Why States and LGAs matter more than FG

Let's do small practicals on why your governor and LGA matter to you more than the FG:

1. When you come out from your house you're 90% likely to use a road (or path) that is the job of your LGA to fix.

2. In Awka for instance, the only FG roads you may use is Enugu-Onitsha expressway and to a lesser extent, the old road - both of which are in relatively good conditions. When you get to say Awka North, Oyi, Anambra East LGAs 95% of the roads that matter to the people are basically state and LGA roads. Transport facilities within the states also are the co-responsibility of the states and LGAs. FG is concerned with interstate. 

3. You can decide to send your child to a public primary school. That primary school is the responsibility of the LGA. That FG intervenes via UBE is just intervention.

4. That primary healthcare center that is in your community is the responsibility of the LGA. The general hospital in your LGA headquarters is the responsibility of the state government. The FG is only responsible for its Federal Medical Centre or Federal Teaching Hospitals (which are mostly one or two in a state). So, the vast majority of health centers that should provide good health care to the people are the direct responsibility of the LGA and state. FG can only INTERVENE.

5. Land is owned by the States. They can do with it as they like. They can decide to make it productive via large-scale commercial agriculture, they can build mass social housing for their people. FG has a role to play in housing by creating mortgage financing. States themselves are free to establish mortgage financing options but how many states wants to even think about it?

6. Electricity today is now on the concurrent list meaning that states can license and regulate electricity generation, transmission and distribution in their domain. If states are serious, we should not have anything to like national grid anymore.

7. Security is still in the exclusive list but it is not that straightforward. Yes, police and the military are federal establishments but the State Governor still chairs the state Security Council and can give general directives to secure his state. Criminals arrested by the police are charged by the state and not the federal government. This is why every state has office of the prosecutor under the Ministry of Justice. Few of the criminal cases you see in court today are federal cases.

Personally, I support the creation of state police departments but before then, states and LGAs can do a whole lot to improve security in their domain if only they can judiciously use their security votes for true security-related stuffs.

When you look at these items I've touched on, you'll realise that most of the things that affect you on a daily basis are things your governor and LGA should be providing. Monetary policy may be exclusive to the FG but the fundamentals that drive these policies require synergy across the three tiers of government. For example FG alone cannot increase exports in agriculture if LGAs and states rarely invest in agriculture. Moving from consumption to production requires the participation of the states and the LGAs in productive Ventures.

So, it's time we spread our lens of accountability equally across the three tiers of government. Hold the President and his cabinet accountable for things within their purview. Hold the governors and their commissioners accountable for things they ought to do and most importantly hold the LGAs and councillors accountable for lapses in the LGA system. This is how we will develop!

Written by Michael Chibuzo 

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