NIGERIA’S GOVERNANCE STRUCTURE CONUNDRUM: THE PERSPECTIVE OF FEDERALISM ANCHORED ON PARLIAMENTARY DEMOCRACY
Abstract:Since the military intruded into the
political governance of Nigeria in 1966, it has being a gradual accretion of
powers of the regions/states to the federal government. This is through Decrees
and other military policies that have centralisation of powers as its primary
ideology. Since then, it has been a tale of woes, a situation of no love lost
relationship among the ethnic nationalities. The consequences of concentration
of powers in the centre are being harvested in the form of separation
agitations, distrust, violence and other centrifugal forces. This paper examined the culture of power
dominance by the central government in a supposed federal polity and its
effects on the unity of the country. Using primary and secondary sources of
information, the study found that for Nigeria to achieve her full potentials,
the structural edifice on which her governance is fastened requires a
reconfiguration. The paper finally advocated for a return to parliamentary
democracy which is more cost effective than the profligate presidential system.