IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/a/arp/ijwpds/2018p112-118.html
   My bibliography  Save this article

Federalism and the Challenges of Nation Building in Nigeria

Author

Listed:
  • Chijioke Basil Onuoha*

    (Department of Political Science and Public Administration, University of Uyo, Akwa Ibom State, Nigeria)

  • John E. Bassey

    (Department of Political Science and Public Administration, University of Uyo, Akwa Ibom State, Nigeria)

  • Henry Ufomba

    (Department of Political Science and Public Administration, University of Uyo, Akwa Ibom State, Nigeria)

Abstract

Nation-building is about building the tangible and intangible threads that hold a political entity together and gives it a sense of purpose. It was the belief of Nigerian nationalists that federalism will foster nation building in Nigeria, but fifty-eight years down the line as an independent nation, Nigeria is still grappling with challenges of nation building. Acknowledging this as a threat to the nation continued existence this paper discusses the implication of the continued practice of skewed federalism “Nigeria Model†and it effect on the country quest to become a strong and united nation. Adopting the descriptive method of enquiry as well as Integration paradigm as analytical guide, the paper argues that though federalism is the most suitable principle for ensuring nation building in a heterogeneous country like Nigeria, the “Nigeria Model†of federalism where so much fiscal resources and responsibilities is being concentrated in the center to the detriment of the states breeds confrontation between the central government and component units, thus hamper nation building. For empirical analysis, this study makes a survey of 1500 government officials and citizens out of which 1346 questionnaires were returned. The data obtained was analyzed using Pearson Correlation which showed a significant relationship between nation building and three key variables (federal structure, citizen perception of the political structure, and interaction of the tiers of government). The paper recommends, among other things, a review of the 1999 constitution to reduce the power and responsibilities of the federal government to common services like Foreign Affairs, Currency, Immigration and Defence and granting of more responsibilities to states as well as a reintroduction of the Derivation Principle which allow states generate it revenue from the resources available in it domain and give a percentage to the central government. This will bring out ingenuity inherent in the various states and lead to healthy competition in terms of development. This proposed new federal arrangement will not only give confidence to but enhance nation building in the country.

Suggested Citation

  • Chijioke Basil Onuoha* & John E. Bassey & Henry Ufomba, 2018. "Federalism and the Challenges of Nation Building in Nigeria," International Journal of World Policy and Development Studies, Academic Research Publishing Group, vol. 4(10), pages 112-118, 12-2018.
  • Handle: RePEc:arp:ijwpds:2018:p:112-118
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: https://www.arpgweb.com/pdf-files/ijwpds4(10)112-118.pdf
    Download Restriction: no

    File URL: https://www.arpgweb.com/journal/11/archive/12-2018/10/4
    Download Restriction: no
    ---><---

    Corrections

    All material on this site has been provided by the respective publishers and authors. You can help correct errors and omissions. When requesting a correction, please mention this item's handle: RePEc:arp:ijwpds:2018:p:112-118. See general information about how to correct material in RePEc.

    If you have authored this item and are not yet registered with RePEc, we encourage you to do it here. This allows to link your profile to this item. It also allows you to accept potential citations to this item that we are uncertain about.

    We have no bibliographic references for this item. You can help adding them by using this form .

    If you know of missing items citing this one, you can help us creating those links by adding the relevant references in the same way as above, for each refering item. If you are a registered author of this item, you may also want to check the "citations" tab in your RePEc Author Service profile, as there may be some citations waiting for confirmation.

    For technical questions regarding this item, or to correct its authors, title, abstract, bibliographic or download information, contact: Managing Editor (email available below). General contact details of provider: http://arpgweb.com/index.php?ic=journal&journal=11&info=aims .

    Please note that corrections may take a couple of weeks to filter through the various RePEc services.

    IDEAS is a RePEc service. RePEc uses bibliographic data supplied by the respective publishers.