ARE YOU SAYING WE SHOULD ADOPT UNITARY SYSTEM OF GOVERNMENT?

This was one of the questions a student from the audience asked one of the speakers on day two of the last Annual Economic Students Conference in OAU. 

He asked because the speaker mentioned that the number of states in the country should be reduced, explaining that most of the states cannot generate enough income for themselves.

We should first understand that Nigeria, might be called a Federal Republic, but we don't practice the principles to the letter. Federalism is a system of government in which power is constitutionally divided between a central authority and a number of regions.

Before military rule in Nigeria we had three major regions, during the military era States were created, with last ones in 1996. Military Government, disregards the constitution and separations of power, so state creation was a bit easier and arbitrary.

One important factor they failed to consider then was credibility of those States, many a time they claimed it was for developmental purpose. Of course one the advantages of Federalism is the autonomy enjoyed by the regions, which aids the development of the regions at their own pace.

Earlier, I said we don't practice Federalism to its letter, and the major reason is how power is shared between our levels of Government in Nigeria. 
In Nigeria, states cannot exploit their own resources. Most of the resources can only be exploited by the Federal Government. Too many resources are wasting away because FG, won't exploit them and states aren't constitutionally allowed to.

Nigeria States, don't have autonomy over crucial sectors to their development. An example is the power sector; States don't generate their own electricity. While some have coal deposits, they must still depend on the national source. If Federalism had been practiced to its letters, and the states are allowed to source for power on their own, many of our States would be developed more than they are today.

By the last week of every month State Governors with their delegates run to Abuja for allocations. In true Federalism, it should be that the States contribute to the central government purse and this is why I think many of the states should be merged. 
These States are not autonomous in that they cannot survive without FG's allocation. Hence in reality Nigeria Federalism is more of a Unitary System, where the regions cannot do anything without the Central Government.

Finally, even though States creation or merger is a rigorous process with our rigid constitution, we can start the process today. Ultimately, States that cannot generate enough IGR to pay her civil servants should not be allowed to continue. Also, states should be given more autonomy so they can actually develop on their own.

This Article was originally published on Jan 21, on Victor Awotidebe's facebook page