Federalism and Sustainable Development in Nigeria: Problems and Prospects.

Muhammad UMAR
[email protected]
+234 7035333133
Department of Public Administration,
Gombe State University, Gombe, Nigeria

Abstract

Federalism simply means a federal system of government which allows for division of
powers and jurisdictions among the levels of government that made up the federation. There
have been a lot of lapses in the Nigerian federal system. Nigeria is a country that is in need of
development. This paper looks at the concept of federalism in relationship with the
attainment of development in Nigeria. It examined the problems and also prospects of
development in the federal system practicing in Nigeria. The sources of data used for the
study were purely secondary by means (of qualitative data). The study observed that the
creation of states and further creation of more states was to facilitate faster development in a
federal system of Nigeria. Unfortunately, this has not been achieved. The paper revealed that
some of the challenges facing Nigerian federalism are; revenue sharing formula among the
tiers, state creation, resource control and power sharing. These have all cumulated in placing
the democratic rule in the country at a disadvantaged position. (The paper adopted the
structural-functionalist theory.) The paper also discovered that federalism other than ensuring
development has on the other end hindered it. It is on the bases of this some
(recommendations were made.)

Keywords: Federalism, Sustainable, Development, prospects, Nigeria

Word count:197
Introduction

Nigeria came into existence following the coming into effect of the Nigeria Council with the
amalgamation of the Northern and Southern protectorate in 1914. The British government
rule over Nigeria territory ended on 1st October 1960 when Nigeria was declared an
independent country. Nigeria went through series of constitutional developments down to the
federal constitution in 1963.The constitution provided for Nigeria, a federal state with limited
and specific powers allocated to the federal government and the rest either shared by the
central and regional or allocated to the regional government entirely (Obingene&Ujam,
2018). The duties assigned to central government included among others defence, external
relations, foreign trade, Central Court of Justice, etc. Among the powers to be shared
included higher education, industrial development, power, insurance, etc.
The principle of Needs and National Interest that were previously part of principles of
revenue allocation under the Macpherson Constitution of 1951 was jettisoned for derivation
principle.
There was also a Federal Executive Council composed of military and civilian
commissioners/ministers. The states were practically reduced to administrative units of the
federal government as the military head of state had powers not only to create states but also
to appoint the military administrators. From 12 states created by General Gowon, Nigeria
now has 36 states and 774 Local Government Areas and all of them were created by military
administrators.

The pattern of revenue allocation also changed drastically in favour of the central
government. Revenue allocation has evolved over the years to the detriments of federating
units, economic prosperity and development. From the 50% that accrued to the region with
mineral resources in 1960 constitution to the present one as contained in 1999 constitution
where only 13% accrued to the state where mineral resources are derived. This has affected
Nigeria’s prosperity as the incentive for states to mobilise resources in order to attract more
allocation from the federation is virtually dead. The healthy economic rivalry between the
states is also dead. Nigeria which used to be among the top exporter of palm oil with most of
it being produced in Eastern Region now imports palm oil from Malaysia, a country whose
citizens came to Nigeria in 1960s to buy palm kernels to experiment in their country. The
central government also became involved in some matters that were purely regional affairs.
Some services like local policing, primary health care, secondary school (in case of unity
schools), housing, agriculture became concern of the federal government and the country
bleeds.

Concept of Federalism
According to Watts (1990), three terms are distinguishable in the explanation of federal
system of government- these are, federalism, federal political systems and federations.
Federalism is basically not a descriptive but a normative term and refers to the advocacy of
multi-tiered government combining elements of shared-rule and regional self-rule. It is based
on the presumed value and validity of combining unity and diversity and of accommodating,
preserving and promoting distinct identities within a larger political union. The essence of
federalism as a normative principle is the perpetuation of both union and non-centralization
at the same time”.
Follesdal (2018) defines federalism as “the theory or advocacy of federal principles for
dividing powers between member units and common institutions.
Frenkel (2007) states that a political system is federalist “if it is an entity composed of
territorially defined groups each of which enjoys relatively high autonomy and which,
together, participate in an ordered and permanent way in the formation of the central entity's
will”.

Concept of Development
There are numerous definitions of development. Ones opinion of development might not
necessary be the same with that of another. In fact, there are numerous perspectives as to
what the concept of development is all about. There is the perspective that sees it from the
economic perspectives, while others see it as a concept that is multidimensional, meaning that
development is beyond the economic domain. According to Meier, (1988), development is
the act of raising to the highest value the Gross National Product through the process of
accumulating capital and industrialization. Development can also be viewed as the capacity
of a nation to increase its static economy to a level where it can generate and sustain an
annual increase in its Gross National Product (GNP). Additionally, he further stated that
development is not limited to just the process of acquiring industries, but encompasses such
processes as modernization, productivity, social and economic equalization, modern technical
know-how, improved institutions, and attitudes as well as rationally coordinated policy
apparatus (Meier, 1988). In the same light, Oghator&Okobo (2000) pointed out that
development goes beyond the increase in per-capita income or economic growth, but also
includes sustainable improvements in the living standard of the people, which is guaranteed
through the provision of gainful employment, coupled with the presence and availability of
social and economic infrastructures.
For Todaro, (1985), buttressing on the multi-dimensional nature of the concept of
development opines that it is the re-organization and re-orientation of the entire economic and
social system. Ajagun,, (2003), corroborates that development is a state of advancement
which makes life more meaningful in its various aspects, including the economic,
administrative, political, social, cultural and religious aspects. This implies that development
is not about a particular aspect but it is encompassing, better still multi-dimensional
depending on the point of contention.

According to Onah, (2005), development is not static but is a continuous improvement in the
capacity of the individual and society to control and manipulate the forces of nature for the
enhancement of the living standard of the people in a society. This definition introduces
another dimension to the meaning of development, it analyses the human aspect of
development, that is, the individuals who resides in a given state. Ahmed, (2007), also noted
that development is concerned with the general upliftment in the material, social and
psychological conditions of a given human society.

Federalism in Nigeria
In Nigeria, the issue of federalism came when it was discovered that there was too much
power concentrated in the hands of a central government leading to despotism. Also, people
in different parts of the country would have different needs and different values, so it makes
sense by decentralization of power, which is a good thing for the people. Another
perspective of the origin of state and of the principles that legitimized its power is contained
in thinking about politics separate from religious beliefs and also where men and women are
not preoccupied with the problems of political stability. Other reasons are that Nigerians
would be able to adopt their own policies. Furthermore, by allowing each state to develop its
own policies, experimentation is encouraged. As each state develops its own solutions to
problems, the country gets the opportunity to see which policies work well and which ones
do not. Finally, state governments and local governments are closer to their people than the
federal government. As such, leaving issues for the states to decide is more democratic than
leaving everything for the central government to decide. State evolves when two or more
people live together permanently bounded by language, religion, culture and tradition,
among others. Importantly, it could be evolved when the continued survival of the groups
depends on findings and distributing natural resources and by extension, when food
resources are scarce, it may make people to establish a state. Therefore, state may also
evolve within a group; if there is a conflict between different social groups over the
distribution of scanty resources. In fact, the desires of the separate individuals who make up
the group may be significant to the level of forming a state when such desires must
eventually be transformed into a group will.
Thus, when creating a state, it must be followed by instrument of legitimizing the state as a
means of developing the statehood. Furthermore, the state must be legitimized, otherwise it
will not exist and that is why it takes a new military government long time to consolidate
itself in office that came to power through coup. Another instrument of legitimizing the state
is through diversifying the right of kings as a mode operando for state to exist. This is the
longest lived doctrine of politics with its skeletal remnant in the world today where there is
kingship; it also acts as a major instrument of legitimizing the state which is also contained
in the acrimony "might makes right".
Problems of Federalism and Development in Nigeria

Studies have shown that there are numerous problems facing federalism and development in
Nigeria. For Makinde, (2005), he maintains the following challenges;

i. The imposition of policies on citizens of a nation;

ii. Lack of adequate human resources or capital to implement these plans/policies;
iii. Corruption and lack of credible leadership.

Most national development problems in Nigeria arise as a result of poor implementation of

policies and subsequently lack of adequate and reliable human resources. Makinde, (2005),
further maintained that most policies of developing nations are imposed on the masses. The
policies are made by the government without considering the target population, as such the
masses are not given the opportunity to contribute in the formulation of policies that concern
their wellbeing. In addition, there are no human resources or capital to implement these plans
as a result of the low quality of human development in the country. Records from United
Nations Development Programme 2014 report reveals that Nigeria ranked number 152 out of
187 countries in Human development, which is average quality of life and standard of living.

In addition, the improper assessment of policies implemented also serves as a challenge to

development (Itah, 2012). Most policy makers fail to access the goal-achievement gap factor,
implying that policy makers often times fail to access the level of achievements of certain
implemented public policies. The reason for this is because most leaders present policies
which are too cumbersome and difficult to achieve within the short period spent in office. As
such, most plans for national development are usually abandoned at the end of such tenures
and subsequent governments also fail to continue on the plans which were left uncompleted.
Theoretical Framework

A theory is an explanation of a particular social phenomenon. The structural-functional

theory otherwise known as “functionalism” is one of sociological theories that studies
society as a system with different parts working together to unify the whole system (society).
It sees contemporary society such as Nigeria as a system with all parts working together to
meet the needs of Nigerian society. Every society is made up of sub-systems: economic,
political, family, cultural systems, education and religion. Each sub-system functions to
maintain a healthy society. Functionalist theory is based on the “organic analogy.” This is
the idea that society is like the human body. Just as the body is made up of various parts that
need to function together and properly for it to be healthy, so is society. Each part needs to
be in a state of equilibrium, or balance. Just as the human body has evolved over time, so has
society. A cogent objective of this work is to understand where Nigeria is heading to with
regard to how functionalists see Nigerian contemporary society as being unified by inter-
relationships and interdependency of the sub-systems mostly religious sub-system, we need
to understand the religious dynamics in Nigeria.Skitka and Wisneski (2003) stated that social
systems cannot function without some degree of agreement on the norms and principles that
regulate relationships among individuals. Kendall (2012) opined that a functionalist might
argue, for instance, that every society will have a religion, because religious institutions have
certain functions that contribute to the survival of the social system as a whole, just as the
organs of the body have functions that are necessary for the body’s survival. Social systems
work to maintain equilibrium.
Emile Durkheim is generally associated with the work on functionalist theories of sociology.
Elwell (2010) has it that much of Durkheim's work is concerned with functional analysis,
with seeking to understand the functions of social systems. He assumes that society has
certain functional prerequisites, the most important of which is the need for 'social
order'Oluwaseun (2012) argued that the federal government of Nigeria seems weak in
maintaining law and order in Nigeria and lacks a viable strategy to contain the Islamic sect
from carrying out its atrocities.
Prospects of Federalism towards Sustainable National Development in Nigeria
Nigeria dysfunctional federalism has caused a lot of socio-economic and political turmoil in
Nigeria and needs to be readjusted in such a way that every part of the federation will have a
sense of belonging and that no part is taking advantage of the other. The core Niger Delta
area of Nigeria that comprises the three states of Bayelsa, Rivers and Delta has witnessed
severe militant activities which have threatened not only Nigeria economy but Nigeria
continued existence as a nation.
These militant groups embarked on series of terrorist activities against the Nigeria state.
The effects of these militants’ activities on Nigeria economy and peaceful coexistence are
staggering. According to Dialoke and Edeja (2017), citingVanguard (August, 2016), Nigeria
lost 643 million litres of crude oil or N51.28 billion as a result of 3,000 incidences of pipeline
vandalization in 2015. The report also states that between 2010- 2015, Nigeria recorded
18,000 incidences of pipeline vandalization while the figure for January to May, 2016 shows
that no fewer than 1,447 incidents leading to loss of 109 million of litres of petroleum
products and 560,000 barrels of crude oil to refineries were recorded.
All these threats to nationhood are clear indication that Nigeria is ripe for readjustment. Any
delay in readjusting the country heightens tension and threatens the peace and development in
Nigeria as ChimarokeNnamani, the former governor of Enugu state rightly stated that "the
raging agitation in the Niger Delta as well as other parts of the country were compelling
indication that resource control and restructuring had become imperative in order to resolve
the turning issues of Nigeria's continued nationhood” (“Political Restructuring”
groveachive.com).

Conclusion
Generally speaking, state restructuring refers to the reorganization of the existing state
structure of any given country to achieve certain objectives. The purpose of state
restructuring is multi-faceted. In most instances, restructuring is pursued to create a more
logical organization in which the state can perform its mandate and fulfill its responsibilities
more efficiently and effectively. It can also be a pursued to reconfigure the relationship
between the state, the society and its people or to reconcile the changing dynamics between
them. It has been used to resolve internal conflict, ethnic or otherwise, including civil war or
as part of a post-colonial independence process.
Recommendations
i. The defective structure of Nigerian federalism have resulted from long time
competition and discouraging diversification of the Nigerian economy as every
component units (states) of the federation have refused to engage in productive
businesses in boosting their revenue base. That is every component units want to
draw from the central government’s federation account. This research work therefore
recommends that Nigeria should restructure her political system so as to have a true
federal system practiced which will aid economic growth and fight against the idea of
secession or dissolution of the federation.
ii. There should be devolution of powers to the component units that is the states
of the federation because their day to day activities have cumbersome impacts on
national development, most especially with the fuel subsidy removal.
iii. Nigerian federalism should be based on fiscal federalism whereby the
component units have control over resources that are found in their regions and then
pay dues to the central government. This will encourage economic diversification
and make the two tiers of government independent and coordinate as specified be the
tenets of true federalism.
iv. For the purpose of fairness, states government should have equal and the
same representation in the executive, legislative and judicial arm of the central
government.
v. The federal character principle should be seriously followed in the
appointment and location of projects, amenities and businesses of government in all
component units of the Nigerian federation.
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