Much Ado About A Declaration

By Abubakar D. Sani, Esq.

Seldom has the expression
Of solidarity through a shared platform
By an otherwise disparate agglomeration
Generated the sort of storm –

Which attended the so-called Asaba Declaration
Issued on Tuesday, the 11th of May, 2021
By the Governors of the 17-odd
States of Southern Nigeria – less one

Consisting of 12 different items,
Its key demands: a ban on open grazing within the region;
Reflection of federal character in federal appointments;
Restructuring; and convoking a national dialogue –

Have been criticized by mostly Northern elements –
Notably, Dr. Ahmed Lawan, the Senate President
And the Daily Trust Newspaper
Others in the Region (such as Miyetti Allah) –

Have merely rued the “the failure” of their own Governors
To act on the relevant issues – proactively and decisively
Thus surrendering the initiative
To their colleagues in the South

As to the substance of
The seemingly controversial demands,
It does seem that
They’ve been caught up –

By the usual Nigerian factor:
Our tendency – nay, proclivity
To politicise virtually everything
Including those which are clearly innocuous

Starting with open grazing:
Its ban, by the Executive
In any part of the country
Is just that: a declaration of policy

For its enforcement, it needs the Police
Something which the Centre presently monopolizes
This dove-tails into the wider call for restructuring –
Which – along with tinkering with the revenue-sharing formula –

And so-called true federalism – requires amending the Constitution
A document, which – in its present form –
Is the subject of much resentment
Given the circumstances of its enactment

The same applies to the alleged absence
Of federal character in President Buhari’s appointments
That provision of the Constitution – Section 14(3)
Requires an amendment to give it teeth
Call it a Catch-22 situation, you won’t be wrong
And, yet, ubi jus ibi remedium
This is why the Governors’ intervention
Should be welcomed

At the very least, it was but
Freedom of expression at play
All the more so, because
The Governors also affirmed their faith –

In the unity of Nigeria
Having said all that, however,
One cannot but agree with some
(Notably, Mike Ozekhome, SAN) –

Who have opined that the Governors’ specific call
For a national dialogue
Is somewhat unfounded
Given our recent national experience –

With such get-togethers – most recently
That of Twenty Fourteen
Its report – like that of others before it
Sits atop the proverbial shelf – forgotten

Finally, beyond the populism
Of the anti-open grazing ban
In terms of its legalism,
An interesting dimension is thrown up by the Land Use Act

This generation-old law
(It was enacted in 1978)
Provides in Section 46(1)(d) thereof
That the National Council of States –

May make Regulations for granting
Temporary Certificates of Occupancy
In respect of any land in Nigeria
Thus, somewhat circumscribing the ban

This is because, nothing stops
Its opponents within the Council
Namely, Northern Governors and the Federal Government
From invoking this clause –

And, prescribing, instead, an alternative
In the form of temporary rights of occupancy
To be availed to interested pastoralists
Is this feasible? It remains to be seen

Written By Abubakar D. Sani, Esq.
19th May, 2021