THE recent judgement of the Supreme Court over the control of inland waterways leaves a bad taste in the mouth. The top court ruled in a dispute between the Federal Government and the Lagos State Government that the jurisdiction of the waterways remains under the exclusive control of the Federal Government. This rolls back the little gains of federalism in the Fourth Republic and deepens the flawed unitary political system weakening national cohesion.
It reverses a 2018 Court of Appeal judgement that gave some jurisdiction to the states on inland waterways. The Supreme Court has now ruled that only the Federal Government can regulate inland waterways, shipping, licensing, collection of fees, navigation, and dredging activities and its right of way through its agencies, the National Inland Waterways Authority, and the Nigerian Maritime Standard and Safety Agency.
This put paid to the lingering issue between NIWA and the Lagos State Waterways Authority over the supervision and control of activities of inland waterways on its territory. The LSWA had argued that states should control 100 metres from the riverbank based on the Land Use Act. The court rejected it.
It is a setback for federalism and undermines the potential of states to boost their revenues through the resources in their domains.
Studies show that the states manage their inland waterways in the United States, while there are shared jurisdictions in Canada, Germany, and Australia, all federal systems like Nigeria.
Nigeria is reeling from a fraught federalism. Unlike other federal systems, the 1999 Constitution firmly puts the Federal Government in charge of resources, police, mining, and railways. There are 63 items on the Exclusive Legislative List. The federating units only troop to Abuja to beg for a share of their resources monthly, stifling competition and development and abetting corruption.
In recognition of this inherent injustice, the administration of former President Olusegun Obasanjo granted the oil-producing states the 13 per cent derivation fund, but it is inadequate.
To entrench justice and a virile political system, Nigeria should revert to the federal system of the First Republic, when the regions competed favourably with one another, controlled their resources, and paid a percentage to the centre. In Canada and the US, where oil resources including taxes belong to the provinces/states, their central governments only receive royalties and taxes.
Despite serious insecurity, Nigeria is still operating a single police system. The Federal Government deploys military troops to combat crime and terrorism instead of reviewing the single police structure and paving the way for decentralised policing. The other 25 federal states in the world, including Canada, the US, Germany, India, Switzerland, Belgium, and Australia, have devolved policing architectures. If it desires a secure country, Nigeria cannot avoid this.
The exploitation of mineral resources in the country suffers the same setback due to the control by the Federal Government, a carryover from the military era. Mineral resources in the states including gold, bauxite, bitumen, and coal, are largely unharnessed due to the unitary shadow that has been cast on it by the constitution.
Although the Federal Government has granted states some leverage in the sector, illegal mining and lack of government oversight, absence of foreign direct investment, and insecurity frustrate growth. The Federal Government says Nigeria loses $9 billion to illegal mining annually.
Therefore, the Federal Government, states, the National Assembly, and stakeholders should intensify the progress towards a buoyant federal system to accommodate Nigeria’s over 250 ethnic nationalities and stave off political implosion.
