AN EVALUATION OF THE PROBLEM AND PROSPECT OF FEDERALISM IN NIGERIA

Background of the study: Federalism has developed as one of the most popular models of governance because to its integrative ability to assess the various political life of multi-ethnic, multi-religious, and multi-lingual countries. Federalism, on the other hand, is a one-of-a-kind type of governance. This is due to the fact that it entails the structure of the state in such a way that it promotes unity while conserving existing diversities under an overall national entity (Majekodunmi, 2015). Though, in Nigeria, the practice of federalism has remained a scary terrifying because of the twisted form of the federal system, which has led to severe contestations among the integral people, leading in endless fiddling and disintegration. The difficulty Nigeria has had to face is how to save an efficient and successful central administration that would help preserve national peace while also providing free choice for the multi-ethnic, multi-religious, and multi-lingual important portions of the country (Lanre, 2017).

Nigeria is a country of amazing variety, as well as tremendous complexity. These complications are a result of the avalanche of ethno-cultural and religious groups that coexist on the area, as well as the complexity of interaction among them. Indeed, Nigeria's journey towards religious and ethnic heterogeneity owes its origins to colonial invasion, which allowed for the conquering of the whole continent of Africa beginning in the early nineteenth century. In the case of Nigeria, the union of the Northern and Southern protectorates resulted in the country being multi-ethnic and multi-lingual.

Perhaps aware of the latest challenges to the developing nation-future state's political stability, the founding fathers desired a structure of governance that would neutralize the political risks while accommodating the different interests of the many ethno-cultural groupings. This aim subsequently manifested itself as a diversity management approach in the federal form of government. However, it should be noted that, with the advent of the 1979 and 1999 constitutions, there has been a profound change in the country's practice of federalism in the sense that the system has been practiced in an awkward manner, calling into question whether Nigeria is truly operating a true federal system. This topic has been exacerbated by a recent damning study by the United States Government's national intelligence council, which predicted that Nigeria would cease to exist as a nation-state by 2020.

Given this context, and given that the operation of the system as a whole began in 1914, what is the continued relevance of the federal concept in Nigeria? This is against the backdrop of the system's previous flaws and the ramifications for political stability.

Statement of the problem: The federal political structure was established to foster national unity in a plural society such as Nigeria, as well as to retain the different social identities treasured by its constituent sections. Furthermore, the federal system's application in the Nigerian context, as well as the Nigerian political system, have continued to function with a minimum of unity and variety. The material of Nigerian Authority is gradually deteriorating as a result of competition fueled mostly by cultural common mistrust. Nigeria embraced federalism as a way of achieving the country's long-needed aim of national unity among people of many religions, ethnicities, and cultures. In essence, the adopted federalism is expected to reduce massively destructive inter-ethnic competition and tension, alleviate the commonly assumed fear of majority and minority domination, and bring government closer to the people and give these diverse groups more opportunities, thereby integrating the country; however, the opposite is the case, as unification has resulted in unequal power sharing and resource allocation among the general populous across the country. Particularly between majority and minority ethnic groupings. The problem of power and resource allocation imbalance among people has generated a significant divide as the ethnic majority has dominated the few minorities in many spheres of life in the country, particularly in power and resource allocation. The dominance of some state areas as well as minority ethnic groups has produced a vast void that has led to ethno-religious strife across the country, making it necessary for us to critically evaluate Nigerian federalism.