Federalism and National Intergration in Nigeria: Issues and challenges.
ABSTRACT
The problem of federalism and the associated crises of national integration in Nigeria raise serious alarm. The situation attracts growing interest and concern.
The crises are very severing such that they culminate in a strong force being mounted on the federation with tendency to disintegrate the country. The works addresses this phenomenon by investigating and analysing the problem.
Documentary research method is used in gathering and analysing data. So textbooks, journals, periodical publications by related government agencies formed necessary source of our data while we employed system theory for pour analytical framework.
The work identifies the method of revenue allocations as the major factor responsible for the crises of national integration in the Nigerian federalism.
It concludes that in face in this problem, harmonious unification or integration cannot take place, political system cannot successfully adapt to both internal and external environment such that the survival of the system is difficult.
The work recommends among others that federalism is the ultimate solution to the problems of national integration, so federal character and other related approaches should be effectively enforced.
INTRODUCTION
The crises of national integration in Nigeria are very severing such that the Nigerian federation is at its collapsing point. The heterogeneous nature of the country combines with the improper mode of the country’s formation gave rise to antagonistic and integrative processes.
Nigeria as a country came into corporate existence in 1914, as a result of the fusion between the northern and southern protectorates by the British. National integration is the ultimate goal to be achieved in a multi ethnic country like Nigeria for there to be any reasonable development,.
According to Chime, [1971.50], national integration is a process of cohesion between two or more social units, whereby these units come together to constitute a political whole which include among other things the joining of various parts of society into a functioning whole, the growth of obedience and loyalty to its pars and the emergence of shared national values.
It follows, that Nigeria would have received national unity where obedience and loyalties to the Nigerian state, transcend loyalties to its parts. Thus conceptualization implies social equality of citizens.
Federation is a system of government adopted to enhance national integration in Nigeria; it is also a form of government that defines the relationship between component parts assumed to have the potential for integrating diverse cultural societies.
The religions rather engage in ethnicity, political struggle by social classes, religious conflict etc, which culminate in the crises of national integration that reached climax during the period of the attempted succession and civil war.
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