On LGA Autonomy in Nigeria by Tony Osborg.

In 2014, during the attempted constitution amendment process, NASS granted autonomy to LGAs, however, 23 states and their state governors and house of assemblies opposed LGA autonomy. Only Oyo, Ogun, Anambra, Adamawa, Nasarawa, Plateau, Kogi, Lagos, Ebonyi, Benue, Abia, Niger and Kwara supported the idea. That was how LGA autonomy died. I am sure by today, if the process is repeated, many of the previous supporters above will oppose it too.

More than 90% of the thirty-six states will likely collapse if LGAs are granted the kind of autonomy they desire. What do I mean?

The reason why states like Kano, Rivers, Delta, Sokoto, Imo, Ekiti and in fact a majority of the Nigerian state governments are still surviving today is because of their access to LGA funds. The reason why many Nigerian states can still pay salaries and execute projects is because they have been able to strangulate the LGAs within their domain. This is wrong but it has become our reality.

The LGA as a third tier of govt has already collapsed. Granting them autonomy will not necessarily revive them. In no distance time, the states will also collapse despite their strangulation of the LGAs, and later on, the federal govt might follow! This is by the way.

Kano state for example receives an average of N4billion in monthly allocation, the 44 LGAs in Kano state receives 4.2billion monthly. Making it a total of about N8.2billion for Kano state. If Kano state have not been having access to the N4.2billion LGA fund, it would have collapsed long ago. The reason why Kano is still alive is because of the LGA funds. This anomaly has become a standard practice in the 36 states of Nigeria. The governors argument is that their recurrent spending and capital projects cut across the LGAs so therefore they should be allowed to have access to the LGA funds.

Now, if you grant autonomy to LGAs, state governors will no longer have access to this fund and that could be the end of many states in Nigeria.

What then is the solution?

First, I agree that LGAs need to be autonomous (that is if they must still continue to exist), however the kind of autonomy that President Buhari and the National Assembly wants to give them is not the kind of autonomy I think they need. The kind of autonomy that LGA needs is the same kind that state governments need.

First, it was wrong for the federal govt (through the 1999 federal constitution) to create LGAs. It was also wrong for the federal govt to fund the LGAs through allocations. This needs to be corrected first. If LGAs must exist, they must solely be the creation of the state governments. It is states that should create and fund LGAs, not the federal government.

The federal constitution needs to dissolve the 774 LGAs and make room for the states to create and fund their own LGAs or community govts through state constitutions. States can then create as many LGAs as they wish but as long as they can fund them internally.

Attempting to grant autonomy to LGAs without resolving the root issues of true fiscal federalism will only compound the Nigerian problem.

Be rest assured that whatever the National Assembly has done in the past few days in the name of Constitutional Amendment will not get the support of the state houses of Assemblies when the chips are down.

At the end of the day, we are all trapped!

BOOK EXCERPT: The Farmhouse by Omoruyi Uwuigiaren

The Farmhouse by Omoruyi Uwuigiaren Chapter One The Family `Once upon a time in the old town of Gid, an old farmer called Erasmus had a horse and a son. The boy’s name was Jason, and the horse was Francis. They lived in a farmhouse, and Francis took them everywhere they went. The farmer had no wife. She died after Jason was born. Erasmus vowed never to remarry and had remained a widower ever since. Taking care of Jason and Francis alone was never easy, but the farmer promised his late wife on her deathbed that he was going to raise Jason into a fine man. One sad morning, the cockerel said it was dawn. The disturbance woke Jason. The boy stormed out of sleep. He removed the blanket and rolled out of bed. He went to the window and peered out. The weather was clear, and the boughs of trees bowed and danced to the sweet movement of the morning breeze. Jason liked the morning, and then he carried himself to the sitting room, where his father was on his knees saying his morning prayers....

From the novel entitled, "Beyond Imagination" by Oladele Dada.

Oladele Dada. It was dawn. The chilly dust-laden wind formed dense fog on the road. The rocky hills and the tall trees made Ajewole a beautiful town. The birds sang aloud, and clanging of stainless dishes in the neighbourhood suggested human activity was at its peak. Humans had begun to move to their various destinations. Adunni had trouble with child bearing and her husband was worried. Then she booked an appointment with her doctor. After several tests, the doctor suggested the couple be patient and that she will surely get pregnant. Not long after, Adunni was pregnant. After several months, Adunni was delivered of a boy. The women in her neighbourhood, alongside the children, sang and danced to her home to celebrate with her. Her husband, Fredrick Olagbade, thanked the Lord and named the boy Juwon. As Juwon grew, his mother had another child whose name was Olakitan. Juwon was intelligent and his parents were struggling to make ends meet. As poverty st...

NEW RELEASE: Those Ghostly Victorians by Annette Siketa

Those Ghostly Victorians by Annette Siketa ABOUT THE BOOK At its zenith, the belief in ghosts in the Victorian era bordered on the hysterical. From stately homes to deserted wells, no dwelling was complete without a resident ghost. Halls and mansions and even the odd palace or two, spawned a multitude of family legends, many of which still persist. Many people claimed to have direct contact with a ghost through an object such as a ouija board or a pen, the latter collectively known as 'spiritual writing'. For example, a secretary allegedly continued to take dictation from his employer long after the latter was dead. Whether it was through books, plays, or supposedly true stories, the influence of the supernatural was profound. And it is not difficult to understand why, especially in the 'lower class', the majority of whom were uneducated. With nothing but drabness and poverty on the horizon, events such as a windy night or a violent storm were likely to set the ima...

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