Rejigging the Jigsaw Country: A Constitutional Identity Crisis, Pseudo-Federalism and Subnational Impotence

Abstract

Over 100 years since its amalgamation as a British colony and protectorate, and 61 years since its independence, the Giant of Africa - Nigeria, has fallen short of even the most pessimistic projections of its potential. In terms of development, economic advancement, standard of living and social welfare, Nigeria consistently ranks amongst the worst performing countries in the world, in spite of its being blessed with tremendous natural and human resources and being one of the world's largest producers of crude oil. Despite its longstanding claim to being an indissoluble federal republic, the country is rife with ethnic and religious conflict, agitations for true federalism and even secession. Following from the foregoing, this paper examines some of the foundational issues that have continually hindered Nigeria's development - its constitutional crisis of identity, its pseudo-federalism and the impotence of its constituent parts. The paper shall examine the features of a model federalist state, with a view to determining the veracity of Nigeria's claim to the practice of federalism, and shall propose a socio-political reorganisation towards designing an efficient governance model that reflects the heterogenous developmental needs of Nigeria's constituent parts.