ABSTRACT
Nigeria is one of those countries that operates a federal system of government alongside with the western world. Given the territorially delineated cleavages abounding in Nigeria and the historical legacy of division among ethnic groups, regions, and sections, the federal imperative was so fundamental that even the military government- characteristically Unitarian, hierarchical, and centralist- attached importance to the continuation of a federal system of government. While, the system benefit most western countries, the reverse is the case for Nigeria considering the high level of political instability, ethnic crisis, and ethno/religious crisis among others The reason this is not far fetch; Nigeria is operating a federal system in an awkward manner and this has made frictions and clashes possible which are currently posing a threat to her political development. To this end, this project seeks to analyze the Nigerian federalism, the effects of the system on her political and economic development of the country particularly the Niger Delta region and to proffer a plausible way forward to achieving a true federal arrangement.
The Niger Delta regions are the oil producing regions of the south- south. The region has since the discovery and exploration of oil in Nigeria been the back bone of the country, contributing about 75% of the total revenue of the country. However, these resources have not translated into substantive meaning development for the region. The reason for this many believe is because the tax revenue sharing power has currently skewed in favour of the federal government to the detriment of the other tiers of government. This
action has brought nothing but pain, tears, crisis and agitation for the people of the Niger delta as even multi- national companies in the region have also refuse to carry out their statutory social responsibility for their host community. The problem is made worst with the increasing rate of environmental and health dangers pose to the region, by the continuous exploration of their oil by multinational organization. In defense of their right, the indigenes of the region resulted to kidnapping and vandalisation of government property. Although, there is relative peace in the region, there is the need to examine the factors that gave room to the agitations in the first place.