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Nigeria's Federal Structure and the Rise of Separatist Movements in The KIU Journal of Humanities KIU Journal of Social Humanities Copyright©2020 Kampala International University ISSN: 2415-0843; 5(2): 85-94 Nigeria’s Federal Structure and the Rise of Separatist Movements in the Fourth Republic RASHEED TAIWO D.S Adegbenro ICT Polytechnic, Itori-Ewekoro, Ogun State, Nigeria ANDREW TOBI ARIYO Olabisi Onabanjo University,Ago-Iwoye, Ogun-State, Nigeria Abstract. This study examined the nature of the spanned over sixty years, it has at various times Nigerian federal political system with the view to continued to be threatened by agitations for local identifying how the defects inherent therein have autonomy and secession by different groups from the spawned a series of separatist movements from various ethnic nationalities. almost every part that makes up the federation. The study made use of data obtained from secondary In the early 1950s, the Northern region threatened to such as textbooks, journal and newspapers. It adopted secede from the country twice if the conditions they a framework of analysis anchored on the principles of clamoured for were not granted.(Okoh, 1999) The shared rule and self-rule. The argument canvassed in first attempt was at the Ibadan conference, and the this study is that the defects in the Nigerian federal second attempt was the aftermath of the self- system whose foundation was laid during the government in 1956, which led to the popular eight- colonial era, centralisation introduced by the military point programme signalling the intention of that and embraced by successive governments as well as region to quit the union.(Awofeso, 2017). Similarly, distorted patterns of governance have been spurring the Western region also threatened to secede if the separatist movements in Nigeria. They have distorted colonial authorities failed to rescind the decision to the principles of shared rule and self-rule, hence the excise Lagos from Western Nigeria. (Okoh, 1999) increasing separatist movements from nearly every The most blatant attempt at a succession that was part of the nation. The study concluded that the actualized was when the Eastern region under the increasing spate of separatist movements portends leadership of Lt. Col Chukwuemeka Odumegwu danger for the corporate existence of the Nigeria Ojukwu seceded from the Federal Republic of State. The study recommended among other things Nigeria as the Republic of Biafra. that there is the need to restructure the Nigerian State, reinvent the patterns of governance as well as total In the current Fourth Republic, Nigeria has witnessed commitment to good governance and nation building. a series of separatist and secessionist movements. These have the capacity of dousing the spate of Prominent among these groups include various agitations for separate entities in the Nigerian State. militant organisations in the South-South region that have been agitating for resource control and Keywords: Federalism, Federal Structure, development of the oil-rich Niger Delta region. Governance, Restructuring, Secession, Separatist Others include the most obvious ones from the Igbo movements. dominated Eastern part of the country where we have the Movement for the Actualization of the Sovereign 1. Introduction State of Biafra(MASSOB) and the Indigenous People of Biafra(IPOB). They have continued to agitate for Nigeria’s current federal structure can be linked to the actualisation of Biafra. The activities of IPOB the 1954 Lyttleton Constitution, which formally being led Nnamdi Kanu had on many occasions made provision for the division of powers between paralysed economic activities in major towns and the central government and the constituent units, cities in Eastern Nigeria following the series of sit at namely, the Northern, Western, and Eastern regions. home orders to inhabitants of the region by the Though the practice of federalism in Nigeria has leadership of IPOB. 85 KIU Journal of Humanities Agitations for local autonomy and threats of Watts(1998), Jinadu(2002); Law (2013) Kalu & secession have equally come from the northern and Bing (2016) to mention but few. western parts of the country. In the South West, there is the growing clamour for the practice of true Despite the seeming controversies surrounding the federalism and lately the creation of the Republic of meaning of federalism, many writers have adopted Oduduwa. Similarly, on June 7, 2017, some Northern definitions that stem from its conception in terms of Nigeria youth groups issued what they called the alliance or as a decentralized `political arrangement 'Kaduna Declaration,' where they gave orders to all where there are different layers of government. Igbos residing in the North to leave within three Central to such arrangement is the division of powers months. They equally directed northerners residing in between the central government and constituent units. the South-East to vacate that region before October 1, Some of the definitions are presented below. 2017. The Northern youth groups said they would commence the implementation of what they called Similarly, Watts (1998), defines federalism as a ‘visible actions’ to prove that they were no longer political system characterised by two sub-systems. part of the federal union that includes the Igbo( One is the central government and the other is state Chiedozie and Isenyo (2017; Akhaine, Alabi, Njoku governments, in which the components government and Olumide,2017) are coordinate in the sense that neither is politically subordinate to the other but which interact with each All that the preceding depicts is that the practice of other at many points both cooperatively and federalism in Nigeria for over sixty years has not competitively. translated the Nigerian State to an enviable polity cherished by all and sundry. Instead, it has been K.C. Wheare (1963) gave a classic definition of characterized by mistrust and suspicion. It is against federalism, which has been adopted as a rewarding the backdrop of the resurgence of separatist point of departure by many writers. He defines movements that this study examines how the federalism as "the method of dividing powers so that defective federal structure has spurred separatist the general and regional governments are each within movements in Nigeria's Fourth Republic. In doing a sphere coordinate and independent" (p. 11). This this, apart from these preliminary remarks, the conception of federalism implies that under a federal remaining part of the study is divided into five system, the general and the constituent units each sections. The first segment focuses on conceptual and have an autonomous sphere of power that can be theoretical issues. The second segment delves into exercised independently of the other level. Wheare the origin and growth of the Nigerian federal system. holds the view that the powers of the central The third section focuses on separatist movements in government are exercised directly over individual Nigeria with emphasis on how defective federal citizens rather than indirectly through the states or structure, centralisation and distorted pattern of provinces. Therefore, neither the central /federal governance are spurring separatist movements in government nor the state/regional government is Nigeria. The fourth section discusses how to douse subordinate to the other in legal authority (Wheare, separatist and secessionist agitations in Nigeria, while 1963). the fifth section concludes the study. The view expressed by Sagay (nd), is not at variance 2. Conceptual and Theoretical Issues with that of Wheare (1963), Watts (1995), and Elazar (1995) highlighted above. He avers that federalism 2.1 The Concept of Federalism refers to an arrangement whereby powers within a multi-national country are shared between a federal There is a rich and vast literature on federalism or central authority, and a number of regionalized generally, but one discernable thing that is clear is governments in such a way that each unit, including that the concept of federalism suffers from the central authority, exists as a government definitional quagmire ( Idahosa and Aghahowa separately and independently from the others, (1999) and as rightly pointed out by Elazar (1995),the operating directly on persons and property with its terminology of federalism is characterised by a territorial area. He asserts further that such a revealing ambiguity( Elazar,1995 ). The cogency of government has a will of its own and its apparatus for these observations can be discerned from the multiple the conduct of affairs and with authority in some definitions of federalism and its conflation with matters exclusive of all others (Sagay, nd). related concepts such as federation, federal political order which have been extensively discussed in the Despite the variation in the views expressed by these literature by various writers such as Eleazar(1995) writers, there is the agreement that federal system 86 KIU Journal of Humanities refers to an arrangement where there is constitutional Flowing from the above, it could be seen that there is division of power between layers of governments. a different between separatism and secessionism. Certain conditions have widely been identified to be While the former aimed at reducing the control of the supportive or conducive for the creation, sustenance, central government over a local territory, the ultimate and continued existence of ideal federations. These goal of secession is the creation of a separate or new are: state different from the former sovereign state.
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