By Vitalis Unachukwu
For donkey years , crooked and corrupt politicians dictating the affairs of the States , purposely allowed the Local Government System to become comatose and moribund, because of billions and trillions streaming from the Federation Account, which they controlled at will , leaving the system of government that’s closest to the people, to be extinct .
What an outrageous evil done to the people of our land , by Governors of States of the Federation !
Nigerians are often in the habit of asking :
WHO DID US THIS THING ?
We all know who did .
That’s why constituents in our communities in the Local Government Areas , do not know whether democratic governance exists or not , because nothing is happening at all .
It was a calculated political hack job , to kill the local government system by state leviathans, who controlled all the money after arrogating themselves absolute powers under the Constitution, without appropriate checks and balances by the State Houses of Assembly and the Courts , which stood by, watching State Governors wreck our entire local government system and autonomy under the law .
Why do we remember to regain political consciousness , after the political harm is done ?
What baffled us, is how the leadership of the Town Unions , Social Organizations and Stakeholders, kept silent , did nothing and blind sighted the killing of the local government system, from where they could have gained the voice to address issues going wrong in the States .
It’s unfortunate , unthinkable and deplorable .
Go to our over 774 Local Government Areas throughout the country, and try to fact find , if State Governors made any impact with local government funds domiciled in their coffers .
The great disservice to our local governments by States Chief Executives is criminally and morally disgraceful, and unacceptable to the people, to whom the power of democracy belongs .
It’s most negligent of State Governors , to neglect the people in the various local government areas in the country, when billions and trillions received for decades ended in their pigeon holes .
Most unfortunately, the Buhari Administration added to its leadership woes and failures, by its recalcitrance in feigning abysmal disregard and ignorance to the constitutional existence and operation of local governments in Nigeria, and lost its mind in the ocean of corruption, with its inability to ask State Chief Executive Governors, what they have done with local government funds due to their states , wired monthly to their state treasuries or even take steps to verify their false claims, audit them or stop further transfers of funds to the states , when the Governors refused to come to terms with the local government system , which they purposely degraded and declined to come on stream .
It’s sheer political madness and wickedness , that the Federal Government glossed over the local government system in Nigeria under our democracy for years , without past National Assemblies and the other branches of government, asking pertinent questions to unravel the shocking truth and revelations behind this shirking of responsibilities, by which all portfolio holders in the 3 organs of government are wholly guilty and indicted in their irresponsibilities, while looting our democratic institutions, and at the same time receiving their bogus monthly pays , without doing work .
It’s a national shame that our local system was allowed to die by the authorities that be , which repercussions would eventually come to those responsible for the brazen decay of our local government system , now ghosts of their former selves wec do. N. N in Nigeria .
The issue now , besides the just handed out Supreme Court’s Ruling on Local Government Autonomy, requiring Local Government Funds to be directly paid into their accounts, is getting the State Governors to account for and refund all local government monies received on their behalf in the State , where they fumble in that regard .
Only Heavens know how much that trickled into our local government areas for decades, with nothing to show for it .
Those who left our local government to die , must be held accountable by Nigerians , History and God Almighty , without exceptions .
Money is not be all and end all in life , as most corrupt insatiable politicians think .
Kudos to the nation’s Supreme Court, for the only thing it has done since its image suffered national and global embarrassment, for saving the constitutional existence of the local government system, saving its autonomy and holding that , funds due to the system, be paid directly into the accounts of the local government areas , without passing through the States .
This judgment ends the hitherto unfettered control of local government funds by State Governors, who did what they wanted , after emasculating the State Legislature, dictated what happens, lived like Emperors and destroyed our democracy with impunity .
Unless what happened in other nations like the Arab Spring, Sri Lanka, Philippines, Peru , Kenya, etc , happen in Nigeria, the soul of our nation will remain in political captivity of our corrupt and unpatriotic politicians .
Nigerians must wake up from slumber and claim their democratic birthright, before they blame themselves for inaction .
Citizens of those other nations that caused change and democratic reforms to happen in their countries, did not d fear death and political reprisals, before they supplanted their evil , repressive governments, and succeeded in taking their corrupt rulers and their officials to tasks .
Nigeria’s change is taking long in coming , but when the process is set in motion, there would be no stopping .
The wickedness of our politicians in destroying the Local Government System, for political and monetary gains , is unprecedented and unpardonable .
No evil committed under the sun goes unpunished .
Notwithstanding necessary amendments in the Constitution, before our already corrupted INEC conducts the Local Government Elections, already in the pockets of the Governors , making complete nonsense of our democracy, INEC does not have the moral capacity , legal , constitutional and justifiable legitimacy, to hold credible elections in Nigeria, after it shot itself by the foot , with the conscious sabotage of its own guidelines in the 2023 Elections, to favor candidates who bribed it with millions of dollars .
Mahmoud Yakubu and CO and of course, corrupt members of the Bench , may think that their heinous roles during the 2023 Elections are over and gone .
NO .
There’s no doubt a day of reckoning will come like the Doomsday when those undermined God’s people and heritage for their selfish interests, will stand before Him and made to account for their corrupt deeds that destroyed our democracy .
I doubt if God will forgive those who destroyed our local government system by doing stupid stuff and looking the other way .
Let’s see if the Supreme Court Judgment on the Local Government System Autonomy, will be given a teeth by the Tinubu Administration, that dragged the Governors to the highest court in the land.
NIGERIA NEWSPOINT