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.