Required: A New Nigeria With Greater Zonal Autonomy
The media recently reported that President Jonathan of Nigeria has told the masses of the country that he will implement the recommendations of the National Conference submitted to him in August 2014 if he is re-elected as President. If that is true, then President Jonathan needs to be reminded that any other President could do the same. Why wait until the second term is secured?
This is the time to get into action by implementing some of the more sensitive recommendations that will map the road clearly for a majority of Nigerians who do not see what they gain by answering Nigerians and defending the integrity of that nationality. This is the time to think hard, the time to carry the people along. Luckily, the National Assembly is not yet on the Easter recess. So, there should be time to table a few motions before the honourable legislators, and before the elections.
An example is that one of the more sensitive recommendations of the National Conference had to do with resource control among Nigeria's federating states. Now that elections are approaching, many Nigerians believe that President Jonathan should hasten to implement some of the resolutions of the National Conference. What if the Jonathan Administration tables a motion at this time demanding for greater autonomy for each of the six geo-political zones? What if the Administration should ask the National Assembly to consider each zone to manage its own police force, its own schools, its own health care, its own law courts, its own Customs department, its own immigration, its own airports and airlines, its own seaports, its own every other thing, leaving only the Nigerian Army and the Nigerian Currency for the Central Government to manage?
What if the geo-political zones become regional autonomies which are free to tap the natural resources in their Land and contribute a certain percentage of the earnings from those natural resources in their zones to the central government's purse? Nigerians used to have three regions. What if each zone is now regarded as a region and allowed the level of autonomy states in the USA practise? Perhaps a lot more may be achieved in terms of social stability and satisfaction among the citizens. The Jonathan Administration must not only think fast. Action is required.
Nigeria is one of the countries in Africa that has a wide variety of natural resources. The country is richly endowed with precious metals, various stones and such industrial imperatives as barites, gypsum, kaolin and marble. Most of these minerals are yet to be explored, and they can be found in practically every state of the Federation.
Although one of the cardinal objectives of the National Policy on Solid Minerals is to ensure an orderly development of mineral resources in the country, in many of the states where they are found in large, commercial quantities, the level of exploration of these minerals is still very low compared with the level of deposit found. There is no doubt that the Solid Mineral sector of the Nigerian economy can offer tremendous opportunities to investors. The Federal Ministry of Solid Minerals Development has continued to grant licenses to prospective local and foreign investors to enable them explore these vast deposits of mineral resources. The Jonathan Administration needs to cash in on this situation to enable each of the six geo-political zones have more money at its disposal for developmental purposes.
Over 40 million tonnes of talc deposits have been identified in Niger, Osun, Kogi, Ogun and Kaduna States, enough to satisfy local demands as well as exportation.
Several states in the country have huge deposits of gypsum, an important element in the production of cement, the plaster of Paris (P.O.P) and classroom chalks. It is in fact estimated that about one billion tonnes of gypsum deposits abound in many states in Nigeria. But despite these huge deposits, the country still needs a strategy for large-scale mining of gypsum, to be able to sustain the existing plants and meet the need for future expansion. Presently, cement production is estimated at 8 million tonnes per annum but the national requirement is put at 9.6 million tonnes.
There are over 3 billion metric tonnes of iron ore deposits in Kogi, Enugu, and Niger States and in Abuja, the Federal Capital Territory. About 67% of the iron ore mined in Kogi State is already being beneficiated. The Aladja and Ajaokuta Steel complexes are ready for billet consumers, just as other iron products are, for down-stream industries.
An estimated 10 million tonnes of lead and zinc veins are spread over eight states of Nigeria. About 5 million tonnes of reserves are in the East-Central area alone. The government continues to encourage joint venture partners to explore and develop these lead and zinc deposits.
There are large quantities of barite in some states. Over 7.5 million tonnes of barite have been identified in Taraba and Bauchi States. The Nigerian barite has specific gravity of about 4.3 and is, therefore, of a good quality.
Large betonite reserves of about 700 million tonnes are available in many states of the federation, ready for massive exploration and development. These are the main constituents of the mud used in the drilling of all types of oil wells.
There are reserves of both alluvial and primary gold in the schist belt of Nigeria located in the South-western part of the country. The deposits are mainly alluvial and are currently being explored on a small scale. Private investors have a great opportunity here to stake concessions on the primary deposits.
The bitumen deposit in Nigeria is about 42 billion tonnes, almost twice the quantity of existing reserves of crude oil. This potential resource can be used directly as an asphalt binder. Unfortunately, and for whatever reason, most of the bitumen used for road construction in Nigeria is currently being imported. And so, there is a need for the Jonathan Administration to make a move to rectify this anomaly.
Nigerian coal is one of the most bituminous in the world because of its low sulphur and ash content and therefore the most environment-friendly. There are nearly 3 billion tonnes of reserves in 17 identified coal fields and over 600 million tonnes of reserves.
There are salt springs in Plateau and Ebonyi States, while rock salt is available in Benue State. A total reserve of 1.5 million tonnes has been identified, and the government is carrying out further investigations. The national annual demand for table salt, caustic soda, chlorine, sodium bicarbonate, sodium hydrochloric acid and hydrogen peroxide is in excess of one million tonnes. Despite this fact, a huge sum of money is spent annually by chemical and processing companies and by tanneries and those in food and beverages, paper and pulp, and bottling and oil industries to import these.
Gemstones have been mined in various parts of Plateau, Kaduna and Bauchi states for years now. Some of these gemstones include sapphire, ruby, aquamarine, emerald, tourmaline, topaz, garnet, amethyst, zircon, and fluorspar. They are among the world's best. Good prospects exist in this area for viable investments.
An estimated reserve of 3 billion tonnes of good kaolinitic clay has also been identified in many states in the country. Added to all these, Nigeria has oil reserves of 23 billion barrels and gas reserves of 160 trillion cubic meters.
Nigeria is made up of about 400 ethnic groups and more than 450 languages. For administrative reasons, the government found it expedient to merge similar ethnic groups. It was projected that this might also be useful in the allocation of resources. Therefore, the creation of six geo-political zones that now make up Nigeria was a major constitutional division of the country by General Ibrahim Babangida during his tenure as Military Head of State.
The South-South Zone comprised of Akwa Ibom, Bayelsa, Cross River, Delta, Edo and Rivers States. In this zone, Akwa Ibom State has in commercial quantity deposits of clay, lead, zinc, lignite (also known as brown coal), limestone, salt, uranium, oil and gas. Bayelsa State has Clay, gypsum, lead, zinc, lignite, limestone, manganese, uranium, oil and gas. Cross River State has got barite, lead, zinc, lignite, limestone, manganese, salt, uranium, oil and gas. Delta State has clay, glass-sand, gypsum, iron ore, kaolin, lignite, marble, oil and gas. Edo State has bitumen, clay, dolomite, phosphate, glass-sand, gold, gypsum, iron ore, kaolin, lignite, marble, oil and gas and Rivers State has clay, sand-glass, lignite, marble, oil and gas.
The South-West Zone comprised of Ekiti, Lagos, Ogun, Ondo, Osun and Oyo States. In this zone, Ekiti has got feldspar, granite, kaolin and syenite. Lagos State has bitumen, clay and glass-sand. But it is on the verge of joining the country's oil-producing states with the discovery of crude oil in commercial quantities in the coastal state. Ogun State has bitumen, clay, feldspar, gemstone, kaolin, limestone and phosphate.
Ondo State has bitumen, clay, coal, dimension stones, feldspar, gemstone, glass-sand, granite, gypsum, kaolin, limestone, oil and gas. Osun State has columbite, gold, granite, gypsum, kaolin, limestone, oil and gas. And Oyo State has got aquamarine, cassiterite (also known as tin stone), clay, dolomite, gemstone, gold, kaolin, marble, silimonite, talc and tantalite.
South East Zone comprised of Abia, Anambra, Ebonyi, Enugu and Imo States. In this zone, Abia State has got gold, lead, zinc, limestone, salt, oil and gas. Anambra State has clay, glass-sand, gypsum, iron ore, lead, zinc, lignite, limestone, salt, phosphate and oil. Ebonyi State has gold, lead, zinc and salt. Enugu State has coal, lead, zinc and limestone. Imo State has gypsum, lead, zinc, lignite, limestone, marcasite (also known as white pyrite), phosphate, salt, oil and gas.
North Central Zone comprised of Benue, Kogi, Kwara, Nassarawa, Niger and Plateau States. In this zone, Benue State has barite, clay, coal, gemstone, gypsum, iron ore, lead, zinc, limestone, marble and salt. Kogi State has coal, dolomite, feldspar, gypsum, iron ore, kaolin, marble and tantalite and mica. Kwara State has got cassiterite, columbite, feldspar, gold, iron ore, marble, tantalite and mica. Nassarawa State has amethyst (topaz garnet), barytex, barite, cassiterite, chalcopyrite, clay, columbite, cooking coal, dolomite, marble, feldspar, galena, iron ore, limestone, mica, salt, sapphire, talc, tantalite, tourmaline quartz and zireon. Niger State has gold, lead, zinc and talc. Plateau State has got barite, bauxite, betonite, bismuth, cassiterite, clay, coal, emerald, fluoride, gemstone, granite, iron ore, kaolin, lead, zinc, marble, salt, tantalite, columbite, molybdenite, phrochlore, salt, columbite, tin and wolfram.
North East Zone comprised of Adamawa, Bauchi, Borno, Gombe, Taraba and Yobe States. In this zone, Adamawa State has got betonite, gypsum, kaolin and mangesite. Bauchi State has gold, tin ore, columbite, gypsum, wolfram, coal, limestone, lignite, iron ore, and clay. Borno state has betonite, clay, diatomite, gypsum, hydrocarbon, kaolin and limestone. Gombe State has gemstone and gypsum. Taraba State has lead and zinc. And Yobe has soda ash and tintomite.
The North West Zone comprised of Jigawa, Kaduna, Kano, Katsina, Kebbi, Sokoto and Zamfara States. In this zone, Jigawa State has butyles. Kaduna State has amethyst, aqua marine, asbestos, clay, flosper, gemstone, gold, graphite, kaolin, hyalite, mica, rock crystal, sihnite, superntinite, tentalime, topaz and tourmaline. Kano State has cassiterite, copper, gemstone, glass-sand, lead, zinc, pyrochinre and tantalite. Katsina State has kaolin, marble and salt. Kebbi State has gold. Sokoto State has clay, flakes, gold, granite, gypsum, kaolin, laterite, limestone, phosphate, potash, silica-sand and salt. And Zamfara State has coal, cotton and gold.
Despite the enormous wealth that the country is endowed with, the leadership has woefully failed to utilise the resources to salvage the fate of the ordinary Nigerian who walks the streets of the country's villages, towns and cities. It is still difficult to see how these natural endowments have helped to make the ordinary Nigerian a happier person. This is why it has become mandatory for the Jonathan Administration to stay one step ahead by making the move now to consolidate zonal (regional) autonomy. The Administration must consider giving greater autonomy to the zones that were created by General Babangida, even much more than the autonomy the Eastern, Western and Northern Regions had in those days. Dr. Jonathan should take his clue from the American example.