By Tribune Online

Copyright tribuneonlineng

By: Adewale Alonge

PRESIDENT Bola Ahmed Tinubu’s administration will be remembered—for good or ill—for its bold systemic reforms: the removal of fuel subsidy and the floating of the Naira. But perhaps the most consequential, destiny-shaping, and legacy-defining reform is the pursuit of local government autonomy. Sadly, its importance is largely unappreciated. We live in survival mode. Nigerians worry about what to eat today, not about distant reforms whose benefits may not be seen tomorrow. Fuel subsidy removal and naira floating shook people at the existential level; hence they dominate the headlines. But local government autonomy—though quieter—has the potential to change Nigeria’s governance forever.

The bold Supreme Court route: Unlike subsidy removal, which Tinubu casually announced in his inaugural speech, he knew local government autonomy could not pass through the legislature. As a former governor, he understood the enormous grip governors hold over senators and representatives. Any such bill would have been dead on arrival. He therefore chose the unconventional but brilliant route—through the Supreme Court. That singular move reveals how monumental the reform is. Across Nigeria today, governors are doing everything possible to frustrate implementation. They will not give up their honeypot fiefdoms without a titanic fight. Local government allocations are their oxygen, their war chest, their piggy bank. Osun State shows us how consequential this struggle is: the government and opposition are locked in a fight-to-the-finish over who controls local government funds. Neither side can afford to lose. Only the suffering masses lose.

Governors in Nigeria are among the most powerful people on the continent. They are political Santa Clauses, distributing patronage to the loyal and punishment to dissenters. Even powerful cultural organizations such as Afenifere and Ohaneze tread carefully—they too want their share of the goodies. Nobody dares to fall into the bad books of a governor. This is why only a handful of so-called “crazies” and “knuckleheads” dare to take them on. But truth be told, the battle for local government autonomy is not a fringe struggle—it is our collective struggle. Just as Black Americans in 1964 rose to demand their civil rights against systemic denial, Nigerians must rise to demand true local government autonomy. This is our civil rights moment.

Why? Because local government is the only tier of government closest to the people. It is where the school roofs collapse, where rural roads decay, where health centers go without medicine, and where farmers are either empowered or abandoned. Without local government autonomy, development remains centralized in the hands of governors who dictate winners and losers. Community efforts are not enough. In Ijesaland, we have set up a Local Government Monitoring Committee. It is a commendable step, but let us be honest: such committees are like trying to stop a raging elephant with needles. They lack constitutional power to enforce accountability. Governors and their parties control who contests local elections, and unsurprisingly, they always win in landslides. Community monitoring is better than nothing, but it cannot uproot entrenched abuse.

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Freedom Is never given freely. Let us be clear: governors will never willingly surrender control of local government allocations. Asking them to do so is like asking a pig to abandon its muddy pond. It will not happen voluntarily. To wrestle power away requires nothing less than a civil rights–style movement. Freedom is never handed down. It must be fought for, demanded, and seized. If Nigerians are serious about grassroots development, accountability, and true democracy, then we must treat local government autonomy as our 1964. Afenifere, COYN, and other activist communities can help mobilize, but the power must come from ordinary Nigerians who refuse to be shut out of their own governance.

In conclusion, Tinubu may have taken the boldest step by going through the Supreme Court. But without citizen action, governors will suffocate the reform. This fight is not about Tinubu, APC, or PDP—it is about the people versus the political elite. Local government autonomy is not just another policy tweak—it is the foundation of genuine democracy and development in Nigeria. The governors will not give it up.
The people must rise up and take it.
The fight for local government autonomy must become for Nigerians, the equivalent of Black American 1964 fight for civil right.

•Dr. Alonge is the President and founder of Africa-Diaspora for Empowerment & Development