*Calls For Regionalization, Says Nigeria Is Not United, Disorganized Northern Markets As Obstacles To Equitable Taxation
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On Arise News’ The Morning Show yesterday, Dr. Akin Fapohunda, Secretary of the Eminent Elders Forum, expressed strong views on the divisions between Northern and Southern Nigeria and the need for restructuring the country along regional lines.
Dr. Fapohunda argued that Nigeria is not a united country despite pretenses, with the North able to assert its interests at the “flip of a switch” while the South remains “laid back.” He criticized the North for damaging Nigeria by imposing federal character and quota systems over the past 40 years, which he says have only benefited a “tiny clique” while marginalizing Southerners. “The North has taken us for a ride for too long,” Dr. Fapohunda stated. “It’s enough time for Nigeria to wake up. We are not North, we are not together.”
The Eminent Elders Forum Secretary called for regionalization, allowing the North and South to separate as “good neighbors” with different worldviews and cultures. He proposed amending the constitution to allow regions to have their own subsidiary constitutions, reallocating federal functions, and permitting referendums. Dr. Fapohunda also took aim at the bloated federal civil service, claiming civil servants in Abuja are just “looking to find a means to survive” rather than working productively with the government. He criticized President Bola Tinubu for not implementing promised civil service reforms.
Dr. Fapohunda pointed to the quota system and lack of organized markets in Northern Nigeria as major impediments to implementing an effective and fair VAT system across the country. He argued that the North has deliberately chosen not to be organized, engaging primarily in petty trading and lacking the institutional framework needed to properly implement value-added taxes (VAT). “The North refuses to organize, even in selling cows and onions. How do you pay VAT on that?” Dr. Fapohunda questioned. “They are diffused. There’s no record in the markets in the North.”
The Eminent Elders Forum Secretary cited comments from the Governor of Benue State confirming that there is no structured system to tax individuals on VAT in the region. Dr. Fapohunda contrasted this with the South, which he says has more organized corporate systems and commodity markets that allow for effective taxation. He also criticized the quota system and federal character policies that have been in place for over 40 years, arguing they have spoiled the North while damaging Nigeria as a whole. Dr. Fapohunda accused the North of “sucking out” the energy from the South in an attempt to “carry the North along.”
Dr. Fapohunda argued that the North sincerely believes in Sharia law and should be allowed to implement it, while the South, including Southern Muslims, largely opposes it. He said this fundamental difference in worldviews is one of many reasons why Nigeria should be restructured along regional lines. “The North sincerely believes in Sharia. We should let them be,” Dr. Fapohunda stated. “In the South, there are Muslims, but we don’t want Sharia. Somebody brought Sharia to Ilorin, everybody put it down. The Muslims in the South don’t want Sharia.”
The Eminent Elders Forum Secretary accused Nigerian leaders of “pretending” that these deep religious and cultural differences don’t exist. He called for a restructuring of the country that would allow each region to operate based on its own values and beliefs. “Let’s accept who we are. Let’s accept reality so that we can stop talking and talking and talking, motion without movement,” Dr. Fapohunda said. He proposed amending the Nigerian constitution to allow regions to have their own subsidiary constitutions, reallocate federal functions, and permit referendums. Dr. Fapohunda argued this would reduce tensions by allowing the North to implement Sharia as it sees fit, while freeing the South to operate based on its own legal and cultural framework.
Dr. Fapohunda also raised an alarm over the growing ‘Japa’ phenomenon among Yoruba and Igbo people, saying it is a result of the “hostile” and “poisoned” environment created by Nigeria’s current structure. He lamented that the Yoruba have invested heavily in education but are now losing their best and brightest to other countries as Nigeria becomes increasingly uninhabitable for them. “Nigeria is too hostile for the Yoruba now. Nigeria is a poisoned environment for the Yoruba because we invested in education so much, and we have lost all our human capital. They are developing other societies,” Dr. Fapohunda said.
The Eminent Elder criticized the Nigerian government for not doing enough to stem the tide of Yoruba professionals leaving the country, contrasting it with the North which he says “will not care less” about how many of their doctors or other professionals are abroad. Dr. Fapohunda tied the Japa phenomenon directly to Nigeria’s current governance structure, which he says marginalizes the Yoruba and other Southern groups. He called for a fundamental restructuring of the country along regional lines to allow the Yoruba and other groups more autonomy to create an environment conducive to their growth and development. “The Southwest wants to bring all Yorubas back to Nigeria, but Nigeria is too hostile for the Yorubas now,” he said. “These are facts I’m putting on the table now. I don’t need to sugarcoat anything at all. We are divided. Let’s just accept it.”
Dr. Fapohunda said these systemic issues must be addressed before implementing any tax reforms. He called on the government to focus on fundamental restructuring and allowing regions to operate more autonomously to reflect their different organizational capacities and worldviews. “Trying to put a package together for the whole country from Abuja, from the Northwest to the Southeast, from the Northeast to the Southwest, it’s not going to work,” Dr. Fapohunda concluded. “Let everybody just live according to his own worldview, then the temperature will come down.”
The Eminent Elders Forum Secretary plans to launch a new Western Region Organization in the coming weeks to push for implementing regionalism in Nigeria’s Southwest. He urged President Tinubu to focus on reforming Nigeria’s governance structure to allow regions more autonomy rather than pursuing controversial tax reforms.
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