Quest For State’s Creation in Nigeria: An Harbinger of Development Or Underdevelopment?

Abstract

Since Nigeria’s independence from Britain in 1960, there have been continuous calls for creating more "new" states within Nigeria to provide administrative voices for minority ethnic interests as well as increased networks for patronage. Beginning with three four regions prior to the Nigerian Civil War (1966-70), the Nigerian Federation was later divided into 12 states in May 1967. The federation grew to 19 states by March 1976, 21 states plus a new federal capital territory at Abuja by 1987, 30 states by August 1991 and 36 states by 1996. Creating more states out of a constant land area can be seen as an attempt on one hand to blur the country's regional, ethnic and religious distinctions and on the other, to create additional "patronage fiefdoms" which cut into regional power bases of traditional political elites. This study examines the seemingly implacable and intractable agitation for the creation of new states in Nigeria through a descriptive study analysis of the performance or otherwise of the existing states within the Nigerian federation. The study finds that there is no need for the creation of additional states as this will only serve as an additional avenue for the country’s ruling elite, without grassroots inputs, to milk the country dry.