Investigating the Practicality of True Federalism in Nigeria: A Review Literature (original) (raw)

NIGERIAN FEDERALISM: AN OVERVIEW OF ITS IMPERATIVES AND IMPEDIMENTS

Journal of International Studies, UUM, 2021

This article provides an overview of Nigerian federalism in relation to the imperatives and impediments of its practice, which it has been grappling with since the constitutional enactment of the system in October, 1954. This study utilized qualitative research method by way of analyzing historical archives and documents, including secondary data sources. Historical documentation method was used as the principal analysis tool in this study. The study found that federalism remains the most viable system for Nigeria based on the past and present experiences amongst the former Nigerian military regimes, politicians, British colonialists, nationalists and founding fathers of the Nigerian state. However, there has yet to be a nationally accepted arrangement to be used in operating the country's federal system. This is based on the heterogeneous nature and character of the Nigerian state. There are, however numerous impediments to the effective and efficient practice of federalism, including prolonged military rule, manipulation of religious differences and regional diversity, revenue and resource allocation politics and conflict, including poor intergovernmental relations. Thus, the search for a viable federal arrangement and its advancement continues to be explored.

Federalism in Nigeria – Problems, Prospects and the Imperative of Restructuring

IJASSH, 2018

Across the globe, Federalism has emerged as one of the most preferred form of government based on its integrative capability to approximate the heterogeneous political life of multi-ethnic and multi-linguistic societies. However in the Nigerian situation, the practice of federalism has remained a foreboding nightmare due to the skewed nature of federal practice which has led to serious contestations among the constituent nationalities thus resulting in endless tinkering and attempts at dissolution. The problem Nigeria has had to grapple is how to secure an efficient central government that would help preserve national unity while allowing free scope for the diversities of the multi-ethnic and multilingual constituent units. Despite the expansion from the colonial federal legacy of three political regions to a union of 36 states and 774 Local Governments, pressures for fundamental federal reforms have remained a persistent, intense and divisive feature of contemporary Nigerian politics. Thus, the paper utilized secondary (including historical) sources of data to show that notwithstanding the existence of other forms of logic, the main drive towards political restructuring in Nigeria is the recognition that existing state institutions, particularly at the center, are inadequate to apprehend, comprehend and resolve emerging challenges. It concludes on the note that the ability of Nigeria's post-civil war federalism to prevent state disintegration or a recurrence of large-scale ethno-secessionist violent movements has waned considerably, thus, the center would not hold much longer except the polity undergoes political, economic, structural and functional restructuring.

‘True’ Federalism in Nigeria: A Political Discourse

The call for certain changes and reforms that would allow the federating units to have full authority and autonomy, structure and design a system of local council administration, have more revenue, insure equitable representation in the federal appointments, and establish separate police force, which means re-allocation of powers and functions has brought into focus argument for the strengthening of Nigerian federalism by strengthening the states, what has been termed “true federalism”. This paper argue using the process view of federalism that conditions, factors or forces which are conducive to federal stability, or rather to the successful operation of federal polity is peculiar to a particular environment. Thus, there are no clearly definable dimensions of what makes a ‘true federalism’. Federalism is rather a process, undergoing continuous modifications to fit the peculiarities of the environment in which it is being practiced. Therefore we suggest that a radical redistribution of power and resources is required to stabilize Nigerian federal system. In fashioning the acceptable form of power sharing, the interest of the citizen must be of utmost concern.

THE CHALLENGE OF FEDERALISM AND ITS IMPLICATIONS FOR THE NIGERIAN STATE

This paper examines the current challenges of federalism in Nigeria, contextual and theoretical analyses and its implications. It aims to explain philosophically the variables that have influenced and are influencing the entrenchment of federalist option in Nigeria. In achieving this broad objective, secondary data such as scholarly works from the internet, newspapers and textbooks were used. Philosophical deduction and content analyses in relation to contextual background of federalism in Nigeria serve as the bases for arriving at the challenges of federalism in Nigeria. However, most literature on federalism focused on power relations between and among levels of government vis-à-vis fiscal federalism while issues relating to contextual dilemma and the pitfalls in the experiment have attracted few academic works. Moreover, scholarly works on the concepts of federalism are premised on the method of content analysis paying no or little attention to philosophical explanations. Hence, this paper seeks to investigate the aforementioned issues above. However, issues such as military incursion, corruption, civil war, colonial master and Nigerian elites' manipulations, etc, among others have been identified in this piece as contending factors that have created a setback to Nigerian federalism. Consequently, the paper suggests and recommended among others a strong anti-graft institution to lower the temple of corruption; an embracing fiscal formulae that sincerely and purposefully looks into population and derivation, a purposeful and un-politicised national conference should be organize; and regions or states should be encourage to tap their local resources for holistic economic development.

An Evaluation of the Origins, Structure and Features of Nigerian Federalism

Abstract: The aim of this paper is to examine the origins, structure and features of Nigerian Federalism. The paper traces the origin of Nigerian federalism to colonial insinuations of conquest and divide and rule. Colonialism began with the reorganization and fusion of territories known as amalgamation between 1861 and 1914, an act which was not meant to nurture a federal idea. The finding of this paper reveals that, Nigerian federalism is a child of necessity rather than a colonial intention for the country. The colonial conquest had altered the symbiotic and inter-group relationships that had existed and persisted between the diverse cultures and people. This was replaced by enmity, divisions and hatred with strong sense of sectionalism, ethno-religious, tribal chauvinism and geographical polarizations. Ever since 1914 to date, the structure of Nigerian federalism has dramatically transformed from the level of provinces and regions to the current structure of 36 States and 774 Local Government Areas as well as the Federal Capital Territory, Abuja. The challenges that are facing Nigerian federalism are; revenue sharing formula among the tiers, state creation, resource control and power sharing. The paper utilizes the secondary source of data and analysis of documents as its methodology. The paper concludes that Nigerians have recognized the significance of the federal system of government and opt for its preservation, because it encourages unity in diversity among the 250 ethnic groups that make up the federation.

The Controversy of Federalism in Governance in Nigeria: An Appraisal

Nigeria federalism was adopted in response to the heterogeneous nature of Nigeria in 1954. Since it's adoption, the nation has had to contend with the structural and operational defects in our federal system. These defects have largely been responsible for the restructuring of the federation from regionalism to states creation, which began in 1967 by the Gowon's Administration. However, the recent debate in Nigeria's federal system is the issue of power shift, which forms the subject of our study. To this end, the study has shown that the resolution of this agitation would be a large extent shape the future of our federation. It is important to note that, the agitation for power shift is predicated on the maginalization of the South by the North in the political process of the nation and the centrality of the state power in the political economy of the nation thereby making competition for political power very serious.

Re-Examining Federalism in Nigeria: Some Reflections

NASHERJ Vol. 11, No. 1 (June, 2013)58-65, 2013

The practice of federalism in Nigeria has come a long way. In its chequered history that has spanned through some six decades, Nigerian federalism has thrived amidst problems and prospects. Although the system has been sustained over the years despite obvious contradictions and challenges, there is no gainsaying the platitude that it is has been so for everything but true federalism. In this study, an attempt is made to reexamine the practice of federalism in Nigeria from the standpoint of some of its observable historical, structural and operational specificities with the view to proffering refreshing understanding on the essence of the practice. The paper recommends, among other things, urgent convocation of supreme national conference as an avenue to addressing and resolving nagging federalist questions in the interest of the nation.

Restructuring the Nigerian Federalism: the Proposed Form and Shape

Middle-East Journal of Scientific Research 25 (7): 1518-1526, 2017

Nigeria from colonial period through post colonial period has settled for federal system of government which allows for division of powers and jurisdictions among the levels of government that make up the federation. Overtime, there have been observable imperfections in the Nigerian federalism which have triggered protests, agitations and patriotic calls for restructuring of the system. This study was intended to expose those factors that gave rise to imperfections in the Nigerian federal system and proposed the form/shape of restructuring to be adopted in the country. To achieve the above broad objective, content analytical method was adopted as data were generated from secondary sources such as official publications, articles from reputable journals, newspapers, conference and workshop papers, internet materials, textbooks, etc. This source was augmented with direct observation of the practice of federalism in Nigeria. Cooperative Federalism is the theory upon which the study is anchored. The findings revealed that there have been a lot of contradictions in the Nigerian federalism which needed urgent restructuring to bring the system to minimum international best practices. On the basis of the foregoing, we commended as follows: that there should be devolution of more powers to the federating units in Nigeria; that fiscal federalism should be practiced to give room for resource control by the federating units and that the principles of federal character as enshrined in our national constitution should be observed in appointment and location of critical infrastructure across all sections of the country.

Restructuring And Clamour For True Federalism In Nigeria: A Comparative Analysis

Advances in Social Sciences Research Journal, 2018

Federalism has been given several meaning such that the new lexicons on the subject in Nigeria are 'true' and restructuring. However, the concept has more of a normative dimension than an empirical interpretation. This makes it difficult to generalize across the various political systems that have adopted a federal system. The primary aim of federalism is to accommodate diversity in a single entity. The challenge however lies in the underlining principle of federalism that will be suitable in resolving salient political issues in these societies. The debate often has resolve around the ideal model of federal arrangement that is suitable across time and space. While there have been diverse perspectives of federalism and its operations, consensus on the ideal model is still lacking. Thus, bringing to the fore arguments that federalism is a means to an end and not an end in itself. Consequently, the issues that necessitate the adoption of federalism should be the emphasis of the principles of federalism and not the adoption of a model that may not adequately capture the peculiarities of those societies. This paper attempts a conceptualisation of the concept and makes a comparison of its practice in United States of America and Nigeria.

FEDERALISM AND POLITICAL DEVELOPMENT IN NIGERIA

In principle, Nigeria is said to be practicing Federalism since 1951. In fact, evidence on ground points to the opposite direction. As long as state governments lack control of the resources within their territories, and as long as the National Government controls law enforcement, the ultimate power of distributive and coercive politics will be concentrated at the center but under a de facto 'unitary' system. Nigeria's Federal structure is construed as a bad marriage that all parties involved dislike but dare not leave, yet there remain possibilities that could disrupt the precarious equilibrium in Abuja. It is widely believed that democracy offers a better framework than authoritarian rule, within which Federalism could be adequately utilized. However, democratic experience in Nigeria contradicts its notion of being a universal ideal. Although scholars argue that democratization is more likely to endure and succeed when it is propelled and owned by local forces than when foisted by powerful external forces. The paper concludes that efforts should be made towards blending the various communities in Nigeria into one nation in order to create a truly National Identity. This will enhance the practice of democracy and reposition Nigeria's Federalism. The paper also recommends that institutions which are rigid enough to endure the forces of change at the same time sufficiently flexible to absorb changing and often conflicting demands must be produced.