Abuja: Prof. Eghosa Osaghae, Director-General of the Nigerian Institute of International Affairs (NIIA), on Wednesday advocated a rebalance of powers between the Federal Government and federating units to strengthen Nigeria’s federal system. Osaghae made the call while delivering the maiden Annual Federalism Lecture of the Centre for Federalism and Democratic Studies at the University of Benin (UNIBEN).
According to News Agency of Nigeria, the lecture was titled, ‘Federalism: The Paradigm of a Turning Centre.’ The NIIA boss noted that federal systems remained dynamic and must continually adjust the distribution of powers between the centre and sub-national governments in response to changing political realities. He explained that Nigeria’s federalism has evolved from a region-centred structure to a highly centralised system, making the practice of federalism increasingly contested.
Osaghae elaborated that federal systems generally emerged through either an ‘aggregative’ process, in which independent states
voluntarily united to form a federation, or a ‘disaggregative’ process, where an already centralised state devolved powers to constituent units. He identified Nigeria as fitting into the latter category, highlighting the inevitability of negotiations over the distribution of powers.
The former Vice-Chancellor of Igbinedion University, Okada, recalled that before the 1966 military intervention, Nigeria operated a region-centred federal system in which the regions exercised considerable autonomy, including maintaining overseas offices and diplomatic representations. He noted the transformation into a nation-centred federation by the military government, which concentrated more powers at the centre.
Osaghae emphasized that the current debate on ‘true federalism’ should focus on strengthening the productive capacities and fiscal independence of the states rather than obtaining larger allocations from the Federal Government. He questioned why the call for true federalism did not emphasize the need for productive
capacities and internally generated revenues to reduce dependence on the centre.
Earlier, the Vice-Chancellor of UNIBEN, Prof. Edoba Omoregie, SAN, highlighted the establishment of the Centre for Federalism and Democratic Studies as evidence of the university’s commitment to advancing research and policy solutions to governance challenges. He stated that universities should be laboratories of ideas for interrogating pressing societal issues with intellectual rigour and developing practical solutions.
Omoregie expressed optimism that the centre would evolve into one of Africa’s foremost think tanks on federalism and democratic studies. The lecture, which attracted academics, policymakers, students, and other stakeholders from across the country, aims to stimulate informed debates on federalism, constitutionalism, democracy, and good governance in Nigeria and beyond.