By Salisu Ibrahim
In Nigeria, resource sharing has remained a major source of friction among various stakeholders. The Revenue Mobilization Allocation and Fiscal Commission, is a body that’s responsible for the task and had become where friendships usually break and the nation’s federations tested.
Thanks to the firm and fair leadership of Dr. Muhammad Bello Shehu for restoring the credibility of the Commission.
Dr. Shehu has successfully built transparency and initiated an acceptable process with legitimacy that replaces political rhetoric and “shouting matches” with verifiable indices and figures on population, land mass, terrain, social development, and Internally Generated Revenue (IGR).
Under his watch, RMAFC has restored its credibility and is doing something rare; turning the Commission which used to be seen as a battlefield into a negotiation table.
As a Referee, and not a Player, Dr. Shehu has remained firm and fair. His management of the nation’s resource allocation has reduced mistrust and the process became the power for reducing tensions. That alone has reduced court cases and ‘cold war’ tensions.
Dr. Shehu’s leadership style is best described as a “data-driven diplomacy.” He replaced shouting matches with spreadsheets. When states argued over landmass, terrain, or derivation, he brought the formula to the table, not just the politics. Stakeholders who came demanding more, left the commission fully satisfied and with the full understanding of why they get what they got.
Although previous reviews prior to his assumption of office felt like, “Abuja” has been imposing decisions on states, Dr. Shehu’s resolve to open the doors for everyone through zonal hearings, technical workshops, input from ALGON, traditional rulers, civil society and other relevant stakeholders has sharply reduced reduced tensions. In fact, stakeholders may not necessarily agree with every outcome, but they no longer feel ambushed by it.
Dr. Shehu is “firm but fair”. His trademark is “firm flexibility”. He listens. He adjusts technically, but refuses to bend constitutional mandates for short-term applause. When derivation debates flared, he pushed phased, evidence-based reviews instead of sudden shocks. Oil states felt heard, while non-oil states felt protected.
Dr. Shehu has restored one thing RMAFC lost: credibility. And by leading with numbers, not rhetoric, he made, once, a distrusted commission into a place where Nigeria’s competing interests are well aggregated and decisions accepted without misgivings.
He has transformed RMAFC from a politically tense, distrusted “Abuja agency” into a credible, data-driven consensus platform for a seamless Nigeria’s fiscal federalism.
Through Consensus-Building with “Firm Flexibility”, RMAFC is now viewed as neutral referee, not as a political tool. And the bottom line is that Dr. Shehu has significantly solved Nigeria’s revenue puzzles. He has so far restored trust to the institution while managing it to the satisfaction of every stakeholder. He has successfully turned a national fault line into a functioning platform for federal consensus.
Salisu could be reached on salisuibrahimfge@gmail.com