FEDERALISM IN NIGERIA: A RE‐APPRAISAL

Abstract

Nigeria is a Federal Republic made up of thirty‐six states. The history of Nigerian federalism dates back to the pre‐independence Constitution of 1954 called the Lyttleton Constitution. However, with the advent of the 1979 and 1999 Constitutions, there has been a profound change in the practice of Federalism in the Country which has called into question whether Nigeria is indeed a federation. This question has been further accentuated by the recent damning report of the National Intelligence Council of the United States Government which forecasted that by the year 2020, Nigeria might cease to exist as a nation state! The level of government that should take responsibility for such issues as power sharing arrangement, revenue allocation, maintenance of public order, fiscal federalism, judiciary are the major centripetal and centrifugal forces that have threatened the stability of the Federation. The current situation where the federal government is a towering overlord over the component states on the issue...