Richly endowed with human and mineral resources, Nigeria has always battled with the issues of marginalisation, equitable distribution of national resources and the optimal utilisation of these resources.
Today, some ethnic groups still cry foul of being marginalised while the selfish and predatory capitalism practised in Nigeria has widened the gap between the rich and the poor. Worse still, we still struggle with the full utilisation of the enormous oil and gas resources at our disposal as a nation.
The federal character principle was seen as a measure to answer some of these pestering questions and was thus enshrined in the 1979 constitution to ensure that appointments into public service institutions (including the military and para-military) fairly reflect the linguistic, ethnic, religious, and geographic diversity of the country.
Thirty years on, the relevance and acceptability of this principle is being called to question especially against the backdrop of the daunting challenges facing many economies today. The federal and state governments are stuck with this principle that seems to permit mediocrity in the name of fairness to all. This principle allows unqualified people to occupy sensitive positions in the civil service which may be a factor in the failed governance we have today. The operation of this principle has caused the establishment of a Federal Character Commission to work out an equitable formula subject to the approval of the President for the distribution of all cadres of posts in the public service of the federation and of the states, the Armed Forces of the Federation, Nigeria Police Force, and other security agencies, commercial enterprises owned by the federal or a state government and extra ministerial departments and parastatals of the federation and states.
Among others calling for both political and economic restructuring of the Nigerian state is former military president, Ibrahim Babangida, who, according to reports, has described federal character principle as 'unfashionable' in the eyes of modern sophistication of governance. It has created a situation whereby qualified personnel from some regions are sidelined for less qualified candidates from other disadvantaged regions in the name of balancing any recruitment, promotion or admission exercises that take place in governmental institutions. Enforcing this principle has not been easy for the Federal Character Commission as so many infractions trail its implementation.
The implementation of the federal character principle as supervised by the Federal Character Commission has not addressed the issues of marginalisation and equitable distribution of resources in the country. How do we explain the predominance of some government agencies by people from a particular section of the country when such appointments are supposed to be spread among all the various ethnic groups in the country? Government must come out of its own shell and in the spirit of dynamism make provisions for special attention on citizens with special talents irrespective of their ethnicity or geographical lineage. This principle kills staff morale, promotes bureaucracy, discourages personal development and is antithetical to innovation and creativity.
We believe that qualified people should first be considered in all spheres of governance and business. That is the only way as a nation we can catch up with the rapidly growing economies like the Asian tigers (China, Malaysia, India etc.) and the western world in terms of technological innovation. We must ensure that our best hands are not short of opportunities to unleash their potentials.
Quota system kills competition and ambition as highly qualified people are kept out of jobs or promotion while unqualified candidates get positions they don't truly deserve on account of federal character principle. In this period of daunting economic crises, we need people who are truly skilled and qualified to fill positions in government whether for regulatory, administrative or technical roles.
