“Nigeria is like a human abattoir on an industrial scale

-Savannah Centre holds workshop on the 17 years of Nigeria’s democratic governance. – Keynote speaker, Prof Sam Egwu likened Nigeria to a human abattoir on an industrial scale and also argued that there is nothing like “true” federalism. – Prof. Egwu argued that federalism is dynamic because of the changing nature and balance of force that in the first place led to the adoption of federalism. A former governance adviser for the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) in Nigeria, Prof. Sam Egwu, today, May 27, likened Nigeria to a “human abattoir on an industrial scale.” The professor of political science with specialty in political economy and development studies said this at the workshop organized by the Savannah Centre for Diplomacy, Democracy and Development (SCDDD) to x-ray Nigeria’s 17 years of democratic governance. The professor who delivered a paper on “The Challenge of Federalism in Nigeria: Interrogating and Celebrating 17 years of Democratic Governance in Africa’ Largest Democracy” posited that there is nothing like “true” federalism.

He argued that federalism is dynamic because of the changing nature and balance of forces that in the first place necessitated the adoption of federalism. He went further to buttress his point adding that “federalism is not a static political arrangement but an evolving political arrangement just as the United States experienced by evolving through centralising, competitive and cooperative phases.” Egwu stressed that the solution lies in the how of the task of creating a common consciousness among people of different ethnicities, religion and regions in a way that Nigeria can avoid the tragedy of its present state where it has turned into “a human abattoir on an industrial scale; a killing field of Hobbessian proportions.” The political scientist also blamed the Nigerian elites and political leadership for their failure to create and implement a vision of political community. “What appears to be the problem in Nigeria partly is the failure of the elite and the political leadership. The Nigerian ruling elites have failed to create and implement a vision of a political community within the framework of a modern state. It has also failed to address the question of development and nation-building, which for Claude Ake, remain the realms of the tragic failure of our post-independence existence.” Prof. Egwu added that the imminent end of the petro-dollars which fuelled centralization of power and resources might provide the necessary platform for Nigeria to re-calibrate its federal system. “It would seem to me that that imminence of the end of the petro-dollars which fuelled centralization of power and resources may provide the immediate incentive to re-calibrate the federal system by decentralizing political power and resources to the states as the pivot of economic and human development. “But as we look at the details of design, we must drive governance, build integrity in the electoral process and mobilise citizens around transparent and accountable governance. The debate must therefore go beyond the question of design to issues of governance, putting in measures to reinforce national coherence and make our democracy deliver services to the people instead of serving as a framework for advancing the market,” he submitted. In another news related to democracy, the Foundation for Human Rights and Anti-corruption Crusade (FHRACC) has described President Buhari’s one year in power as one of “vain-glory” and “ego-boosting”. The group went on to say that the one year of the present administration has been characterized by economic repression, ethnocentrism, gross abuse of human rights, persecution of old time enemies and political rivals.