By Papa DC Enamhe
Initiator, Think Cross River
Section 14(3) of the Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, 1999 states thus: “The composition of the Government of the Federation or any of its agencies and the conduct of its affairs shall be carried out in such a manner as to reflect the federal character of Nigeria and the need to promote national unity, and also to command national loyalty, thereby ensuring that there shall be no predominance of persons from a few States or from a few ethnic or other sectional groups in that Government or in any of its agencies.”
This section is the primary constitutional basis for the federal character principle, which obligates federal government organs and agencies to conduct appointments, representation, and other affairs in ways that reflect Nigeria’s diversity and promote national unity without domination by particular states or ethnic groups.
Additionally, Section 14(4) extends a similar directive to the Government of a State, Local Government Council, or their agencies, ensuring diversity and unity at all levels of government.
Section 153 (1) (c) of the Constitution establishes the Federal Character Commission as a Federal Executive Body, setting out its composition and powers at paragraphs 7 and 8 of Part 1 of the Third Schedule. The Commission finds additional support in the Federal Character Commission (Establishment) Act.
The Constitution also defines federal character in its interpretation section as the distinctive desire to promote national unity, foster loyalty, and give every citizen a sense of belonging, anchored primarily on Sections 14(3) and 14 (4). By paragraph 8 of Part 1 of the Third Schedule to the Constitution, the Federal Character Commission is empowered to:
- (a) work out an equitable formula subject to the approval of the National Assembly 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, the Nigeria Police Force and other government security agencies, government-owned companies and parastatals of the States;
- (b) promote, monitor and enforce compliance with the principles of proportional sharing of all bureaucratic, economic, media and political posts at all levels of government;
- (c) take such legal measures, including the prosecution of the head or staff of any Ministry or government body or agency which fails to comply with any federal character principle or formula prescribed or adopted by the Commission; and
- (d) carry out such functions as may be conferred on it by an Act of the National Assembly.
Additional functions of the Federal Character Commission are found at Section 4 (2) (d) – (j) of the Federal Character Commission (Establishment) Acr.
I have made copious references to Nigeria’s Constitution because it is the highest law in the government and governance of our nation. Dr. Ikpeme Ikpeme, Chief Medical Director of the University of Calabar, is alleged to have rejected a list of 17 House Officers posted to the federal institution by the Medical and Dental Council of Nigeria because 15 of the persons on the list are Igbo. This has prompted the House of Representatives to call for his suspension while investigations are launched into the allegation against him. In view of the constitutional provisions cited above, is the action of the CMD in breach of Nigeria’s Constitution as well as the Federal Character Commission (Establishment) Act? I submit that it is not.
The University of Calabar Teaching Hospital is a federal institution. A list of 17 candidates for House Officership should reflect Nigeria’s federal and ethnic composition, drawing names from the length and breadth of the country- except the Nigerian Medical and Dental Council can show that there are no candidates from any other part of the country who are due for posting as House Officers.
Also, the UCTH functions within a defined catchment framework, ensuring balance within the South-South geopolitical zone while reflecting Nigeria’s diversity. This is why there are federal teaching hospitals in other geopolitical zones, like the University of Nigeria Teaching Hospital, Enugu, Nnamdi Azikiwe University Teaching Hospital, Awka, Federal Teaching Hospital, Owerri, Alex Ekwueme Federal University Teaching Hospital, Abakaliki, etc. to ensure equity. On that basis, a germane question arises: how many non-Igbo doctors or interns are currently represented in these and other teaching hospitals across the South-East geopolitical zone? The House of Representatives should do well to investigate this.
Our albatross in this country is that, while we struggle to be politically correct, our morality stinks and our self-deception is brazen beyond belief. The action of the CMD in questioning the lopsided list is not an act of administrative sabotage, but an attempt to breathe life into the spirit and letter of the Constitution of Nigeria. Yet, astonishingly, his constitutionally backed action has provoked calls for his suspension. This reaction by members of the House of Representatives is a brazen tyranny of the so-called majority over the minority in Nigeria. It is reprehensible!
Reverting to those with conscience, can you deny the reality that teaching hospitals in the South-East are overwhelmingly staffed by doctors and interns from South-Eastern states? This is not a conjecture and this commentator is not trying to portray it as only observable in the South East. It is the same trend in the South West and Northern parts of this country. The House of Representatives has just woken up because a minority ethnic group is involved albeit labelled wrongly. This selective outrage exposes a troubling hypocrisy. Why has representation suddenly become a moral issue only when minorities raise questions?
The clairvoyance of the report of the Willink Minority Commission of 1957 is, unfortunately, the painful reality of our federation today. The fears of minorities within the former Eastern Region continue to be well founded: political domination, cultural suffocation, economic annihilation and social alienation by larger ethnic blocs. The bitter pills our brothers and sisters from Southern States are forced to swallow at the national table, the same they want to force down our throats. Where then will solidarity come from?
The resolution of the House Representatives suspending the CMD of UCTH is unfortunate, reprehensible, vexatious and manifestly, unconstitutional. Punishing those who insist on balance will not foster unity. It will rather aggravate our fault lines and reopen historical wounds. The secret the mother snake told its hatchling, the mother frog has also told its tadpole. If we have not learnt any lesson yet, then we may never learn any again. Silencing institutional questions will not produce harmony. The so-called suspension should be reversed immediately, and the CMD of the UCTH be applauded for aligning his administration with constitutional dictates. Insisting on fairness is not an offence.
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