13.5 Derivation, Bago and the new Patriots

Weeks ago, first quarter of July to be precise, Revenue Mobilization Allocation and Fiscal Commission, (RMAFC), made a call on the Niger State Government House,they were on streak of checking and beefing up Data, indices, proxies for fair future allocation of resources to states according to new realities on ground, what was lost and what wasn’t taken note of?

Certainly this particular event was suffocated in the midst of loads of functions going around the seat of Niger State,  this is what made us to survive and worth calling states with phrase of “statutory” this function should have made more news headlines because this once in decades exercise: this is supposed to be the best event/exercise/courtesy visit worth hundreds of the rest this year alone, it’s a very significant events that happens once in decades.

Let’s break it down Gwari-Gwari, to most simpliest (this isn’t meant to slur but as a tribute to our Brothers who are acknowledged world-over for their simplicity in doing things)

This organization, the RMAFC, is a Federal Government’s Agency mandated with sharing revenues the nation generates, whether Oil, Agriculture, Natural Resources or Mineral resources, anything that brings resources to coffers of the federation and what not: this Agency doesn’t just share money to the sub-nationals and intra-nationals for just being part of the federation, indices under considerations includes, but not limited to, locations of natural and mineral resources, population, revenue generations, location of infrastructure, education and health,landmass and terrain,others; whether the sharing formula is vertical or horizontal.

Why this topic is important and worth refreshing is this, the last time RMAFC sharing formula was reviewed and updated was a whopping 33 years ago, yes in 1992, except a little executive intervention in 2002: Again why is this topic worth talking about? Here it is: the Oil producing states were  being given special privilege of earning 13% derivation, meaning, some percentage of the overall revenue we as a nation share is being set aside for further sharing by states that produce Oil, Rivers, Akwa-Ibom, Delta, Bayelsa, Ondo, Abia, Cross-River, Edo and Kogi, the new one on block, these states share 13% of the overall revenue we generate from oil, alas, large part of our revenue is from Oil, you can imagine what goes to these states because they produce Oil on their lands, places: in this discourse Oil is a natural resource, so is Dam, water on our lands is also natural resources, we should earn from it as well, some will argue Niger generates revenues from these dams, but how much, when was it reviewed to benefit the state as those coming from Oil?

 Nope, we are no longer taking it, we produce electricity on our lands, places,geographic location for this nation, electricity should be our Oil too, and rightly so we should ask for special treatment as those producing Oil, Kainji, Jebba, Shiroro and Zungeru Dams, a massive four (4) Dams is our Oil, more than Oil, Bago was right to have broach the matter, so patriotic, he doesn’t have choice,does He? infact Nigerlites are asking for 25%, that’s our starting point, we may negotiate if the nation so wish.

The Farmer Governor, His Excellency, Mohammed Umar Bago opened our bidding so fantastically well, there isn’t any occasion and table to do it better than where he sat asking out for it, infact it’s us, Nigerlites, waving the olive leaf/branch to the nation, a leaf of friendship and partnership from a sub-national, a federating unit, if we earned anything from it then it’s our long overdue sweat, what are we gaining from this federation even?

We had sacrificed a lot, from giving-up part of our territory for the nation’s capital and giving power/energy for overall benefits of the nation, it’s time to be so compensated, if the Niger-Deltans will call theirs place ” where Golden eggs are laid” then Niger is the place where life is given to Nigeria.

Bago’s pronouncement for 13.5 new revenue sharing formula in favor of Niger, because we produce over sixty percent,(60%,) of the nation’s electricity from hydro sources, is a well laid out ambush, where only courageous are capable of looking at the rest of the nation in the eyes and asking for fair representation of their people, Dr Henry Nduka Awuregu, the Federal Commission at the head of RMAFC delegation didn’t expect, the point was made anyway, someone had to, only leaders with love and welfare of their people at heart could stare at anyone’s eye and state the obvious, especially when the power/energy sector of the country is peopled by sharks, vampires and mafias, even under the name of the so-called commercialization of the sector, these mafias are powerful and had taken the nation to ransom for several years coming. Bago isn’t delivering on the infrastructure front alone, here’s a man who’s fearless and ready to stakeout his neck for the correction of injustice that has being going on for the past eight decades, take your flowers Bago, the new patriot of Niger,  tens of him would have made Niger into haven by now if his types had being produced in the past.