Comfort Yakubu
Nigeria’s unity has been faced with challenges in recent years, with some calling for restructuring and others agitating for secession. Nigeria has quite a number of ethnic groups with fears of domination and not being fairly treated within the federation by various groups.
The need for true federalism has been proposed by the students and Lecturers of the Department of Political Science, University of Abuja, During a debate on “Federalism and Nigeria’s Development organized by Professor and Mrs. Aaron T Gana Foundation .The forum allows students and lecturers to share their perspectives on the country’s political landscape.
The Head of Department, Political Science and International Studies, Professor Musa Salihu-Ibori said a society that does not know its history is a lost society and that is why it has become imperative for young Nigerians to be told the need for a good practice of federalism.He said “This Foundation in its wisdom thought to awaken student’s consciousness and knowledge on federalism because Nigeria is a federal state and there are so many things that are going on in the Nigerian federation that are not permitted. There are some countries that history is a prerequisite just like we make Mathematics and English requirement to go anywhere or get admission in schools.”
A Professor of Political science and International Studies, Solomon Ogbu, said despite Nigeria’s many challenges in implementing federalism as a system of government, it still remains the best option for the nation because of its heterogeneous nature.He said, for a heterogeneous country like Nigeria, the nation has no choice but to adopt federalism because it is designed to cater for the interest of the various diverse groups and also shield minority groups from the fear of marginalization if well implemented.Ogbu, who is also a Barrister, argued that unlike the unitary system which is only applicable in a homogenous setting, federalism has the advantage of devolution of powers across the various regions and if well implemented, has numerous benefits for a nation like Nigeria.Awolowo before he died was quoted as saying that Nigeria is made up of 250 ethnic groups, each of them is made of its own sub culture, different language, different religions. I want you to imagine that because in that kind of scenario, it will be difficult to rule such a country under a unitary system.
