EDITORIAL: Making The Local Governments Work Again
THE confusion over the interpretation of recent court cases relating to local governments in Osun State shows a lot of dysfunction in the system in Nigeria. The judiciary should really now adopt a system where there are explainers or explanatory notes to offer unambiguous clarity to their decisions. The present back-and-forth as to how to interpret a judicial pronouncement is really unbecoming of a country which is battling on a whole host of fronts.
The judiciary in Nigeria, as well as the Bar, should use this opportunity to take an inward look. It wasn’t always like this, and the pronouncements of the judiciary in Nigeria were once savored for their clarity as well as their depth. There’s a need for deep introspection, for judicial pronouncements should be a propelling mechanism of democracy.
Ideally, Nigeria should have a constitutional court, similar to those in countries like South Africa, France, and the Netherlands. Such a court would provide a dedicated platform for resolving key constitutional issues, alleviating the burden on other courts. The National Assembly should consider the pros and cons of establishing a constitutional court, given the current challenges.
Local governments play a vital role in development and daily life, and their functionality is crucial. However, in states like Osun, local governments are currently grounded, hindering essential services like permit issuance and utility provision. It’s time for a new approach to revitalize local governments and improve their effectiveness.
A resolution is not in sight. In an ideal situation, there should be an informal, unwritten democratic agreement as to how to resolve the kind of crisis about the local governments that we have in Osun State. Unfortunately, the situation we find ourselves now is that everything is about “winner takes all” and going for the kill. The biggest victims, of course, are the people.
It is difficult to see how you can create jobs and real sustainable development in an atmosphere in which no one knows what the function or who is in control of the local government. Local governments are too vital, even in the most advanced democratic states, to be put in this kind of situation. It is to be hoped that common sense will prevail and that the parties can sit together and work out an agreement that is in favor of the people.
Unfortunately, the people are the least of the considerations of the political class in Nigeria as a whole; they hardly matter. They have their few minutes of time in the sun when they dutifully vote in elections in which the votes may or may not count. The key thing is that we cannot possibly go on like this, because right now, people are just completely dysfunctional as to what to do about issues relating to local governments. This is very dangerous, and we hope that they can have a way out of this impasse.
A possible resolution, if common sense prevails, which is unlikely, is for all parties to agree to a reconstitution of the state electoral commission and to work out new elections, which may or may not be supervised by the Independent National Electoral Commission as a functioning observer, and with non-governmental organizations involved in monitoring and coordinating. It is, however, difficult to see how common sense can possibly prevail in issues such as this. It’s a crying shame because Osun State needs functioning local governments, and the sooner we get local governments functioning, the better.
