Federalism and Good Governance in Nigeria: The Nexus

Abstract

The paper contends that the Nigerian State can exploit the virtues of federalism to promote good governance within her territory. Nigeria being a heterogeneous, linguistic, religious and ethnically diversified country adopted federalism as a system of government with regional autonomy in 1954 in order to give every component unit of the federation a sense of belonging. Sequel to this, the paper looked at the concept of federalism and good governance, the virtues of federalism, and how these virtues can be exploited to achieve good governance in Nigeria. In its recommendations, the paper suggested a constitutional amendment procedure that will not only guarantee the autonomy of the federating units, but will also deepen the current democratic culture and sustain the fight against corruption. It also suggested a restructuring of the revenue sharing formula in the country so that the federating units can own land and mineral resources within their territorial jurisdiction thus encouraging interstate commerce and economic cooperation.