On March 29, 2020, President Muhammadu Buhari, during a national broadcast on the then rising COVID-19 crisis, announced the lockdown of Lagos and Ogun states as well as Abuja, the Federal Capital Territory. The erstwhile president also announced the closure of unity schools and the restriction of inter-state vehicular movements, all in a bid to curtail the spread of the virus. Following the announcement, state governors took the cue and, one after the other, shut down their states; schools, markets, malls and offices were closed. Similarly, human and vehicular movements were restricted. But there was a governor who did not tread the popular path. There was a governor who refused to lock down his state. The governor was Seyi Makinde of Oyo State.
His position was not a function of obstinacy, arrogance or ignorance; rather, it was hinged on logic, science and data. He told the whole nation that “The economic health of the state is as important as the public health.” He added that while it was important to safeguard the health of the people, it was equally important to look out for their economic wellbeing. He said locking down the state would mean that farmers would miss the planting season while other productive sectors would equally be immobilized. He noted that the development would hamper the state’s economy in the short, medium and long terms.
Makinde pointed out that he could not lock down Oyo because there were many people in the state, just like in other states, who depended on daily earnings for their sustenance. He said shutting in such people would be synonymous to pronouncing a death sentence on them. So, he allowed markets and offices to open. He also allowed farmers to go to their farms. But to curtail the spread of the virus, the state government encouraged social distancing and declared wearing of face masks in public places mandatory. It even went ahead to engage tailors to produce face masks for people of the state. The government also emplaced a dusk to dawn curfew, scaled up COVID-19 tests and equipped some facilities to handle emergencies. Despite his different approach to handling the COVID-19 crisis, confirmed cases and casualties in Oyo State were far below the national average.
However, for not keeping up with the Joneses, Makinde was pilloried. Many people, especially from the opposition All Progressives Congress (APC) in the state, made a habit of regularly attacking him for not shutting down Oyo State, dubbing him “an inexperienced governor.” Some even accused him of playing politics with the health of the people.
But less than two months later, despite the rising cases of COVID-19 in the country, the federal government made a 180-degree turn and adopted Makinde’s position. Realising the blow that the total lockdown was having on the economy, the central government relaxed the restriction order and allowed people to go about their businesses with the proviso that they had to wear a mask.
Then the praises started pouring in. Nigerians from across the globe commended Makinde for his insight. They lauded him for rising above the situation to proffer a workable solution not just for Oyo State but for the whole nation.
Eventually, the vilified became the justified.
On Thursday, July 11, 2024, the Supreme Court, while delivering judgment in a suit filed by the Attorney General of the Federation and Minister of Justice on behalf of the Federal Government against the 36 state governors, affirmed the financial autonomy of Nigeria’s 774 local governments. In the judgment read by Justice Emmanuel Agim, the Supreme Court directed the Accountant General of the Federation to pay the allocation of each of the local governments directly to it from that Thursday, thus rendering Section 166 (2) of the 1999 Nigerian Constitution (as amended), which provides for the establishment of State Joint Local Government Account (SJLGA), ineffective. The Supreme Court also declared that the 36 states must ensure democratic governance at the local government level.
Immediately after the judgment, most state governors aligned with the position of the federal government.
All the governors tried to be politically correct and hailed the judgment as the best thing to have happened to the country since Mungo Park discovered that River Niger flows eastward. But Governor Seyi Makinde of Oyo State stood out. He demurred, and did not do that in the confines of his bedroom; he made his views known to the whole nation.
While reacting to the judgment, Governor Makinde said Oyo State did not have any issue with the second part, which is ensuring democratic governance at the local government level, as his administration had already conducted two local government elections. He, however, observed that though the Supreme Court judgment was inviolable, it was not infallible, adding that there were lacunas in the judgment which might create hurdles for its implementation. He said because he had a duty to protect the interest of the people of Oyo State, he had convoked a meeting comprising stakeholders in the local government system to outline the major challenges at the councils and develop solutions that would ensure a seamless implementation of the judgment in a way that would ensure the people’s interest and wellbeing. He subsequently set up two committees to look at the contradictions that the judgment had foisted on the state and fashion a workable solution that would not return the state to the days of yore when, due to non-payment of salaries by local government authorities, teachers were categorized as persona non grata by house owners.
Then came a barrage of attacks from all angles. Many of the critics said Makinde was not comfortable with the judgment because he wanted to sit on local government funds. Some accused him of pocketing the local governments in the state. Some even challenged his right to set up committees to review a Supreme Court judgment.
But less than two weeks after Governor Makinde’s comments, some states started toeing his line by setting up committees to work out the implementation of the judgment. Recently, Governor Agbu Kefas of Taraba State set up the Local Government Areas Autonomy Advisory Committee to oversee the implementation of the Supreme Court judgment, ensure capacity building, financial autonomy and administrative reforms, among other responsibilities. Similarly, Katsina State governor, Dr Dikko Umaru Radda, convened a meeting to discuss the implications of the apex court judgment on the state and the councils with a view to coming up with an implementation plan.
Last Thursday, July 25, while briefing the media on the state of the economy, Mr Wale Edun, Finance Minister and Coordinating Minister of the Economy, said despite the Supreme Court judgment, the federal government had not commenced direct payment of monthly allocation to the respective local government area councils due to some “practical impediments”. Pray, what are “practical impediments” if not “lacunas”? Is this not a confirmation of what Governor Makinde had said?
The Minister added that the federal government had set up a committee “to look at the practicability of the judgment.” Again, is the federal government not toeing the Makinde line? Though the federal government got a favourable judgment, it could not go ahead to enforce same because of issues that Makinde had earlier highlighted.
That same Thursday, the Nigeria Union of Teachers, that had earlier applauded the Supreme Court judgment, rose from its National Executive Council (NEC) meeting in Abuja with a call on the federal government to allow state governments to handle the funding of basic education, including payment of teachers’ salaries. The NUT National President, Comrade Audu Amba, said the NEC resolved that salaries and allowances of Basic Education teachers and other support staff members should be deducted as first-line charge from the Consolidated Revenue.
On that same Thursday, Dr Kayode Fayemi, former governor of Ekiti State and former chairman of the Nigeria Governors’ Forum, also kicked against local government autonomy, describing it as a misnomer and an aberration in a federal system.
Speaking at the launch of St. Rachael’s People Consulting 2024 Leadership and Economic Summit-1.0 in Lagos, Fayemi said: “The principle of federalism is clear, it is a principle of dual federating units. Anywhere in the world where we have federalism, it is the state or province or region either in India, U.S., Canada, or Australia.
“It is now up to the state to determine whether it wants to have 20 counties, or 50 or 200 local authorities based on its own local needs. This is a misnomer, it does not happen anywhere in the world.
“With this latest strategy, I assure you, in the first instance, I don’t see how workable it is; it not going to work.” So, one after the other, sub-nationals, the federal government and others are shifting ground and adopting the Seyi Makinde recommendation.
Again, the vilified has become the justified. As it was in the days of COVID-19, so it is in this era of local government autonomy. Governor Makinde has continued to live up to Oyo State’s sobriquet as The Pacesetter by proffering solutions to national issues.
Repeatedly, Governor Makinde has demonstrated that leadership cannot be superficial, it cannot be casual, it cannot be perfunctory and it cannot be impulsive. Rather, leadership requires rigorous reflection, leadership demands profound contemplation, leadership calls for extensive cogitation. More importantly, leadership requires original thinking.
Original thinking is an unconventional, resourceful mental approach to generating ideas and solving problems. Original thinkers are not superficial, they probe deeply. Original thinkers don’t follow established path, they chart their own; they don’t subject themselves to existing rules, they set new ones; they don’t constrain themselves to a standard, they break free and raise the bar. They crash status quo and set a new order. Original thinkers question everything. They interrogate every belief and examine every assertion. They challenge themselves to see things differently from the rest of the crowd. Original thinkers do not rely on yesterday’s solution to tackle today’s challenges. Consequently, they come up with new possibilities, change the narrative and improve the society.
Original thinking is Makinde’s forte. That’s the secret behind his giant strides in Oyo State.
•Dr. Olanrewaju is the Chief Press Secretary to Oyo State Governor.
