Let the Niger Delta develop on its own terms. Restructuring is not a luxury. It is the foundation for a truly productive, competitive and prosperous Nigeria
By Austin Orette
The greatest challenge confronting Nigeria is not who occupies the presidency, who becomes governor, or who sits in the National Assembly. Our deeper problem is the structure of the Nigerian state.
Until we address that structure, we will continue to change governments without changing the conditions that keep our people poor, our regions underdeveloped, and our resources exploited without corresponding benefits to the communities that produce them.
The absence of genuine restructuring has created an over bloated government and an entrenched bureaucracy that rewards feudalism, dependency and indolence. Instead of empowering the component parts of the federation to develop according to their strengths and circumstances, we have created a system in which states and regions continually look toward the centre for survival.
That is not sustainable. Nigeria must become a country where its component parts compete in creativity, productivity, innovation and development, rather than compete for access to the federal centre and wait for Abuja to spoon-feed them.
The Niger Delta provides perhaps the clearest example of this structural injustice. The region produces enormous wealth for Nigeria, yet its people continue to struggle with poor infrastructure, environmental degradation, unemployment and inadequate connectivity.
Why should the federal government determine every major development priority in the Niger Delta? Why should communities that produce the nation’s resources have limited control over those resources and their economic destiny?
Our development priorities should reflect our realities. Instead of concentrating enormous resources on projects designed primarily to strengthen already-developed centres, we should be connecting the Niger Delta to itself: Edo–Warri–Yenagoa–Port Harcourt–Uyo–Calabar–Ikom and other economically strategic corridors.
The future of Nigeria cannot be built by continually expanding the centre. It must be built by empowering the components, unleashing their creativity and making every level of government responsible for the prosperity of its own people
A properly restructured Nigeria would allow regions and states to identify their own priorities, mobilise their resources and develop solutions suited to their environments.
Some regions may choose large-scale urban expansion. Others may prioritise agriculture, technology, manufacturing, maritime development or environmental innovation. In the Niger Delta, our challenges require constructive engagement, technological innovation and development that respect our unique terrain and people.
We do not need a system that treats every part of Nigeria as though our circumstances are identical. We need a federation that allows diversity to become an economic advantage. Restructuring is therefore not about weakening Nigeria. It is about making Nigeria work. It is about creating a system where states and regions have greater responsibility for their development, greater control over their economic opportunities, and greater accountability to their own people.
The present arrangement has allowed an enormous central bureaucracy to become a gateway through which resources are distributed, political influence is accumulated and dependency is maintained. This has contributed to the continued underdevelopment of places like Delta State despite the enormous wealth generated from its soil, waters and people.
We must change that. We must build a Nigeria where no component part is condemned to perpetual dependency on another; where every region can harness its comparative advantages; where government is closer to the people; and where development is driven by competition, innovation and responsibility rather than political patronage.
Nigeria does not need another cycle of merely changing personalities while preserving the same defective structure. We need structural change. We need genuine federalism. We need restructuring.
The future of Nigeria cannot be built by continually expanding the centre. It must be built by empowering the components, unleashing their creativity and making every level of government responsible for the prosperity of its own people.
Restructure Nigeria. Empower the Regions. Unleash the States. Let the Niger Delta develop on its own terms. Restructuring is not a luxury. It is the foundation for a truly productive, competitive and prosperous Nigeria.
•DR. Austin Orette, an African Democratic Congress,NDC, Delta South Senatorial candidate, writes from Owhelogbo in Isoko North Local Government Area.
•Opinions, positions or thoughts expressed here are personal and strictly of the writer/author and do not represent the views of The Daily Crucible.
