The Saturday Tribune published an editorial post by Farooq Kperogi on January 27, 2024, analyzing the growing concerns in Northern Nigeria regarding the President Bola Ahmed Tinubu administration’s purported plan to relocate Nigeria’s federal capital back to Lagos. The recent proposals by the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) and the Ministry of Aviation and Aerospace Development to move some of their operations to Lagos were the source of the controversy.
In the op-ed, Kperogi, while delving into the claim that CBN Governor Olayemi Cardoso is planning to relocate key departments like the Banking Supervision Department, Other Financial Institutions Supervision Department, Consumer Protection Department, Payment Systems Management Department, and Financial Policy and Regulations Department to Lagos, refuted the notion and harped on the legal impossibility of moving the federal capital from Abuja to Lagos in a democratic setting.
While he acknowledged the anxieties in Northern Nigeria, Kperogi argued that the decisions to relocate certain departments are not inherently anti-Northern. He concurred with the Tinubu administration that Lagos’ status as Nigeria’s commercial capital and the location of the majority of banks makes sense for the transfer of CBN’s operational divisions there. In a same vein, he believed that Lagos’s importance in aviation was justified by the Federal Airport Authority of Nigeria’s (FAAN) decision to relocate its headquarters there.
Despite the fact that the concerns raise questions about disruption and regional ramifications, Kperogi maintained that there is no intrinsic prejudice against the North in the policy decisions themselves. He cited the National Examination Council (NECO) in Minna and the Nigerian Railway Corporation (NRC) in Lagos as examples of government organisations and departments that are not required to have their headquarters in Abuja.
Kperogi took issue with the president’s spokesperson, though, for thinking that doubters and opponents were just “mischief-makers” and “dishonest ethnic and regional champions. He contended that such bellicosity is unwarranted and unhelpful, particularly as it lacks factual basis.
The author acknowledged personal conflicts within the CBN and FAAN, masquerading as regional battles, but stressed the need to consider the genuine anxieties of those troubled by the perceived systematic administrative shift from Abuja. He also raised concerns about Tinubu’s leadership style, which he described as Lagos-centric, and might contribute to suspicions of him having a regional agenda.
Kperogi addressed the unease about a Yoruba regional script, the “Development Agenda for Western Nigeria (DAWN),” associated with Tinubu. While acknowledging the document’s forward-looking goals, he pointed out that feelings, rather than evidence, often drive narratives.
In conclusion, the op-ed provided a critical analysis of the situation, urged a nuanced understanding of the policy decisions and emphasized the importance of evidence-based discourse in dispelling unfounded fears.
