Is there True Federalism in Nigeria?

Federalism in Nigeria, Fake? Hybrid? or Nigerian?
   composed by Damilola Abolarin

Distinguished Nigerian, have canvassed for true federalism as the solution to the heap of problems facing the nation.” The question (or problem) is whether the Nigerian constitution embodies true federalism?

Professor Dipo Kolawole of the Ekiti state University once said that "Nigeria represents, in a paradoxical sense, a nation where the conditions precedent for a federation predominate but where the successful practice of federalism has become a mirage. Therefore, rather than benefiting from the gains of federalism, for over fifty years of independence, we are still struggling on how to adapt to the federal institutional framework. The paradox does not start from there, it predated independence". From the McPherson Constitution of 1951 and especially from the succeeding Lyttleton Constitution of 1954, the British colonial rulers had planted the seed of federalism. The irony is that planting a seed does not of necessity translate to germination. In many human situations, a planted seed must be watered and nurtured to germinate.

Nigeria’s diversities are reflected in her forces of ethnic nationalism, economy, politics, religion, geography and language to mention just a few. Like many other twenty countries of the world administered as federations which include Brazil, Australia, Germany and the United States of America, with a good leadership which is seen as competent and capable of advancing the advantages of pluralism, Nigeria has no reason for not being a success story of federalism and a universally respected reference point of an ideal federalism.

Constraints on Nigeria’s Federalism

Nigerian federalism has continued to suffer some constraints which, instead of abating, are constantly and progressively becoming malignant. The factor can be located within the forces of history, nature and character of institutional framework, leadership, as well as regime instability.

In my opinion, the "true federalism" can only be established when Nigeria is able to successfully weaken the centre and encourage regional integration. Let each geo-political zone identify areas of strength and begin to work on attracting investment in those areas

 Solution ( individual opinions)

"This is not about picking what shirt or tie to wear, or deciding whether honey or butter tastes best with whole wheat bread. This is about decision on how a Nation of over 150 million people can move forward. Multiple perspectives don't work in this case. Either we understand what exactly we want, or we stop fooling ourselves and get to working with what we already have to make it better".

There is no such thing as [true] 'federalism' if devoid of context. You cannot address any social concept as a context-free idea - Human right, poverty as social discourses can be best understood within a language unit that helps to determine its interpretation. So the concept of true federalism implies (by definition) that there is a social arrangement that exist independent of the people in question. This cannot be the case. The law/constitution were created in a somewhat abstract sense- but as time goes by it become necessary to update them (constitution or law) because PEOPLE guild the LAW- its not the other way round. 

My point is that true federalism cannot be context-free. I.e Nigeria is currently practicing true federalism not as it says in the textbook but as it says on ground.

Everyone is bound to have different ideas on what true federalism should be, just like we have different perspectives on just about anything. It is this divergence in opinion that represents the major selling point for a national conference, because such a conference will provide a forum for arriving at common ground.

However, I believe that the conference is not practicable at this time, as the wrangling over who should attend and how the conference will be funded are likely to "overheat the polity", as the cliche goes. So, the basic principle of federalism, which is weakening the power of Abuja, appears the most pragmatic and implementable solution.