community and governing council of the kingdom. And the legendary Yoruba “live and let live” social philosophy meant that, in every major Yoruba town or city from Kabba to Ogbomosho to Abeokuta, Saki to Ife to Ore, Parakou to Cotonou you are likely to find family Compound arrangement such as Agbole Tapa or Agbole Fulani or Agbole Hausa. Therefore, in Yorubaland, even if you came from a foreign land, you could become an integral member of a family or start a family of your own outright.  Co-existence is an exceptional feature of Yoruba culture.

The colonial masters built on the pre-colonial structure in the South West and other regions of the country through the indirect rule regime.

The colonial Constitutions which started in 1922 up to the wee periods of independence opted for the use of traditional rulers for linguistic, ease of administration of native communities and other reasons.

Thus, traditional rulers participated in executive, legislative and judicial functions in their domains, including security, governance, development, adjudication, conflict resolution, collection of taxes function under the supervision of the colonial masters. Indeed, native authority administration was the beginning of loss of maximum authority wielded by traditional rulers.

Although these functions were limited to the grassroots after independence, traditional rulers still perform unofficial judicial, legislative and executive functions at the grassroots. During peace and conflict times, traditional rulers served as advisers of government and implementers of government policies, adjudication, conflict resolution,

They should collaborate with security agencies to provide intelligence and other useful information of security and safety importance and encourage their subjects to do the same. It is also the responsibility of traditional rulers to regularly mediate between the government and the people by explaining policies and programmes. As the leaders of their communities, traditional rulers have to recommend youths of good character who want to enlist in security agencies: Police, Military, etc. They should complement the government’s efforts by enforcing agreed solutions to the identified problems.

Traditional rulers should also seek to resolve conflicts among warring factions in their domain and ensure justice before they snowball into violence. They must be the megaphone of government in ensuring that parents send their children and wards to school to avoid breeding thugs and miscreants.

Thankfully, in the South West, traditional rulers are predominantly educated and urbane and there is an unwritten rule in most villages and towns that substantive kings and chiefs must be lettered.

The role of traditional rulers in the current crisis in the nation is that of an interface between their people and others; and between their people and the government.

Traditional Rulers in the South West have deep reservoirs of respect, reverence and good will and are more easily accessible to their subjects than most politicians to the same constituents. This is the time for the traditional rulers to bring the full weight of their office and the institutional memory gained over generations to bear on the problems we face. History has taught us to learn from the past. Those lessons are the signposts that can lead us to security, peace and prosperity.

History informs us that insecurity has typically involved external factors beyond the control of our societies. Traditional Rulers are well placed to provide critical support to Climate change readiness and Disaster Management. It is an area where Traditional Rulers have been under-utilised. They can provide the early warning systems and the first crisis response that government needs. Government in turn must make available more resources. In particular, NEMA and State Emergency Management and Security Agencies should incorporate roles traditional rulers can play in security, disaster and relief management in their activities.

Security and sustainability are key governance pillars that define traditional rulership. They are equipped to support government efforts in these trying times.  In particular, South West Traditional Rulers are steeped in a culture of managing crises of frightening scale. South West traditional leadership or Osun traditional institution in particular had to walk a tight rope to avoid being consumed during the Kiriji wars. They have built up a reservoir of knowledge and experience they can bring to bear on our predicament today so that peace and prosperity can reign in our region and more importantly in our country.

The past is generally regarded as a prologue to the present. The past being a prologue means that history is unforgiving to those that do not learn its lessons, causing them to repeat its mistakes.

If past is the prologue, then the future role Traditional Rulers can play to promote security and sustainable economic development lies in understanding what has been lost, coming to terms with that legacy and avoiding past mistakes. Only then can the past become objective memory. Only then can a sober recognition of our present predicament become apparent.

 

TACKLING INSECURITY: A COLLECTIVE RESPONSIBILITY

Our recent experience in which insecurity has challenged education, peace, economy and other spheres of life has laid credence to Abraham Maslow’s emplacement of security as one of the foremost in the hierarchy of needs. This realisation underscores the need for our leaders and professionals, including traditional rulers, political leaders, academics, religious leaders and corporate leaders to constantly collaborate to brainstorm on ensuring peace in the nation. Security breeds peace, economic and other developments, political stability and good governance. The converse of this is that insecurity is a destroyer of these desirable indices.

 

TOWARDS A CONSTRUCTIVE ENGAGEMENT OF TRADITIONAL INSTITUTION: THE OSUN EXAMPLE

For proper security of lives and property of our people and the prompt containment of growing challenges, we must inevitably now engage our traditional institutions. Governors particularly cannot afford not to look in the direction of the traditional institution. This is because every conflict is local and as such, traditional institutions cannot be left out of the scheme. Traditional rulers know their people and also have better strategies for engaging them.  Therefore, we must ride on this to be able to protect our nation from implosion.

In Osun, as in other Yoruba societies, Traditional Rulers are the creators and custodians of the proud and rich cultural legacies of our forebears. As such, our people consider royal fathers as the embodiments of the values, morals and culture of a given community.

Beyond serving as the custodians of every element of culture and tradition, traditional rulers embody the definite identity of the people and as such are revered, rightfully, as the descendants of the gods and forefathers whose spirits provide sustained guidance for the people.

In Osun, as in other South Western states, our traditional rulers meet regularly under the auspices of the Council of Traditional Rulers. Through the Council, which provides a platform for strengthening ties and knowledge sharing, traditional rulers are actively mobilised to play critical roles in governance and economic regeneration, with their counsel and perspectives feeding into the policy formulation process.

Also, as part of the inclusive participatory process, the selection of our commissioners and cabinet level political appointments was done in a way that received the buy-in and the endorsement of the people at the grassroots. This was done to ensure that appointees are true representatives of their various communities in the cabinet and to serve as the eyes and ears of government in their communities.

Aside from ensuring that adequate funding is made available to this important institution to run efficiently, our administration considers them as critical stakeholders who must be regularly engaged and embedded in our inclusive governance framework. This approach has yielded invaluable gains in our determined quest to protect the lives and properties of our people. Today, thanks to this invaluable partnership, Osun is widely regarded as one of the safest states in Nigeria.

Many of you will recall that sometime ago, specifically, early in our administration – at the height of the farmers/herdsmen debacle in the country – there were indeed flashes and skirmishes of armed banditry in Osun, as it was in other parts of the country. However, in our own case, this lawlessness was promptly nipped in the bud, as we leveraged the firm grip of local authorities, the dynamism of our security agencies, and the rallying of critical stakeholders across the State.

Our Administration organised town hall meetings in all communities under the leadership of our traditional rulers to brainstorm on how to mitigate crisis in those communities and to ensure peace and good neighbourliness. We also leveraged on our existing Committee on Peaceful Co-existence between Bororo/Fulani and Farmers to resolve issues between herders and farmers to ensure smooth relationship between them.

In our current situation, some of our traditional rulers have proactively intervened in averting conflicts in the Gold-rich zones of the Ife-Ijesha axis by managing the heavy influx of artisanal miners threatening the absorptive capacities of the local communities. This is further enhanced by a Government-backed multi-stakeholder committee devoted to settlers and transhumance issues.

Let me also add here that the preliminary collaborative efforts of the South West governments and the traditional institutions birthed the idea of Amotekun.

During the novel EndSARS protest which was unfortunately hijacked by hoodlums, the traditional rulers intervened to put the situation under control. Our government also involved them in all our engagements with the youths in the aftermath of the protest.

In the same vein, our administration has introduced a civic engagement framework focused on bridging the gap between the leadership of the state and our teeming citizens. This framework is essentially a town hall model, where key functionaries of government sit with representatives of the people at strategic locations within the nine federal constituencies of the State to dialogue and receive feedback on the activities of government. This programme, which is significantly facilitated by traditional institutions, is ultimately geared towards maximising the inherent mobilisation and administrative capacities of our revered monarchs.

Recently, Osun hosted our revered Royal Father, Sultan Muhammadu Sa’ad Abubakar, Sultan of Sokoto, at a conference of monarchs in Osun and other parts of Yoruba land. The event provided an apt opportunity for experience sharing, knowledge dissemination and to devise a lasting solution to the insecurity challenges in Yorubaland. I would like to advocate regularity of this kind of interface among Traditional Rulers across the regions to strengthen relationships among our royal fathers and importantly, for information-sharing. When this happens, the government will benefit in no small measure by harvesting credible intelligence and indigenous ideas for tackling national challenges. And in the process, we are making Nigeria a more peaceful country.

From our experience in Osun and the key role traditional institutions have played, I am encouraged to advocate a constitutional review that would give more room for these critical stakeholders to adequately perform their unique roles in our society. Similarly, I call for an attitudinal change on the part of our political leaders to enable them to fully maximise the benefits derivable from such an inclusive framework. I am of this particular opinion that as Nigeria moves towards tackling its multi-layered security challenges, so also must the leadership work hard to diligently mobilise the buy-in of all critical stakeholders.

Governors and other public officers will benefit immensely from listening to eminent traditional rulers, such as Sultan Abubakar, Ooni of Ife, Oba Enitan Ogunwusi, the Obi of Onitsha, Igwe Nnaemeka Achebe, and other distinguished Royal Fathers across the country. I am often enamoured by their altruistic passion and fresh ideas untainted by political considerations whenever they interrogate national issues.

 

INVITATION FOR FURTHER INTERROGATION

I have attempted to focus on the experience of the South West while also laying before you, the experience of the State of Osun with its peculiarities.

I hope that I have provoked your thoughts on the possibilities that exist when there is an adequate engagement of the traditional leadership. I look forward to your thoughts and comments on experiences in other parts of the country and how the South-West may benefit from shared experiences.

 

Inevitability of security:

No society can move forward without adequate security of lives and property. Indeed, without security, no effective planning can take place and there can be little or no development.

As a people, we must realise that it is only in a safe and secure environment that optimal local commercial activities can take place; foreign investors can be attracted; goods and services can be provided; infrastructure can be built and maintained; public service can be delivered, and social and political activities can take place peacefully. Therefore, the quest for a sustainable peaceful society must be prioritised as the collective responsibility of all citizens.

Delivering security is not a task for the government alone. Corporate bodies and Non-Governmental Organisations need to partner with government to achieve success. Business thrives in an atmosphere of peace. Business concerns must join government to restore peace to the regions of the country.

Going forward, government at all levels must prioritise constructive engagement with the traditional institutions and ensure that their views, perspectives, and counsel are mainstreamed in our collective quest towards building a truly virile, safe and secured society for the good of all.