Nigeria’s Federal Structure and the Rise of Separatist Movements in the Fourth Republic

Abstract

This study examined the nature of the Nigerian federal political system with the view to identifying how the defects inherent therein have spawned a series of separatist movements from almost every part that makes up the federation. The  study  made use of data obtained from  secondary such as textbooks, journal and newspapers. It adopted  a framework of analysis anchored on the principles of shared rule and self-rule.  The argument canvassed in this study is that the  defects in the Nigerian federal system whose foundation was laid during the  colonial era, centralisation introduced by the military and embraced by successive governments as well as distorted patterns of governance have been spurring separatist movements in Nigeria. They have distorted the principles of shared rule and self-rule, hence the increasing separatist movements from nearly every part of the nation. The study concluded that the increasing spate of separatist movements  portends danger for the corporate existence of the Nigeria State. The study recommended among other things that there is the need to restructure the Nigerian State, reinvent the patterns of governance as well as total commitment to good governance and nation building. These have the capacity of dousing the spate of agitations for separate entities in the Nigerian State.

Keywords: Federalism, Federal Structure, Governance, Restructuring, Secession, Separatist movements.