ISSUES ON FEDERALISM, POLITICAL RESTRUCTURING AND RESOURCE CONTROL: IMPLICATIONS ON NATION-BUILDING IN NIGERIA.

Abstract

Federalism, resource control and political restructuring have today remained a major theme on all issues bothering politics and governance as this has been one of the major problems facing the Nigerian nation. Most scholars have contended that resource control has remained a contentious issue in Nigerian federalism and they agreed that it is this development that is responsible for the polarization of the country into North and South divide. The issues have resulted into civil unrest and general conflicts that have affected the peaceful and corporate existence of the country as most ethnic nationalities, especially those from the oil-rich region, argued that by the virtue of their contribution to the nation’s purse, the principles of justice and equity demand that they should be allowed to control and manage their resources. This paper adopts a qualitative method of study to examine the rationale behind the agitation for resource control and political restructuring of Nigeria. It attempts to proffer solutions as to how the problems identified can be addressed. The study employed secondary sources of data collection through journal articles, books, periodicals, newspapers, print interviews and internet materials. The paper concludes that restructuring and resource control will encourage the diversification of the economy as this will encourage the return to the era of export of other commodities like cocoa, cotton, hides and skin, groundnut, palm oil and much more, thereby promoting a shift from overreliance on a mono product oil. The paper recommends therefore, that though restructuring Nigeria, as it is presently being campaigned, will not be an easy task until comprehensive approach on revenue sharing and resource control is advocated, Nigeria’s quest for nation-building will continue to be an endless struggle.