STATE CENTERED ECONOMY AND ITS IMPLICATIONS FOR NATIONAL DEVELOPMENT

Abstract

This paper examines the impact of state centred economy as a panacea for a comprehensive development of the Nigerian state. It takes a look at the nature of development in a traditional federal state where resource allocation and development of the component unit is at the dictate of the central government as obtained in the present Nigerian state. The paper reviews issues that serve as impediment to the development of the Nigerian state in the midst of her numerous human and natural resources. The paper utilized as method of analyses secondary source of data gathering and content analysis. The paper adopts the state centred theory as propagated by Thomas Jefferson in its analyses. It recommends amongst other things
that the Nigerian federalism should take a shift from its traditional distributive federalism and embrace the new position of convergence federalism where states and component units pay specified percentage of its earnings to the centre for the running of the federal-owned institutions and agencies thereby giving all states the opportunity of developing at individual and unprecedented pace.