Federalism, Political Restructuring and Development in Nigeria

Authors

  • E. I. Wonah

Abstract

The paper examined federalism, political restructuring and Development in Nigeria. The main thesis of the paper is that the faulty federalism practised in Nigeria has adversely affected development and as a consequence, political restructuring is seen as a desideratum which can reinvent federalism and bring about the much needed development in Nigeria. The paper adopted the Marxian Political Economy approach as an analytical construct and relied on secondary sources of data. One of the assumptions of Marxian Political Economy is that society is divided into two main classes – those who own the means of production and those who do not own the means of production. The appropriation of the surplus value accruable from the production process has been the source of exploitation and internecine class antagonism. The paper noted that the colonially imposed Nigerian state has infused fissiparous tendencies in the polity which has negatively influenced federalism and has stunted development in Nigeria. Consequently, the paper recommended inter alia, the need for political restructuring which can recalibrate federalism and bring about the much needed development in Nigeria. However, the paper observed that the restructuring of the mindset of Nigerians would complement political restructuring.Key words: Federalism, Political Restructuring, Development, Marxian Political Economy, Fissiparous Tendencies

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Published

2019-07-31

Issue

Vol. 3 No. 3 (2019)

Section

Articles

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