Students, Dons Speak on Federalism as Catalyst to Solving Nigerian Problems
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Students, Dons Speak on Federalism as Catalyst to Solving Nigerian Problems
By Alabidun Shuaib Abdulrahman
The need for true federalism has been proposed in light of rising agitations for restructuring and secession in some sections of the country.
This was the position of both students and lecturers at the University of Abuja’s Department of Political Science during a heated debate on “Federalism and Nigeria’s Development: A Discussion Forum,” on Thursday.
Professor and Mrs. Aaron Gana Foundation organized the event with the goal of raising awareness among Nigerian youths and students about federalism and the country’s future.
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The forum allows students and lecturers to share their perspectives on the country’s political landscapes and how they can be addressed by implementing a real federal system of government.
The students posited that in order to take the country forward, true federalism and better collaboration among the country’s ethnic groups was required at this time.
In the same vein, Professor Solomon Ogbu, a scholar of modern political science said, “For heterogeneous society like Nigeria, it is like saying we don’t have a choice. Unitary system cannot work here. Unitary system is meant for a country that is more or less a homogeneous, in term of demographic composition such as Britain and Sierra Leone.
“There isn’t incident of so many tribes in such countries and therefore it is possible to rule them together but unlike Nigeria.”
He added that under federalism, there is opportunity for the different component unit to try to develop at its own speed, at its own rate within the context of the resources available to it.
Professor Salihu Ibori, the Head of Department of Political Science, University of Abuja, in his own submission opined that reason why divisive tendencies are still paramount in Nigerian federation today is because “There are some people who believe they don’t have sense of belonging in Nigerian federation, this is why you keep on hearing clamour for secession or agitation or restructuring or what have you..
“They believe that they are lagging and their political aspirations cannot be achieved because enabling environment is not there.”
They both, therefore, encouraged the Federal Government to devolve more economic and security authorities to state governments in order to address regional instabilities and reform the country’s security architecture.
