Some of the military leaders who approved the 1999 constitution did so with the full intention of being its major beneficiaries. That is why among them are the most avid or desperate supporters of zoning. To achieve political stability, peace and progress in Nigeria, there are of course a number of options and on a sliding scale zoning is far from the top.  If anything, it is too simplistic and is of no obvious advantage for the short or long term interests of the country. There are better options such as having the office of head of state separate from head of government or prime minister. This option is a defining feature of the British parliamentary system which this country once practiced but which was thrown out without much thought in 1979. It is a system that is widely practiced in Europe, in the Indo-Pakistani subcontinent and elsewhere. Nigeria is not lacking in worthy statesmen and women who are above politics and who could foot the bill for head of state. Before Independence, the colonial authority found some traditional rulers and other personalities worthy of this position albeit at the regional level. The late Ooni of Ife, Oba Adesoji Aderemi was once appointed governor of the Western Region for instance. Sir Kashim Ibrahim and Sir Francis Ibiam were also appointed governors of the Northern and Eastern regions respectively, to mention but a few. Dr Nnamdi Azikiwe was the only one appointed at the national level, at independence. There is no reason Nigeria today cannot rotate the post of head of state among such authorities as the Sultan of Sokoto, the Oba of Benin, the Shehu of Borno, the Ooni of Ife, the Obi of Onitsha, the Etsu Nupe, the Attah Igbirra, the Gbom Gwom Jos, the Tor Tiv, the Obong of Calabar, the Ochidoma, the Deji of Akure and so on. The same skills a traditional ruler uses to maintain stability, peace and harmony among his people, be they Hausa, Igala, Nupe, Kanuri, Efik, Ibibio, Bini, Idoma, Igbo, Tiv, Jukun, Isoko, Ijaw, Uhrobo etc are required to achieve the same ends at the national level. The post of prime minister and head of government, and deputy prime minister(s) would of course be left to elected politicians. A corresponding arrangement is of course possible at lower tiers of government, namely at the six geopolitical zones and the states. Another option is to add, again as in the UK, a deputy prime minister to the one just mentioned. In the UK the deputy PM doubles as the Chancellor of the Exchequer. In Nigeria we may even have six deputy prime ministers, one from each geopolitical zone and one of which then steps up to be the PM. Rotating the PM among the six is far more viable than the zoning of the exclusive presidency being touted now.If we must have a president, why can’t we also have a committee of six vice presidents, one from each zone and one of which becomes the president, which can then be rotated among the committee members on a relatively short tenure and dependent on the vote of confidence of the National Assembly, the committee of vice presidents or some similar arrangement or even a referendum to stay in power. In the six deputy prime ministerial or six vice presidential models, to ensure that power is diffused, each vice president or deputy prime minister must have well defined powers in the constitution. Concentration of power in one person must be guarded against.But to get to the point of considering any of these options requires a comprehensive constitutional review. The PDP dominated federal executive and legislature have consistently shown, over the past 11 years, an insidious aversion for any serious review of the constitution, being distracted or hobbled, as they are, by corruption and as it seems, also by low capacity. The meager mental resources of the National Assembly has been almost exclusively devoted to finding ingenious ways of exponentially inflating members emoluments to the scandalous level it is today, with no sensitivity whatsoever to the needs of the economy and the dire plight of the general population. The situation, to me, is the most plausible explanation for the dominance of a mediocre concept such as zoning of the public debate of the country’s immediate political future.A former Central Bank governor once remarked that if other countries were running at 100 kilometres per hour, Nigeria should be running at 1000 kilometres per hour. Although he was speaking in relation to the economy, the metaphor even applies more aptly and more urgently to the nation’s politics. The beginning of wisdom and everything else in Nigeria today is a comprehensive review of the constitution. The urgency of this imperative cannot possibly be overstated. Unless the constitution is positively reviewed there is little hope of any progress at all politically.Rather than talk about zoning, what we should be talking about are the many imperfections in the 1999 constitution and what should be done about them. The 1999 constitution was crafted by greedy, neo-totalitarian, opportunistic and inept ‘militicians’, who obviously intended to be its exclusive beneficiaries. The country does not have a hope unless it reconstructs the constitution in line with sensible democratic aspirations. The main reason America made so much progress in only two centuries is because its founding constitution, which pretty much remains in tact, was at the same time simple and articulate enough to get the country off on a positive step.The American constitutional experience shows rather clearly that those issues that the constitution fails to address or fails to address properly are the ones that bring conflict and instability. We are talking of zoning today, mainly because the idea itself is in default of a weak and far-from-perfect constitution as well as an encroachment on constitutional turf.  So many vested interest groups (religious fundamentalists, self determination groups; corrupt, greedy or subversive politicians) have intentionally abused, ignored or subverted the constitution with ignominy. We need as a constitution a living document which will engage every Nigerian or group of Nigerians, not just a perfunctory document that is all but dead on arrival. With its contradictions and ambiguities, it is more often than not mentioned in passing or applied in breach.
By Lt-Col Peter Egbe Ulu (rtd)

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