Appraising Nigeria’s Chequered Federalism

Abstract

The chequered federalism of Nigeria is examined in this paper. It is chequered because it is unitary in nature and the federal government, which serves as the centre wields too much power. It is also tainted by the failure of successive military and civil administrations since 1966 to properly implement true federalism, which entails transferring authority which is outlined in the exclusive list of the 1999 constitution as amended from the federal government to the states of the federation. The distribution of powers  between  the federal and federating units are unequal and uneven . Some areas of the country now feel alienated as a result of this.  The cumulative effects may be seen clearly in the constant seccession threats, inter-tribal fights, power struggle among the three main ethnic groups in the nation, ongoing security concerns, blatant corruption among the populace, and a lot of other things. This paper concludes that  power devolution from the federal government to the federating units is the solution to Nigeria's tumultuous federalism.