OSUN State Governor Raul Aregbesola has tied the abysmal performance of most council areas in the country to the quasi-federalism, which he said was operational in the country.Aregbesola, made the observation during a lecture he delivered at the Nigerian Union of Journalists (NUJ), Federal Radio Corporation of Nigeria (FRCN), Lagos Chapel, where he bagged the 2012 Governor of the Year Award for Excellent Information Management.In the lecture titled: 'Funding, Good Governance and Transformation of the Grassroots', the governor maintained that the lopsided federalism operated in the country, has relegated the local councils from their constitutional positions as federating units, thereby impacting negatively on their democratisation and funding.After the collapse of the First Republic and the eventual take-over of government by the military, local government administration, according to Aregbesola, became progressively undermined almost to the point of irrelevance.'The government at the centre', he continued, 'got increasingly expanded and expansive by taking up and taking over all activities that were allocated to the different tiers of government, adding that state governments were not spared.'As a result, virtually all avenues of internally generated revenues were gobbled up, thereby, leaving the local government authorities with practically little means of revenue besides the largesse from the Federal Government.'It was only during the interregnums of civilian regimes that attempts were made to restore some of the constitutionally allotted spheres of authorities to local governments.'However, it is not unthinkable that the long legacy of overly centralised federalism would take time to overcome. Thus, since the restoration of civil rule in 1999, we are still struggling with many of these centralised tendencies that have rendered other layers of government financially denuded, incapacitated and dependent upon the centre,' Aregbesola said.He added that the system of fiscal federalism being operated also distributes this wealth on the basis of some impractical criteria, such as population and needs, which run counter to the principles of equity and derivation...'The governor, however, said that everywhere in the world, funds were never sufficient because of the numerous activities of the different tiers of government ranging from the federal to state and local governments.Consequently, 'Different coping methods have had to be created in different societies for maintaining the activities of the various governments. Of course, crucial among these methods is responsible local administration and sound financial management.'In the State of Osun, with our modest financial resource, it is only practical and consistent with the imperative of good governance that we cut our coat according to our cloth -and not our size.'Thus, in anything we do, we try hard to evolve strategies that will achieve good results at the lowest possible financial outlay. And this applies also to the way we handle public information.'Aregbesola thus called for urgent restructuring of the nation's federalism in all its ramifications, adding that the Federal Government needs to be divested of its over-bloated power over the wealth of the nation and give the federating units genuine autonomy to rule their people.The governor stressed that it is after such restructuring that there could be a chance of a radical turn around that would allow local councils to take their constitutional place in the scheme of governance.Aregbesola maintained that Nigerians have resolved that never again will any unelected person or group of people rule them because of the past experiences under military, which were horrendous.'We must not allow unelected people to rule us again in this country. The military incursion into politics is no longer fashionable. It is barbaric, uncivilised and dangerous. We will never again allow the military to rule us again.He continued, 'They should allow us to walk and falter and make mistakes and correct our mistakes.Nothing is better than the people ruling themselves. So, we must resist any military adventure. I charge the media to be at the vanguard of watching with wide eyes with a view to exposing and discouraging any unconscionable adventurers intent on truncating this civil rule,' Aregbesola said.While acknowledging the honour done him, the governor said the award will spur his administration to strive even harder towards ensuring a better future for the state, society and its people.
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