Corruption Unifies Nigeria’s Elite – Governor Aliyu

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By Chido Onumah/Chatham House, London

Dr. Mu'azu Babangida Aliyu, Executive Governor of Niger State and Chair of the Northern States Governors Forum, Nigeria was guest speaker at Chatham House, London, on Tuesday 10 July, 2012.

Gov. Aliyu spoke on Nigeria’s Unity and Regional Socio-Political Groups: Influence and Impact of the Northern States Governors Forum (NSGF).

He noted that corruption was the single unifying factor of the elite in Nigeria and that the way to deal with it was to reduce the focus on the centre.

He however opposed the call for a Sovereign Nation Conference (SNC), noting that “we have a National Assembly and the constitution. Whatever you think should be done must be done within the sovereignty that exist currently”.

I asked the governor: “Is the problem with Nigeria not that this so-called sovereignty was foisted on the people and does not represent the fears and aspirations of majority of our people?” He response: There are so many challenges facing Nigeria and if the consensus amongst Nigerians is that the SNC is the way to deal effectively with these challenges, then nobody can stop it.

He said the idea for the removal of the so-called subsidy on petrol came from Nigerian Governors’ Forum (NGF) and that the president was initially reluctant to embark on the scheme. According to Gov. Aliyu, the NGF took the position because the states were not getting the money due to them while Nigerians in many states were paying more for petrol.

The governor said it was unfortunate that the National Assembly that was tasked with looking into the corruption in the oil subsidy scheme was itself enmeshed in a web of corruption. He called for a review of the petroleum sector as a whole and not just the oil subsidy programme.

According to Dr. Aliyu, the way out of the security and development challenges facing Nigeria is the devolution of power. “Make the states more powerful,” he added. He said he did not see the possibility of a “warlord” emerging from the violence in northern Nigeria and that the NSGF was working behind the scene to contain the violence.

I asked Gov. Aliyu if it wasn’t a case of misplaced priority to focus on 2015 when much of northern Nigeria was enveloped in ethnic, religious and political violence. He said the NSGF was focused on containing the violence. He refuted reports that NSGF had taken a stand that the North must produce the president in 2015. He said the position of the NSGF was to unify and lend their support to a common candidate no matter where he or she comes from.

The event was chaired by Alex Vines, OBE, Director of Area Studies and International Law, Chatham House.