It has become a trend in Nigeria that everyone turns to the Federal Government over every problem, while leaving the states and LGAs out. The latest example was a well-known Nigerian actress reportedly calling on President Bola Tinubu to make an interim arrangement to secure all of Nigeria because, according to her, it may take a while before state police are created. This was an observation I made two weeks earlier (“While Seyi Makinde awaits state police”, June 19, 2026). While I called on sub-national governments to utilise the security apparatus which they already have in securing citizens ahead of the creation of state police, the actress turned to the FG. A few days back, former deputy state governors said one of the things their group does is offer advice to the FG on national issues. This makes me wonder if they engage state and LGA officials in the same way.The constant call made to the FG on all matters makes most Nigerians think the President holds a magic wand that can get all problems to disappear overnight. No one wants to break a sweat at the subnational level to solve problems. We think shortcut solutions are there with the FG. To me, three reasons inform this disposition. One is years of military rule where men in khaki dictate from the top. The carryover still makes many civilians engage with the system as though this isn’t a democratic dispensation. The second is a lack of appreciation for how a federal system operates. The third is this unwillingness by advocates to face subnational governments and lobby them to fix what they’re not doing right at that level. Former deputy governors have insight that should be more suitable for the subnational governments. Do they engage at that level?This isn’t the first time I have called attention to the disposition among high-profile citizens who create platforms where they send words through the media to the President regarding national problems. For instance, I’ve addressed two different socio-cultural groups in northern Nigeria who also offer advice mostly to the FG. Note that these groups are generally quiet about what the subnational governments aren’t doing right. At one stage, one group even advocated that some FG agencies should take over the tasks for which subnational governments have constitutional powers. Their reason is that the subnationals aren’t handling things right. I asked at that time if handing over state powers to the FG was the best solution these socio-cultural groups could offer. I stated that such groups were in a position to use their substantial public profile to influence subnational governments to improve what they believed wasn’t being done right. I also stated that the actions of similar groups shouldn’t always be about advising; it should include putting in the hard work where needed. If concern for our nation is the motivation for their advocacy effort, they should show us what they, too, are doing to address the problem.Now, everyone can stay in the media space and offer advice to anyone. However, if citizens with a huge public profile are unwilling to engage subnational governments to ensure they function well within our federal arrangement, I don’t know who else can do it. I think most interveners are playing it safe, deliberately avoiding telling state governors the hard truth. It’s so convenient to offer solutions to national challenges by talking to the FG that’s far off. Are some of us who observe this phenomenon impressed? No. Do we applaud? No. We applaud hard work, not anyone talking from their comfortable corners. For there’s hard work to do to make things work in any nation.High-profile figures can handle some by engaging. FG alone can’t do it, so it’s misleading for public figures to always point to the president, thereby giving the wrong impression that sub-national governments have no role to play. Many want to be in the good books of state governors, get the best they can from them, including political appointments, while they safely dump every problem at the feet of the President. This way, the average citizen is misled, believing it’s the FG that should solve all the insecurity problems the nation has. No one says a thing about their state governors who withhold federally allocated funds meant for the LGAs.These politicians thereby disempower LGAs, only to turn around and ask the president for more soldiers to secure villagers and their crops on farmlands from herders.Many groups that should operate best at the state and LGA levels want to be associated with the FG. Those who can provide security better at local level want to be in Abuja. Some paramilitary bodies set themselves up as private organisations but want the FG to adopt them and pay their salaries. Local vigilante groups want to be under the FG. Those who should watch the forests want to be under the FG. Those traditionally known to hunt animals in the bush want to be organised by the FG before they can complement community security. Other groups call on the FG-owned electoral body to conduct LGA elections. And for a political party dispute in a ward, it’s the President some call upon to resolve it. Everyone looks for quick solutions.Related NewsState police: Govs back reforms, SDP rejects Gbajabiamila on panelTambuwal urges Nigerians to vote out Tinubu in 2027Choose Christian running mate to avoid protest votes, group warns BagoNo one wants to build either security architecture or democracy where its foundations should organically be located – at the local level.One can understand citizens who don’t have the awareness that powers are shared among the three tiers of government in Nigeria’s federal arrangement. But one should be concerned when those who have served at the highest levels give off a similar impression. The matter is worse because it seems some only seek to get maximum visibility by dumping every problem at the feet of the president. The reason for this observation is that many who know the reality in our polity still make utterances that make one wonder. We all know that states and LGAs should be part of the security architecture.As things stand, they’ve been rendered nonfunctional. Yet advocacy groups don’t seek to tackle this. Instead, everyone calls on the president to solve every problem. Many know FG’s agencies too aren’t beyond being compromised, just like it’s the case at the state and LGA levels. But they continue to demand that such agencies take over activities in education and the conduct of the LGA election.Such demands make me ask: When shall we develop the agencies at the subnational level to function effectively? Taking every matter that fails at the lower level away to the FG won’t allow LGAs to develop capacity, accountability. There’s work to be done involving rolling up the sleeves in order to bring about changes, to make subnational agencies perform. Most advocacy groups avoid this real work. Real work is sensitising the populace to place a demand on State and LGA officials for accountable and responsible governance. Real work is taking advocacy to state agencies and the LGAs regarding measures that can develop their manpower, and improve their capacity to deliver services. Real work is mobilising the people to refuse to vote for politicians who withhold funds meant for LGAs. For this is one reason development doesn’t get to communities, and insecurity persists. It’s one reason strangers enter communities to wreak havoc, and local officials are unable to do a thing about it.Real work for former state deputy governors would be to engage with their colleagues who’re currently in position on how to improve the governance process. Real work is for them to identify areas where current state governors can exercise the concurrent powers they have in the Constitution. More than half of such powers aren’t being utilised at the moment. Meanwhile, President Tinubu, at whose feet many groups dump all problems, is one man who has done the real work in his time. Before he became the governor of Lagos State, he was among those who sacrificed much to see the return of democracy. He risked it all for what he believed in. Later as a state governor, he demonstrated an understanding of the concurrent power dynamics by utilising what the constitution already provided to do his best for Lagos State.He’s been calling for devolution of more power to the subnational units for as long as anyone can remember. These days, the President encourages state governors to do more for the people with the bigger resources they have. I presume he does this because he knows the FG cannot succeed alone without the other tiers of government doing their part. That’s the President; some advocacy groups dump all problems at his feet. These attention-grabbing moves that don’t offer practical solutions to the nation’s problems need to stop. The approach of pointing to the FG over every issue can’t work – from security to social services, and from infrastructure to the economic well-being of citizens. We know by now that states and LGAs are where much of the work of reform is. Groups that really have the interest of this nation as their motive for associating should concentrate more on the sub-national governments. The constant call made to the FG on all matters makes most Nigerians think the President holds a magic wand that can get all problems to disappear overnight. No one wants to break a sweat at the subnational level to solve problems. We think shortcut solutions are there with the FG. To me, three reasons inform this disposition. One is years of military rule where men in khaki dictate from the top. The carryover still makes many civilians engage with the system as though this isn’t a democratic dispensation. The second is a lack of appreciation for how a federal system operates. The third is this unwillingness by advocates to face subnational governments and lobby them to fix what they’re not doing right at that level. Former deputy governors have insight that should be more suitable for the subnational governments. Do they engage at that level?This isn’t the first time I have called attention to the disposition among high-profile citizens who create platforms where they send words through the media to the President regarding national problems. For instance, I’ve addressed two different socio-cultural groups in northern Nigeria who also offer advice mostly to the FG. Note that these groups are generally quiet about what the subnational governments aren’t doing right. At one stage, one group even advocated that some FG agencies should take over the tasks for which subnational governments have constitutional powers. Their reason is that the subnationals aren’t handling things right. I asked at that time if handing over state powers to the FG was the best solution these socio-cultural groups could offer. I stated that such groups were in a position to use their substantial public profile to influence subnational governments to improve what they believed wasn’t being done right. I also stated that the actions of similar groups shouldn’t always be about advising; it should include putting in the hard work where needed. If concern for our nation is the motivation for their advocacy effort, they should show us what they, too, are doing to address the problem.Now, everyone can stay in the media space and offer advice to anyone. However, if citizens with a huge public profile are unwilling to engage subnational governments to ensure they function well within our federal arrangement, I don’t know who else can do it. I think most interveners are playing it safe, deliberately avoiding telling state governors the hard truth. It’s so convenient to offer solutions to national challenges by talking to the FG that’s far off. Are some of us who observe this phenomenon impressed? No. Do we applaud? No. We applaud hard work, not anyone talking from their comfortable corners. For there’s hard work to do to make things work in any nation.High-profile figures can handle some by engaging. FG alone can’t do it, so it’s misleading for public figures to always point to the president, thereby giving the wrong impression that sub-national governments have no role to play. Many want to be in the good books of state governors, get the best they can from them, including political appointments, while they safely dump every problem at the feet of the President. This way, the average citizen is misled, believing it’s the FG that should solve all the insecurity problems the nation has. No one says a thing about their state governors who withhold federally allocated funds meant for the LGAs.These politicians thereby disempower LGAs, only to turn around and ask the president for more soldiers to secure villagers and their crops on farmlands from herders.Many groups that should operate best at the state and LGA levels want to be associated with the FG. Those who can provide security better at local level want to be in Abuja. Some paramilitary bodies set themselves up as private organisations but want the FG to adopt them and pay their salaries. Local vigilante groups want to be under the FG. Those who should watch the forests want to be under the FG. Those traditionally known to hunt animals in the bush want to be organised by the FG before they can complement community security. Other groups call on the FG-owned electoral body to conduct LGA elections. And for a political party dispute in a ward, it’s the President some call upon to resolve it. Everyone looks for quick solutions.Related NewsState police: Govs back reforms, SDP rejects Gbajabiamila on panelTambuwal urges Nigerians to vote out Tinubu in 2027Choose Christian running mate to avoid protest votes, group warns BagoNo one wants to build either security architecture or democracy where its foundations should organically be located – at the local level.One can understand citizens who don’t have the awareness that powers are shared among the three tiers of government in Nigeria’s federal arrangement. But one should be concerned when those who have served at the highest levels give off a similar impression. The matter is worse because it seems some only seek to get maximum visibility by dumping every problem at the feet of the president. The reason for this observation is that many who know the reality in our polity still make utterances that make one wonder. We all know that states and LGAs should be part of the security architecture.As things stand, they’ve been rendered nonfunctional. Yet advocacy groups don’t seek to tackle this. Instead, everyone calls on the president to solve every problem. Many know FG’s agencies too aren’t beyond being compromised, just like it’s the case at the state and LGA levels. But they continue to demand that such agencies take over activities in education and the conduct of the LGA election.Such demands make me ask: When shall we develop the agencies at the subnational level to function effectively? Taking every matter that fails at the lower level away to the FG won’t allow LGAs to develop capacity, accountability. There’s work to be done involving rolling up the sleeves in order to bring about changes, to make subnational agencies perform. Most advocacy groups avoid this real work. Real work is sensitising the populace to place a demand on State and LGA officials for accountable and responsible governance. Real work is taking advocacy to state agencies and the LGAs regarding measures that can develop their manpower, and improve their capacity to deliver services. Real work is mobilising the people to refuse to vote for politicians who withhold funds meant for LGAs. For this is one reason development doesn’t get to communities, and insecurity persists. It’s one reason strangers enter communities to wreak havoc, and local officials are unable to do a thing about it.Real work for former state deputy governors would be to engage with their colleagues who’re currently in position on how to improve the governance process. Real work is for them to identify areas where current state governors can exercise the concurrent powers they have in the Constitution. More than half of such powers aren’t being utilised at the moment. Meanwhile, President Tinubu, at whose feet many groups dump all problems, is one man who has done the real work in his time. Before he became the governor of Lagos State, he was among those who sacrificed much to see the return of democracy. He risked it all for what he believed in. Later as a state governor, he demonstrated an understanding of the concurrent power dynamics by utilising what the constitution already provided to do his best for Lagos State.He’s been calling for devolution of more power to the subnational units for as long as anyone can remember. These days, the President encourages state governors to do more for the people with the bigger resources they have. I presume he does this because he knows the FG cannot succeed alone without the other tiers of government doing their part. That’s the President; some advocacy groups dump all problems at his feet. These attention-grabbing moves that don’t offer practical solutions to the nation’s problems need to stop. The approach of pointing to the FG over every issue can’t work – from security to social services, and from infrastructure to the economic well-being of citizens. We know by now that states and LGAs are where much of the work of reform is. Groups that really have the interest of this nation as their motive for associating should concentrate more on the sub-national governments. This isn’t the first time I have called attention to the disposition among high-profile citizens who create platforms where they send words through the media to the President regarding national problems. For instance, I’ve addressed two different socio-cultural groups in northern Nigeria who also offer advice mostly to the FG. Note that these groups are generally quiet about what the subnational governments aren’t doing right. At one stage, one group even advocated that some FG agencies should take over the tasks for which subnational governments have constitutional powers. Their reason is that the subnationals aren’t handling things right. I asked at that time if handing over state powers to the FG was the best solution these socio-cultural groups could offer. I stated that such groups were in a position to use their substantial public profile to influence subnational governments to improve what they believed wasn’t being done right. I also stated that the actions of similar groups shouldn’t always be about advising; it should include putting in the hard work where needed. If concern for our nation is the motivation for their advocacy effort, they should show us what they, too, are doing to address the problem.Now, everyone can stay in the media space and offer advice to anyone. However, if citizens with a huge public profile are unwilling to engage subnational governments to ensure they function well within our federal arrangement, I don’t know who else can do it. I think most interveners are playing it safe, deliberately avoiding telling state governors the hard truth. It’s so convenient to offer solutions to national challenges by talking to the FG that’s far off. Are some of us who observe this phenomenon impressed? No. Do we applaud? No. We applaud hard work, not anyone talking from their comfortable corners. For there’s hard work to do to make things work in any nation.High-profile figures can handle some by engaging. FG alone can’t do it, so it’s misleading for public figures to always point to the president, thereby giving the wrong impression that sub-national governments have no role to play. Many want to be in the good books of state governors, get the best they can from them, including political appointments, while they safely dump every problem at the feet of the President. This way, the average citizen is misled, believing it’s the FG that should solve all the insecurity problems the nation has. No one says a thing about their state governors who withhold federally allocated funds meant for the LGAs.These politicians thereby disempower LGAs, only to turn around and ask the president for more soldiers to secure villagers and their crops on farmlands from herders.Many groups that should operate best at the state and LGA levels want to be associated with the FG. Those who can provide security better at local level want to be in Abuja. Some paramilitary bodies set themselves up as private organisations but want the FG to adopt them and pay their salaries. Local vigilante groups want to be under the FG. Those who should watch the forests want to be under the FG. Those traditionally known to hunt animals in the bush want to be organised by the FG before they can complement community security. Other groups call on the FG-owned electoral body to conduct LGA elections. And for a political party dispute in a ward, it’s the President some call upon to resolve it. Everyone looks for quick solutions.Related NewsState police: Govs back reforms, SDP rejects Gbajabiamila on panelTambuwal urges Nigerians to vote out Tinubu in 2027Choose Christian running mate to avoid protest votes, group warns BagoNo one wants to build either security architecture or democracy where its foundations should organically be located – at the local level.One can understand citizens who don’t have the awareness that powers are shared among the three tiers of government in Nigeria’s federal arrangement. But one should be concerned when those who have served at the highest levels give off a similar impression. The matter is worse because it seems some only seek to get maximum visibility by dumping every problem at the feet of the president. The reason for this observation is that many who know the reality in our polity still make utterances that make one wonder. We all know that states and LGAs should be part of the security architecture.As things stand, they’ve been rendered nonfunctional. Yet advocacy groups don’t seek to tackle this. Instead, everyone calls on the president to solve every problem. Many know FG’s agencies too aren’t beyond being compromised, just like it’s the case at the state and LGA levels. But they continue to demand that such agencies take over activities in education and the conduct of the LGA election.Such demands make me ask: When shall we develop the agencies at the subnational level to function effectively? Taking every matter that fails at the lower level away to the FG won’t allow LGAs to develop capacity, accountability. There’s work to be done involving rolling up the sleeves in order to bring about changes, to make subnational agencies perform. Most advocacy groups avoid this real work. Real work is sensitising the populace to place a demand on State and LGA officials for accountable and responsible governance. Real work is taking advocacy to state agencies and the LGAs regarding measures that can develop their manpower, and improve their capacity to deliver services. Real work is mobilising the people to refuse to vote for politicians who withhold funds meant for LGAs. For this is one reason development doesn’t get to communities, and insecurity persists. It’s one reason strangers enter communities to wreak havoc, and local officials are unable to do a thing about it.Real work for former state deputy governors would be to engage with their colleagues who’re currently in position on how to improve the governance process. Real work is for them to identify areas where current state governors can exercise the concurrent powers they have in the Constitution. More than half of such powers aren’t being utilised at the moment. Meanwhile, President Tinubu, at whose feet many groups dump all problems, is one man who has done the real work in his time. Before he became the governor of Lagos State, he was among those who sacrificed much to see the return of democracy. He risked it all for what he believed in. Later as a state governor, he demonstrated an understanding of the concurrent power dynamics by utilising what the constitution already provided to do his best for Lagos State.He’s been calling for devolution of more power to the subnational units for as long as anyone can remember. These days, the President encourages state governors to do more for the people with the bigger resources they have. I presume he does this because he knows the FG cannot succeed alone without the other tiers of government doing their part. That’s the President; some advocacy groups dump all problems at his feet. These attention-grabbing moves that don’t offer practical solutions to the nation’s problems need to stop. The approach of pointing to the FG over every issue can’t work – from security to social services, and from infrastructure to the economic well-being of citizens. We know by now that states and LGAs are where much of the work of reform is. Groups that really have the interest of this nation as their motive for associating should concentrate more on the sub-national governments. Now, everyone can stay in the media space and offer advice to anyone. However, if citizens with a huge public profile are unwilling to engage subnational governments to ensure they function well within our federal arrangement, I don’t know who else can do it. I think most interveners are playing it safe, deliberately avoiding telling state governors the hard truth. It’s so convenient to offer solutions to national challenges by talking to the FG that’s far off. Are some of us who observe this phenomenon impressed? No. Do we applaud? No. We applaud hard work, not anyone talking from their comfortable corners. For there’s hard work to do to make things work in any nation.High-profile figures can handle some by engaging. FG alone can’t do it, so it’s misleading for public figures to always point to the president, thereby giving the wrong impression that sub-national governments have no role to play. Many want to be in the good books of state governors, get the best they can from them, including political appointments, while they safely dump every problem at the feet of the President. This way, the average citizen is misled, believing it’s the FG that should solve all the insecurity problems the nation has. No one says a thing about their state governors who withhold federally allocated funds meant for the LGAs.These politicians thereby disempower LGAs, only to turn around and ask the president for more soldiers to secure villagers and their crops on farmlands from herders.Many groups that should operate best at the state and LGA levels want to be associated with the FG. Those who can provide security better at local level want to be in Abuja. Some paramilitary bodies set themselves up as private organisations but want the FG to adopt them and pay their salaries. Local vigilante groups want to be under the FG. Those who should watch the forests want to be under the FG. Those traditionally known to hunt animals in the bush want to be organised by the FG before they can complement community security. Other groups call on the FG-owned electoral body to conduct LGA elections. And for a political party dispute in a ward, it’s the President some call upon to resolve it. Everyone looks for quick solutions.Related NewsState police: Govs back reforms, SDP rejects Gbajabiamila on panelTambuwal urges Nigerians to vote out Tinubu in 2027Choose Christian running mate to avoid protest votes, group warns BagoNo one wants to build either security architecture or democracy where its foundations should organically be located – at the local level.One can understand citizens who don’t have the awareness that powers are shared among the three tiers of government in Nigeria’s federal arrangement. But one should be concerned when those who have served at the highest levels give off a similar impression. The matter is worse because it seems some only seek to get maximum visibility by dumping every problem at the feet of the president. The reason for this observation is that many who know the reality in our polity still make utterances that make one wonder. We all know that states and LGAs should be part of the security architecture.As things stand, they’ve been rendered nonfunctional. Yet advocacy groups don’t seek to tackle this. Instead, everyone calls on the president to solve every problem. Many know FG’s agencies too aren’t beyond being compromised, just like it’s the case at the state and LGA levels. But they continue to demand that such agencies take over activities in education and the conduct of the LGA election.Such demands make me ask: When shall we develop the agencies at the subnational level to function effectively? Taking every matter that fails at the lower level away to the FG won’t allow LGAs to develop capacity, accountability. There’s work to be done involving rolling up the sleeves in order to bring about changes, to make subnational agencies perform. Most advocacy groups avoid this real work. Real work is sensitising the populace to place a demand on State and LGA officials for accountable and responsible governance. Real work is taking advocacy to state agencies and the LGAs regarding measures that can develop their manpower, and improve their capacity to deliver services. Real work is mobilising the people to refuse to vote for politicians who withhold funds meant for LGAs. For this is one reason development doesn’t get to communities, and insecurity persists. It’s one reason strangers enter communities to wreak havoc, and local officials are unable to do a thing about it.Real work for former state deputy governors would be to engage with their colleagues who’re currently in position on how to improve the governance process. Real work is for them to identify areas where current state governors can exercise the concurrent powers they have in the Constitution. More than half of such powers aren’t being utilised at the moment. Meanwhile, President Tinubu, at whose feet many groups dump all problems, is one man who has done the real work in his time. Before he became the governor of Lagos State, he was among those who sacrificed much to see the return of democracy. He risked it all for what he believed in. Later as a state governor, he demonstrated an understanding of the concurrent power dynamics by utilising what the constitution already provided to do his best for Lagos State.He’s been calling for devolution of more power to the subnational units for as long as anyone can remember. These days, the President encourages state governors to do more for the people with the bigger resources they have. I presume he does this because he knows the FG cannot succeed alone without the other tiers of government doing their part. That’s the President; some advocacy groups dump all problems at his feet. These attention-grabbing moves that don’t offer practical solutions to the nation’s problems need to stop. The approach of pointing to the FG over every issue can’t work – from security to social services, and from infrastructure to the economic well-being of citizens. We know by now that states and LGAs are where much of the work of reform is. Groups that really have the interest of this nation as their motive for associating should concentrate more on the sub-national governments. High-profile figures can handle some by engaging. FG alone can’t do it, so it’s misleading for public figures to always point to the president, thereby giving the wrong impression that sub-national governments have no role to play. Many want to be in the good books of state governors, get the best they can from them, including political appointments, while they safely dump every problem at the feet of the President. This way, the average citizen is misled, believing it’s the FG that should solve all the insecurity problems the nation has. No one says a thing about their state governors who withhold federally allocated funds meant for the LGAs.These politicians thereby disempower LGAs, only to turn around and ask the president for more soldiers to secure villagers and their crops on farmlands from herders.Many groups that should operate best at the state and LGA levels want to be associated with the FG. Those who can provide security better at local level want to be in Abuja. Some paramilitary bodies set themselves up as private organisations but want the FG to adopt them and pay their salaries. Local vigilante groups want to be under the FG. Those who should watch the forests want to be under the FG. Those traditionally known to hunt animals in the bush want to be organised by the FG before they can complement community security. Other groups call on the FG-owned electoral body to conduct LGA elections. And for a political party dispute in a ward, it’s the President some call upon to resolve it. Everyone looks for quick solutions.Related NewsState police: Govs back reforms, SDP rejects Gbajabiamila on panelTambuwal urges Nigerians to vote out Tinubu in 2027Choose Christian running mate to avoid protest votes, group warns BagoNo one wants to build either security architecture or democracy where its foundations should organically be located – at the local level.One can understand citizens who don’t have the awareness that powers are shared among the three tiers of government in Nigeria’s federal arrangement. But one should be concerned when those who have served at the highest levels give off a similar impression. The matter is worse because it seems some only seek to get maximum visibility by dumping every problem at the feet of the president. The reason for this observation is that many who know the reality in our polity still make utterances that make one wonder. We all know that states and LGAs should be part of the security architecture.As things stand, they’ve been rendered nonfunctional. Yet advocacy groups don’t seek to tackle this. Instead, everyone calls on the president to solve every problem. Many know FG’s agencies too aren’t beyond being compromised, just like it’s the case at the state and LGA levels. But they continue to demand that such agencies take over activities in education and the conduct of the LGA election.Such demands make me ask: When shall we develop the agencies at the subnational level to function effectively? Taking every matter that fails at the lower level away to the FG won’t allow LGAs to develop capacity, accountability. There’s work to be done involving rolling up the sleeves in order to bring about changes, to make subnational agencies perform. Most advocacy groups avoid this real work. Real work is sensitising the populace to place a demand on State and LGA officials for accountable and responsible governance. Real work is taking advocacy to state agencies and the LGAs regarding measures that can develop their manpower, and improve their capacity to deliver services. Real work is mobilising the people to refuse to vote for politicians who withhold funds meant for LGAs. For this is one reason development doesn’t get to communities, and insecurity persists. It’s one reason strangers enter communities to wreak havoc, and local officials are unable to do a thing about it.Real work for former state deputy governors would be to engage with their colleagues who’re currently in position on how to improve the governance process. Real work is for them to identify areas where current state governors can exercise the concurrent powers they have in the Constitution. More than half of such powers aren’t being utilised at the moment. Meanwhile, President Tinubu, at whose feet many groups dump all problems, is one man who has done the real work in his time. Before he became the governor of Lagos State, he was among those who sacrificed much to see the return of democracy. He risked it all for what he believed in. Later as a state governor, he demonstrated an understanding of the concurrent power dynamics by utilising what the constitution already provided to do his best for Lagos State.He’s been calling for devolution of more power to the subnational units for as long as anyone can remember. These days, the President encourages state governors to do more for the people with the bigger resources they have. I presume he does this because he knows the FG cannot succeed alone without the other tiers of government doing their part. That’s the President; some advocacy groups dump all problems at his feet. These attention-grabbing moves that don’t offer practical solutions to the nation’s problems need to stop. The approach of pointing to the FG over every issue can’t work – from security to social services, and from infrastructure to the economic well-being of citizens. We know by now that states and LGAs are where much of the work of reform is. Groups that really have the interest of this nation as their motive for associating should concentrate more on the sub-national governments. These politicians thereby disempower LGAs, only to turn around and ask the president for more soldiers to secure villagers and their crops on farmlands from herders.Many groups that should operate best at the state and LGA levels want to be associated with the FG. Those who can provide security better at local level want to be in Abuja. Some paramilitary bodies set themselves up as private organisations but want the FG to adopt them and pay their salaries. Local vigilante groups want to be under the FG. Those who should watch the forests want to be under the FG. Those traditionally known to hunt animals in the bush want to be organised by the FG before they can complement community security. Other groups call on the FG-owned electoral body to conduct LGA elections. And for a political party dispute in a ward, it’s the President some call upon to resolve it. Everyone looks for quick solutions.Related NewsState police: Govs back reforms, SDP rejects Gbajabiamila on panelTambuwal urges Nigerians to vote out Tinubu in 2027Choose Christian running mate to avoid protest votes, group warns BagoNo one wants to build either security architecture or democracy where its foundations should organically be located – at the local level.One can understand citizens who don’t have the awareness that powers are shared among the three tiers of government in Nigeria’s federal arrangement. But one should be concerned when those who have served at the highest levels give off a similar impression. The matter is worse because it seems some only seek to get maximum visibility by dumping every problem at the feet of the president. The reason for this observation is that many who know the reality in our polity still make utterances that make one wonder. We all know that states and LGAs should be part of the security architecture.As things stand, they’ve been rendered nonfunctional. Yet advocacy groups don’t seek to tackle this. Instead, everyone calls on the president to solve every problem. Many know FG’s agencies too aren’t beyond being compromised, just like it’s the case at the state and LGA levels. But they continue to demand that such agencies take over activities in education and the conduct of the LGA election.Such demands make me ask: When shall we develop the agencies at the subnational level to function effectively? Taking every matter that fails at the lower level away to the FG won’t allow LGAs to develop capacity, accountability. There’s work to be done involving rolling up the sleeves in order to bring about changes, to make subnational agencies perform. Most advocacy groups avoid this real work. Real work is sensitising the populace to place a demand on State and LGA officials for accountable and responsible governance. Real work is taking advocacy to state agencies and the LGAs regarding measures that can develop their manpower, and improve their capacity to deliver services. Real work is mobilising the people to refuse to vote for politicians who withhold funds meant for LGAs. For this is one reason development doesn’t get to communities, and insecurity persists. It’s one reason strangers enter communities to wreak havoc, and local officials are unable to do a thing about it.Real work for former state deputy governors would be to engage with their colleagues who’re currently in position on how to improve the governance process. Real work is for them to identify areas where current state governors can exercise the concurrent powers they have in the Constitution. More than half of such powers aren’t being utilised at the moment. Meanwhile, President Tinubu, at whose feet many groups dump all problems, is one man who has done the real work in his time. Before he became the governor of Lagos State, he was among those who sacrificed much to see the return of democracy. He risked it all for what he believed in. Later as a state governor, he demonstrated an understanding of the concurrent power dynamics by utilising what the constitution already provided to do his best for Lagos State.He’s been calling for devolution of more power to the subnational units for as long as anyone can remember. These days, the President encourages state governors to do more for the people with the bigger resources they have. I presume he does this because he knows the FG cannot succeed alone without the other tiers of government doing their part. That’s the President; some advocacy groups dump all problems at his feet. These attention-grabbing moves that don’t offer practical solutions to the nation’s problems need to stop. The approach of pointing to the FG over every issue can’t work – from security to social services, and from infrastructure to the economic well-being of citizens. We know by now that states and LGAs are where much of the work of reform is. Groups that really have the interest of this nation as their motive for associating should concentrate more on the sub-national governments. Many groups that should operate best at the state and LGA levels want to be associated with the FG. Those who can provide security better at local level want to be in Abuja. Some paramilitary bodies set themselves up as private organisations but want the FG to adopt them and pay their salaries. Local vigilante groups want to be under the FG. Those who should watch the forests want to be under the FG. Those traditionally known to hunt animals in the bush want to be organised by the FG before they can complement community security. Other groups call on the FG-owned electoral body to conduct LGA elections. And for a political party dispute in a ward, it’s the President some call upon to resolve it. Everyone looks for quick solutions.Related NewsState police: Govs back reforms, SDP rejects Gbajabiamila on panelTambuwal urges Nigerians to vote out Tinubu in 2027Choose Christian running mate to avoid protest votes, group warns BagoNo one wants to build either security architecture or democracy where its foundations should organically be located – at the local level.One can understand citizens who don’t have the awareness that powers are shared among the three tiers of government in Nigeria’s federal arrangement. But one should be concerned when those who have served at the highest levels give off a similar impression. The matter is worse because it seems some only seek to get maximum visibility by dumping every problem at the feet of the president. The reason for this observation is that many who know the reality in our polity still make utterances that make one wonder. We all know that states and LGAs should be part of the security architecture.As things stand, they’ve been rendered nonfunctional. Yet advocacy groups don’t seek to tackle this. Instead, everyone calls on the president to solve every problem. Many know FG’s agencies too aren’t beyond being compromised, just like it’s the case at the state and LGA levels. But they continue to demand that such agencies take over activities in education and the conduct of the LGA election.Such demands make me ask: When shall we develop the agencies at the subnational level to function effectively? Taking every matter that fails at the lower level away to the FG won’t allow LGAs to develop capacity, accountability. There’s work to be done involving rolling up the sleeves in order to bring about changes, to make subnational agencies perform. Most advocacy groups avoid this real work. Real work is sensitising the populace to place a demand on State and LGA officials for accountable and responsible governance. Real work is taking advocacy to state agencies and the LGAs regarding measures that can develop their manpower, and improve their capacity to deliver services. Real work is mobilising the people to refuse to vote for politicians who withhold funds meant for LGAs. For this is one reason development doesn’t get to communities, and insecurity persists. It’s one reason strangers enter communities to wreak havoc, and local officials are unable to do a thing about it.Real work for former state deputy governors would be to engage with their colleagues who’re currently in position on how to improve the governance process. Real work is for them to identify areas where current state governors can exercise the concurrent powers they have in the Constitution. More than half of such powers aren’t being utilised at the moment. Meanwhile, President Tinubu, at whose feet many groups dump all problems, is one man who has done the real work in his time. Before he became the governor of Lagos State, he was among those who sacrificed much to see the return of democracy. He risked it all for what he believed in. Later as a state governor, he demonstrated an understanding of the concurrent power dynamics by utilising what the constitution already provided to do his best for Lagos State.He’s been calling for devolution of more power to the subnational units for as long as anyone can remember. These days, the President encourages state governors to do more for the people with the bigger resources they have. I presume he does this because he knows the FG cannot succeed alone without the other tiers of government doing their part. That’s the President; some advocacy groups dump all problems at his feet. These attention-grabbing moves that don’t offer practical solutions to the nation’s problems need to stop. The approach of pointing to the FG over every issue can’t work – from security to social services, and from infrastructure to the economic well-being of citizens. We know by now that states and LGAs are where much of the work of reform is. Groups that really have the interest of this nation as their motive for associating should concentrate more on the sub-national governments. No one wants to build either security architecture or democracy where its foundations should organically be located – at the local level.One can understand citizens who don’t have the awareness that powers are shared among the three tiers of government in Nigeria’s federal arrangement. But one should be concerned when those who have served at the highest levels give off a similar impression. The matter is worse because it seems some only seek to get maximum visibility by dumping every problem at the feet of the president. The reason for this observation is that many who know the reality in our polity still make utterances that make one wonder. We all know that states and LGAs should be part of the security architecture.As things stand, they’ve been rendered nonfunctional. Yet advocacy groups don’t seek to tackle this. Instead, everyone calls on the president to solve every problem. Many know FG’s agencies too aren’t beyond being compromised, just like it’s the case at the state and LGA levels. But they continue to demand that such agencies take over activities in education and the conduct of the LGA election.Such demands make me ask: When shall we develop the agencies at the subnational level to function effectively? Taking every matter that fails at the lower level away to the FG won’t allow LGAs to develop capacity, accountability. There’s work to be done involving rolling up the sleeves in order to bring about changes, to make subnational agencies perform. Most advocacy groups avoid this real work. Real work is sensitising the populace to place a demand on State and LGA officials for accountable and responsible governance. Real work is taking advocacy to state agencies and the LGAs regarding measures that can develop their manpower, and improve their capacity to deliver services. Real work is mobilising the people to refuse to vote for politicians who withhold funds meant for LGAs. For this is one reason development doesn’t get to communities, and insecurity persists. It’s one reason strangers enter communities to wreak havoc, and local officials are unable to do a thing about it.Real work for former state deputy governors would be to engage with their colleagues who’re currently in position on how to improve the governance process. Real work is for them to identify areas where current state governors can exercise the concurrent powers they have in the Constitution. More than half of such powers aren’t being utilised at the moment. Meanwhile, President Tinubu, at whose feet many groups dump all problems, is one man who has done the real work in his time. Before he became the governor of Lagos State, he was among those who sacrificed much to see the return of democracy. He risked it all for what he believed in. Later as a state governor, he demonstrated an understanding of the concurrent power dynamics by utilising what the constitution already provided to do his best for Lagos State.He’s been calling for devolution of more power to the subnational units for as long as anyone can remember. These days, the President encourages state governors to do more for the people with the bigger resources they have. I presume he does this because he knows the FG cannot succeed alone without the other tiers of government doing their part. That’s the President; some advocacy groups dump all problems at his feet. These attention-grabbing moves that don’t offer practical solutions to the nation’s problems need to stop. The approach of pointing to the FG over every issue can’t work – from security to social services, and from infrastructure to the economic well-being of citizens. We know by now that states and LGAs are where much of the work of reform is. Groups that really have the interest of this nation as their motive for associating should concentrate more on the sub-national governments. One can understand citizens who don’t have the awareness that powers are shared among the three tiers of government in Nigeria’s federal arrangement. But one should be concerned when those who have served at the highest levels give off a similar impression. The matter is worse because it seems some only seek to get maximum visibility by dumping every problem at the feet of the president. The reason for this observation is that many who know the reality in our polity still make utterances that make one wonder. We all know that states and LGAs should be part of the security architecture.As things stand, they’ve been rendered nonfunctional. Yet advocacy groups don’t seek to tackle this. Instead, everyone calls on the president to solve every problem. Many know FG’s agencies too aren’t beyond being compromised, just like it’s the case at the state and LGA levels. But they continue to demand that such agencies take over activities in education and the conduct of the LGA election.Such demands make me ask: When shall we develop the agencies at the subnational level to function effectively? Taking every matter that fails at the lower level away to the FG won’t allow LGAs to develop capacity, accountability. There’s work to be done involving rolling up the sleeves in order to bring about changes, to make subnational agencies perform. Most advocacy groups avoid this real work. Real work is sensitising the populace to place a demand on State and LGA officials for accountable and responsible governance. Real work is taking advocacy to state agencies and the LGAs regarding measures that can develop their manpower, and improve their capacity to deliver services. Real work is mobilising the people to refuse to vote for politicians who withhold funds meant for LGAs. For this is one reason development doesn’t get to communities, and insecurity persists. It’s one reason strangers enter communities to wreak havoc, and local officials are unable to do a thing about it.Real work for former state deputy governors would be to engage with their colleagues who’re currently in position on how to improve the governance process. Real work is for them to identify areas where current state governors can exercise the concurrent powers they have in the Constitution. More than half of such powers aren’t being utilised at the moment. Meanwhile, President Tinubu, at whose feet many groups dump all problems, is one man who has done the real work in his time. Before he became the governor of Lagos State, he was among those who sacrificed much to see the return of democracy. He risked it all for what he believed in. Later as a state governor, he demonstrated an understanding of the concurrent power dynamics by utilising what the constitution already provided to do his best for Lagos State.He’s been calling for devolution of more power to the subnational units for as long as anyone can remember. These days, the President encourages state governors to do more for the people with the bigger resources they have. I presume he does this because he knows the FG cannot succeed alone without the other tiers of government doing their part. That’s the President; some advocacy groups dump all problems at his feet. These attention-grabbing moves that don’t offer practical solutions to the nation’s problems need to stop. The approach of pointing to the FG over every issue can’t work – from security to social services, and from infrastructure to the economic well-being of citizens. We know by now that states and LGAs are where much of the work of reform is. Groups that really have the interest of this nation as their motive for associating should concentrate more on the sub-national governments. As things stand, they’ve been rendered nonfunctional. Yet advocacy groups don’t seek to tackle this. Instead, everyone calls on the president to solve every problem. Many know FG’s agencies too aren’t beyond being compromised, just like it’s the case at the state and LGA levels. But they continue to demand that such agencies take over activities in education and the conduct of the LGA election.Such demands make me ask: When shall we develop the agencies at the subnational level to function effectively? Taking every matter that fails at the lower level away to the FG won’t allow LGAs to develop capacity, accountability. There’s work to be done involving rolling up the sleeves in order to bring about changes, to make subnational agencies perform. Most advocacy groups avoid this real work. Real work is sensitising the populace to place a demand on State and LGA officials for accountable and responsible governance. Real work is taking advocacy to state agencies and the LGAs regarding measures that can develop their manpower, and improve their capacity to deliver services. Real work is mobilising the people to refuse to vote for politicians who withhold funds meant for LGAs. For this is one reason development doesn’t get to communities, and insecurity persists. It’s one reason strangers enter communities to wreak havoc, and local officials are unable to do a thing about it.Real work for former state deputy governors would be to engage with their colleagues who’re currently in position on how to improve the governance process. Real work is for them to identify areas where current state governors can exercise the concurrent powers they have in the Constitution. More than half of such powers aren’t being utilised at the moment. Meanwhile, President Tinubu, at whose feet many groups dump all problems, is one man who has done the real work in his time. Before he became the governor of Lagos State, he was among those who sacrificed much to see the return of democracy. He risked it all for what he believed in. Later as a state governor, he demonstrated an understanding of the concurrent power dynamics by utilising what the constitution already provided to do his best for Lagos State.He’s been calling for devolution of more power to the subnational units for as long as anyone can remember. These days, the President encourages state governors to do more for the people with the bigger resources they have. I presume he does this because he knows the FG cannot succeed alone without the other tiers of government doing their part. That’s the President; some advocacy groups dump all problems at his feet. These attention-grabbing moves that don’t offer practical solutions to the nation’s problems need to stop. The approach of pointing to the FG over every issue can’t work – from security to social services, and from infrastructure to the economic well-being of citizens. We know by now that states and LGAs are where much of the work of reform is. Groups that really have the interest of this nation as their motive for associating should concentrate more on the sub-national governments. Such demands make me ask: When shall we develop the agencies at the subnational level to function effectively? Taking every matter that fails at the lower level away to the FG won’t allow LGAs to develop capacity, accountability. There’s work to be done involving rolling up the sleeves in order to bring about changes, to make subnational agencies perform. Most advocacy groups avoid this real work. Real work is sensitising the populace to place a demand on State and LGA officials for accountable and responsible governance. Real work is taking advocacy to state agencies and the LGAs regarding measures that can develop their manpower, and improve their capacity to deliver services. Real work is mobilising the people to refuse to vote for politicians who withhold funds meant for LGAs. For this is one reason development doesn’t get to communities, and insecurity persists. It’s one reason strangers enter communities to wreak havoc, and local officials are unable to do a thing about it.Real work for former state deputy governors would be to engage with their colleagues who’re currently in position on how to improve the governance process. Real work is for them to identify areas where current state governors can exercise the concurrent powers they have in the Constitution. More than half of such powers aren’t being utilised at the moment. Meanwhile, President Tinubu, at whose feet many groups dump all problems, is one man who has done the real work in his time. Before he became the governor of Lagos State, he was among those who sacrificed much to see the return of democracy. He risked it all for what he believed in. Later as a state governor, he demonstrated an understanding of the concurrent power dynamics by utilising what the constitution already provided to do his best for Lagos State.He’s been calling for devolution of more power to the subnational units for as long as anyone can remember. These days, the President encourages state governors to do more for the people with the bigger resources they have. I presume he does this because he knows the FG cannot succeed alone without the other tiers of government doing their part. That’s the President; some advocacy groups dump all problems at his feet. These attention-grabbing moves that don’t offer practical solutions to the nation’s problems need to stop. The approach of pointing to the FG over every issue can’t work – from security to social services, and from infrastructure to the economic well-being of citizens. We know by now that states and LGAs are where much of the work of reform is. Groups that really have the interest of this nation as their motive for associating should concentrate more on the sub-national governments. Real work for former state deputy governors would be to engage with their colleagues who’re currently in position on how to improve the governance process. Real work is for them to identify areas where current state governors can exercise the concurrent powers they have in the Constitution. More than half of such powers aren’t being utilised at the moment. Meanwhile, President Tinubu, at whose feet many groups dump all problems, is one man who has done the real work in his time. Before he became the governor of Lagos State, he was among those who sacrificed much to see the return of democracy. He risked it all for what he believed in. Later as a state governor, he demonstrated an understanding of the concurrent power dynamics by utilising what the constitution already provided to do his best for Lagos State.He’s been calling for devolution of more power to the subnational units for as long as anyone can remember. These days, the President encourages state governors to do more for the people with the bigger resources they have. I presume he does this because he knows the FG cannot succeed alone without the other tiers of government doing their part. That’s the President; some advocacy groups dump all problems at his feet. These attention-grabbing moves that don’t offer practical solutions to the nation’s problems need to stop. The approach of pointing to the FG over every issue can’t work – from security to social services, and from infrastructure to the economic well-being of citizens. We know by now that states and LGAs are where much of the work of reform is. Groups that really have the interest of this nation as their motive for associating should concentrate more on the sub-national governments. He’s been calling for devolution of more power to the subnational units for as long as anyone can remember. These days, the President encourages state governors to do more for the people with the bigger resources they have. I presume he does this because he knows the FG cannot succeed alone without the other tiers of government doing their part. That’s the President; some advocacy groups dump all problems at his feet. These attention-grabbing moves that don’t offer practical solutions to the nation’s problems need to stop. The approach of pointing to the FG over every issue can’t work – from security to social services, and from infrastructure to the economic well-being of citizens. We know by now that states and LGAs are where much of the work of reform is. Groups that really have the interest of this nation as their motive for associating should concentrate more on the sub-national governments.