Anatomy of Nigerian Federalism: A Reflection of the Nagging Challenges and Prospects from A Cultural Relativist Perspective

Abstract

There is a dearth of reliable literature that appropriately coined and conveyed the conceptual framework of federalism, scarcity of reliable information  that analytically x-rayed the structural arrangement of Nigerian federalism, and challenges militating against the expected gains of federalism and the  prospects thereof. The paper relied on qualitative methods like document analyses, personal experiences, key informant interviews, and discussions in  generating relevant data that were thematically presented and resultantly analyzed using content analysis. The results show that there are works of  literature that wrongly conceptualized federalism. Police brutality, political godfatherism, corruption, secession, revenue allocation problem, sectionalism,  and conflicts were among the predominant challenges facing Nigerian federalism. Furthermore, the results show that sustainable  development and efficient service delivery are part of the prospects. The paper concluded that many Nigerians do not have an adequate understanding  of the nitty-gritty of federalism. As a corollary to this, destructive tendencies have troubled Nigerian federalism, making the center epileptic. The study for  policy and practice implies that Nigeria, the largest populated country of Africa, has continued its federalist operations on the side of very low  cohesion and unification of existing ethnic groups.