Restructuring, Social Order and Development in Nigeria (Published)
Nigeria from colonial period through post colonial period has settled for federal system of government which allows for division of powers and jurisdictions among the levels of government that made up the federation. Overtime, there have been observable imperfections in the Nigerian federalism which have triggered protests, agitations and patriotic calls for restructuring of the system. On the basis of the foregoing, we commended as follows: that there should be devolution of more powers to the federating units in Nigeria; that fiscal federalism should be practiced to give room for resource control by the federating units and that the principles of federal character as enshrined in our national constitution should be observed in appointment and location of critical infrastructure across all sections of the country. This paper is a departure from this trend, orthodoxy is challenged by showing the nexus and interface between restructuring, social order, and development in Nigeria. Development is said to be a predictor that determines whether a country is progressing or not. A critical assessment of Nigeria’s development despite her abundance in human, natural and material resources reveals that the country is yet to achieve the desired expectations as clamored by her citizens. The objective of this study was to identify the challenges to development in Nigeria. In other to obtain data for the research, the work adopted qualitative research method through textual analysis. The findings of this study revealed that despite the country’s attempt to advance development, several challenges has posed a great threat to her progress. These setbacks range from imposition of politices on the citizens, lack of adequate human resources or capital to implement development plans/policies, corruption and lack of credible leadership among others. It recommended that accountability and transparency should be the country’s guiding philosophy in all her operations. Also once the identified limitations are tackled then development will be realized in the country.
Keywords: Development, Federalism, Government, Restructuring, Revolution, Social order
REVENUE ALLOCATION IN NIGERIA AND THE DEPENDENCY ON OIL REVENUE: THE NEED FOR ALTERNATIV SOLUTIONS (Published)
This paper examines one of the most controversial issues in the political economy of Nigeria- Revenue allocation in Nigeria and the dependency on oil revenue: the need for alternative solutions. The paper argues that displacement of agricultural products by oil as the focal point of national revenue, and the attendant relegation of the principle of derivation in revenue allocation, is the root cause of the revenue allocation debacle in Nigeria federalism. The focus on revenue sharing rather than revenue generation is the root cause of political, economic and social decay in the country and has equally led to the proliferation of unviable state and local governments. The excessive government dependence on oil revenues, an institutional unstable revenue allocation system, weak political institutional arrangements, lack of effective agencies of restraints to demand transparency and accountability on the part of political office holders, failure to translate oil wealth to sustainable growth and increased standard of living for a lager majority of Nigerians, and a defective property right structure in relation to mineral resource endowment are the hallmark of Nigeria government. The paper conclude by making suggestions on how to diversify the Nigeria economy which include the investment and development of other sectors like agriculture, industries, solid minerals and human resources.
Keywords: Derivation Principle, Federalism, Oil Dependency, Oil revenue, Revenue Allocation