Government Policies and Its Constitutional Implications for National Unity in Nigeria

Abstract

The research work focuses on government policies and its constitutional implications for national unity in Nigeria. A survey research design was adopted for the study. The population consists of one thousand politicians in Anambra State. Purposive sampling technique was used to sample three hundred (300) respondents. The questionnaire was the major instrument for data collection and it was validated by two experts in public administration and political science. The mean statistics was used to analyzed the data collected. The findings of the study showed that government discriminatory policies on appointment into government positions, discriminatory policies on state of origin for employment and admission into tertiary institutions among others are policies that impede the achievement of national unity in Nigeria. The paper also discovered that the negative implications of government policies are ethnic bitterness and rancour, formation of ethnic militia, disharmonious co-existence and increased in poverty. The paper concluded that most of the government policies at the state and federal level are detrimental to the welfare and rights of the Nigerian citizens. The implications are rivalry, distrust, opposition, disharmonious co-existence which has Nigerian and made the constitution a mockery and a lame duck. Relevant recommendations were made.