A Critique of Nigerian Federalism and Need for Restructuring Towards Achieving Vision 2030

Abstract

This paper underscores a critique of Nigeria’s choice of a federal option, the current state of which has led to the incessant clamour, across the nation for restructuring. Federalism in Nigeria since 1960 was adopted to accommodate the nation’s heterogeneous culture with the sole aim of maintaining unity in diversity. The dysfunctional system has been observed to be the main bane of Nigeria underdevelopment, instability, and absence of good governance all of which can negatively affect the achievement of a sustainable national development plan like the Vision 2030. This paper argues that Nigeria is yet to evolve a truly federal system capable of taking care of its numerous challenges. Writing from a historical perspective, the paper uncovers that there are logical inconsistencies in Nigeria’s practice of federalism. What gets here is a hidden unitary framework. The call for restructuring is in a general sense borne out of some apparent degrees of foul play and disparity presently perceived by the part units emerging from defective federalism. Understood in the above is that the necessary ingredients of sustainable democracy and governance are completely lacking in Nigeria. Thus, if the proposed Vision 2030 or any other national development plan is to be accomplished, there has to be a restructuring of the dysfunctional political system; a restructuring that devolves power to the federating units leaving the federal government with vital aspects like defence, foreign affairs among others; a return to the regional arrangement of the past.