(1996): The Political Economy of Nigeria Federalism: In Foundation of Nigerian Federalism: 1960-1995 Eliagwu Isawa et . Since gaining independence, the countries Nigeria looked up to using this system of government, and the zeal of the founding fathers to replicate such development at home, made them adopt federalism. Another government might offer a significant tax break to a company that encourages them to place offices in one location and not another. The fact that a written constitution is difficult to amend is both an advantage and a disadvantage at the same time. In his judgment, Ogundare JSC agreed that the provisions to Sections 162(2) of the constitution re-stabilized the principle of derivation. Performance cookies are used to understand and analyze the key performance indexes of the website which helps in delivering a better user experience for the visitors. American Federalism: A View from the States. Keep it up , Yes , I love it and I was sentitize on those reasons. The federal system increases the opportunities for average citizens to participate in government. Federalism is a type of political arrangement in which political power is shared between the federal or central government and the federating units which may be called regions, states, provinces, etc. 2. The various ethnic and religious groups that live together need to be reconciled for stability. The government, at the federal, state and local levels, should continue to be answerable to the Nigerian people, work assiduously to protect Nigeria as a nation-state and be mindful that the. There must exist supremacy of the constitution, which implies that laws passed by the authority in the federal arrangement, if contrary to the constitution shall be declared to be ultra votes. There is a need to establish institutions for the study offederalism in Nigeria and to reduce ethnic and ideological biases in research on Nigerian federalism. Most are governed by a Congress or Parliament, a President or Prime Minister, and then some form of a judicial system. This allows the central or federal government to share governmental powers between the central or federal government and the components regions, state, etc. } !1AQa"q2#BR$3br These include: 1. This helped to solve the problem of marginalization in the leadership. Federalism can encourage the passing of ridiculous laws. This process can create positive or negative results. Moreover, it is important to note that most of the ethnic groups in Nigeria had strong political inter-group relationship before colonial rule. It can also make the state governments selfish and concerned only about their own regions progress. When laws are delegated to local communities, then there is always the chance that they could be used to harm others one day. Why indirect rule succeeded in Northern Nigeria, SEE REASONS HERE. However, it is also fact that since independence Nigeria has promulgated several constitutions and that if Nigeria wanted an alternative system of government, she could have opted for it. Also, there was a demand for more local regions by all these ethnic interest groups which was what led to the creation of new states. in or register, Every province has political, social and economic problems peculiar to the region itself. Federalism in Nigeria refers to the devolution of self-governance by the West African nation of Nigeria to its federated states, who share sovereignty with the Federal Government . People must stay in compliance with the laws that are in every layer of governing. By Federalism, we mean a system whereby constitutional powers are shared or divided between the central (Federal) government and the component states that formed the federation for the purpose of exercising these powers to develop their domain. Possessing taxation power under the 16. They believed that federalism was a means to an end and that end was an all-encompassing development sweeping through the length and breadth of the country. The states were later increased to 30 states. We do hope that you find this article helpful. Also see: Historical constitutional development in Nigeria explained. Instead of mandating that everyone follows the same set of laws, this system allows each community to create a foundation that works the best for their needs. Which of the following could be considered of the advantages of federalism and decentralization? Download. Federalism provides a way for different groups of people in different parts of the country to live together. Common national, racial, religious, cultural linguistic or social ties have often contributed to the unification of political unit. Analytical cookies are used to understand how visitors interact with the website. Federalism was the only solution to ensure peace and unity amongst the leaders and the citizens and that was why federalism was adopted into the Nigerian political system. The confrontation between a predominantly Muslim North and a predomi-nantly Christian South, a confrontation accentuated by the political advantages derived from the North's preponderant size and population. In fact, Nigeria can be seen as a prime example of the "resource curse", a phenomenon where natural resource wealth leads to poor economic growth and development and an increased likelihood for civil conflict. /Length 14727 1. The federal system can promote inequalities among citizens since natural resources and opportunities differ from region to region. Copyright 2023 - IvyPanda is operated by, Continuing to use IvyPanda you agree to our, Federalism System, Its Advantages and Disadvantages, Anti-Anti Immigration: Principles to Make Migration Work, Australian Education System from 1788 to 1948, The Peopling Process of Australia Since 1788 With Influence of Racism, Methods of Dealing with Problems of Federalism, National and State Powers in American Federalism, Reasons for increase in the Powers of the Nation since 1788, Federalism and Government Styles in the United States, Federal versus State Regulation of Insurance Industry in United States. a. Nigeria's independence was gotten and founded on the basis of a federalist system of Government. Throughout history, it has been a political system where 2+ governments share authority over the same geographical area. However, that is not so in a federal government system. The 1951 constitution gave more strength to regionalism with the creation of two chamber legislation in the northern and western Nigeria. Between 1960 and 1996, the three regions have been divided into smaller entities which are now known as states and their boundaries were reorganised. This regional arrangement gave rise to ethnic sentiment and political struggle for the center among the three major ethnic groups in Nigeria. Notify me of follow-up comments by email. In many countries of the world, federalism has emerged as a means of accommodating the growing desire of people to preserve or revive the intimacy of small societies and the growing necessity for larger combinations to mobilize the utilization of common resources. Another important factor that necessitated federalism in Nigeria was the political culture of the country. Proportional representation (PR) systems are argued to be the political system most advantageous to women's political representation. Rights of the minorities are protected too. From the above explanation, one can rightly say that the constitution of Nigeria and United States of America are federal constitutions while the constitution of France and the Republic of Ireland are Unitary constitutions. Federalism often protects the will of the majority at any cost. In Nigeria, it could be argued that our federal system of government is the creation of British colonialism. w !1AQaq"2B #3Rbr You can use them for inspiration, an insight into a particular topic, a handy source of reference, or even just as a template of a certain type of paper. 3 What are advantages and disadvantages of Constitution? What Are The Advantages Of Federalism? Federalism in India. /ColorSpace /DeviceRGB << Several positive and negative attributes of federalism have manifested themselves in the U.S. political system. Presently, Nigeria has a strong center and a weak component. Knowing who is responsible for specific issues can make it difficult for any aid to make it to its intended destination. No Payment is Required! This is why federalism is such a great advantage. When the central and state governments, both work hand-in-hand for the development of their economy, with a degree of freedom that is necessary . This particular corroborated federalism in Nigeria. The governmental powers are shared between the federal government and the thirty-six state governments. Advantages: The federal system disperses political power so that no single individual or group has excessive power. Thus, federalism seemed to be the only option left for Nigeria because it allows for popular participation in government. 3. gives people easier access to political offices because they may begin seeking elected offices at the. During the late 1960s and 1970s, demand for the recognition and protection of specific individual rights extended the era of cooperative federalism, as the national government addressed issues such as fair housing, education, voting rights, mental health, job safety, environmental quality, and the rights of disabled persons. The states' territories were formed around ethnic groups with common interest and close ties, culture, and dialects. Geographical factor, (iv) Economic factor +rohyC ! 9S ) ?roh _ O4C sR & Pf?? AK kyC?& Pf;_Hu j_ G$: 5/ And even now we can see the population of Nigeria compared to other countries in Africa. Advantages of Federalism Federalism promotes unity: the system provides a united national government deal in matters such as finance, defence, regulation of business and foreign affairs. THE BENEFITS OF FEDERALISM THE DRAWBACKS OF FEDERALISM Summary IvyPanda, 23 Nov. 2019, ivypanda.com/essays/federalism-2/. Required fields are marked *. Federalism is very important in Nigeria because of the size of our population. This post will give you some insight into why federalism was adopted as the system of governance in Nigeria. In the words of Richards, regionalism was introduced to strengthen unity in diversity. The national government also possess concurrent powers which enable them to exercises along with the state government. 2.3 It Creates Protection Against Tyranny. We may share your site usage data with our social media, advertising, and analytics partners for these reasons. The desire to have war powers was also one of the reasons why national government power was increased since 1788. Functional cookies help to perform certain functionalities like sharing the content of the website on social media platforms, collect feedbacks, and other third-party features. Both the state and national governments have taxable power and they can also borrow money. A recent example in the United States of this advantage is the requirement to drug test working adults who receive welfare benefits. Some choose to use a central system of government that regulates the entire country. The national government is also entitled to forming treaties and conducting foreign policies. Nigeria is quite a big country with an area of 923,768 km2. Also see: Differences between Cross-offers and counter-offers, five reasons for the adoption of federalism in nigeria. On the other hand; a constitution is unitary when there are created by the law made by the central legislature and their existence depends upon the government to control, supervision of the central government. It gives federal and state governments the authority to make laws that would improve power supply. %&'()*456789:CDEFGHIJSTUVWXYZcdefghijstuvwxyz (2019, November 23). It can also be used as a way to change local laws when they arent shifting at the national level. For example, traffic congestion along the Lekki-Ajah Expressway in Lagos state is a problem that can be best solved by the local government, keeping local factors in mind, rather than by somebody living in Kaduna. In conclusion, federalism has both advantages and disadvantages. It can also be used as a way to pass ridiculous laws as a way to make a political statement, discourage tourism, or some other specific result. Opinion. There is a general opinion that Nigeria was formed because of the interest of the British and they had to govern the country under a federation system. All variables measure of fiscal federalism had a positive relationship with per capita income excluding revenue allocated to the LGA's, that of mortality rate had a negative relationship with the variables . Federalism is a system of government in which power is divided between a central authority and regional authorities. 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