Why federalism may not work in Nigeria – Falode, LASU don

By Adesina Wahab

A university professor, Adewunmi Falode, has said federalism being canvased by some people as the antidote to the nation’s economic and political problems may not work in the country if it is not domesticated to solve the nation’s peculiar problems.

He noted that the adoption of what he called textbook federalism won’t be able to correct the obvious fractures in the nation’s seams.

He stated this on Tuesday while delivering the 115th inaugural lecture of the Lagos State University, LASU, titled, “Bespoke solutions: Reimagining, reifying and realigning the wheels of the Nigerian state.”
This is just as he described the form of democracy being practiced in the country as expensive, and that it has not been able to fulfill the basic desire of the citizens for full and inclusive participation in governance.

“The problem with Nigeria is that the leaders adopted textbook federalism hook, line and sinker. Nigeria must customize or domesticate its federalism if it hopes to correct the obvious fractures in the nation’s seams. And what form will this take? I call this competitive federalism. This means a weak or decentralized centre with strong states. Note that this is not regionalism.

“I am against anything that will fracture Nigeria into different parts or that champion the idea that states should be developed in silos and independently with minimal interactions with other units in the federation. States in the country should be allowed to co-exist but based on clearly spelt out and agreed terns,” he submitted.

Falode, a Professor of International Relations, History and Strategic Studies, said the cost of elections is too prohibitive and the cycle too frequent.

He called for a seven-year tenure for elected public officers, saying they would have enough time to concentrate on state matters.

To resolve the challenges confronting the country, Falode suggested realigning the following wheels – education, democracy and federalism.

He noted that China adopted education to craft a unified identity and a unified language.
The Vice Chancellor, Prof. Ibiyemi Olatunji-Bello, represented by the Deputy Vice Chancellor, Prof. Oseni Afisi, commended the scholarly work of Falode.

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