Federalism at Bay The Devil in a Nigerian Democracy

Abstract

Federalism presupposes the independence of different tiers of government in a relationship of sufficient powers and resources to support their structure of government. The separate existence of each government, therefore, and the plenary character of its powers, within the constitution’s assigned sphere, flows the doctrine that the exercise of these powers is not to be impeded or interfered with by other tiers, exercising their own powers. This paper argues that on the basis of Nigerian experience, that adoption of federal political system is no guarantee for the practice of federalism. Federal agents freely manipulate state assemblies to impeach state governors incessantly and unless urgent political restructuring is embarked upon to support the federal order, Nigeria’s survival may not be guaranteed.