FEDERALISM, RESTRUCTURING AND NATIONAL QUESTION IN NIGERIA: AN APPRAISAL

Abstract

This paper appraised Federalism, Restructuring and National Question in Nigeria. In view of this, it strove to realize the following objectives: the review Nigeria’s journey to nationhood, identifying the dysfunctional elements; the appraisal the arguments of Nigerians with respect to restructuring the polity; and the ascertaining of whether restructuring Nigeria will address issues of national question and promote national integration and development. The design was both descriptive and analytical as data were largely drawn from secondary sources while the analysis was by content analysis of documented evidences. The paper observed that besides the period between independence and the collapse of the first republic when Nigeria was close to the practice of true federalism, the Nigeria polity has largely been unitarist in nature, courtesy of long military incursion. This scenario and the distortions that accompanied it justified the current clamour for restructuring the polity. The needfulness and imperative of restructuring in actuating national integration and development were highlighted despite inherent challenges. The following recommendations were made: the need for government to put its machinery in motion to review all the various ideas being presented in the current public debate on political cum economic restructuring in Nigeria; the need for the present administration to take a studied look at the reports of the various national conferences, to identify areas of concurrence; the  Government of the day is urged to consider for implementation some of the core recommendations of the National Conference as a way forward for national integration in Nigeria if the peace needed for national development is to be achieved. Lastly, the various States Houses of Assembly should liaise with the National Assembly to deliberate and recommend a legislative strategy for addressing the demand for political restructuring without prejudice to the continued unity and shared prosperity of the nation.