Politician and researcher Akin Osuntokun has said that the excessive concentration of power at the centre remains Nigeria’s greatest source of political instability, warning that the country’s current federal structure is “an aberration” that undermines true federalism.
Speaking in an interview with ARISE News on Wednesday, Osuntokun explained that although Nigeria has informally adopted a six-zone political structure, it is yet to be constitutionally entrenched as the basis for power-sharing and governance.
“Nigeria has informally adopted a six-zone structure,” he said. “When I say informally, it is not in the constitution — that’s the South-South, South-East, South-West, North-East, North-Central and North-West. Those are the six zones. While those zones should not become institutionalised in the constitution as the federating units, they communicate the background of what Nigeria had at independence.”
He recalled that at independence, Nigeria had three regions — East, West and North —which later increased to four in 1963 with the creation of the Mid-Western Region. However, he described the present 36-state structure as inconsistent with federalist principles.
“What we have today is an aberration in terms of the federalist constitution,” Osuntokun said. “Ideally, in a federation, you do not have three tiers of government. The local government is not supposed to be a constitutional tier but to exist under the schedule of the regions. What we have again is an aberration in that regard.”
Osuntokun criticised what he called the “lopsidedly powerful centre”, which he argued gives the federal government undue dominance over the states.
> “The centre is too lopsidedly powerful in terms of the authority and resources at its disposal,” he said. “That is not supposed to be the case. Merely looking at the revenue allocation formula gives you an idea of the imbalance. In a true federation, the federating units are expected to be more powerful and more involved in governance. Over-centralisation is the greatest source of Nigeria’s instability.”
According to him, the concentration of power in Abuja enables “state capture” and distorts democratic competition.
“When you have a lopsided, powerful centre, it confers discriminatory advantages,” he said. “We are witnessing it now — the phenomenon of governors decamping to the ruling party because the federal government is so dominant that it can make or mar anyone’s political ambition.”
Explaining the constitutional framework of a proper federation, Osuntokun said powers should be clearly divided into exclusive, concurrent and residual lists.
“The exclusive list is for the federal government — things like the military, foreign affairs and currency. The concurrent list covers areas like education and agriculture, where both the federal and state governments can act. The residual powers, which are not listed, should naturally fall to the second tier of government — the states or regions.”
He added that Nigeria’s 36 states are too weak to function effectively but must be the starting point for reform.
“The 36 states we have today are hardly able to function as a proper second tier of government,” he observed. “But it is what we have and what we must work with. If, in principle, we agree to move back towards real federalism, working out the details will not be a problem. The problem is that there is no agreement in principle to do it.”
Osuntokun said much of the current debate revolves around persuading Nigerians that restructuring is not a zero-sum game.
“The debate you witness today is about persuading one another that this is the right way to go and that it is not at the expense of any region,” he explained. “When the regions were powerful in the First Republic, nothing incapacitated them. Those who argue against restructuring forget that Nigeria was successful under that arrangement.”
He cited the political leaders who negotiated Nigeria’s independence — Obafemi Awolowo, Nnamdi Azikiwe, Ahmadu Bello and the British colonial authorities — as having understood the principles of true federalism better than today’s leaders.
“Those were the four major parties to the independence constitution,” Osuntokun noted. “In terms of legitimacy and knowledge of what it takes to move Nigeria forward, nobody can rival them. If anyone today argues against federalism, you must ask whether you are more northern than Ahmadu Bello, the premier of the Northern Region, who helped conceptualise and implement it.”
He lamented that consumerism and dependence on central largesse have replaced the spirit of production and self-reliance that defined Nigeria’s early regional governments.
“Our value system has changed,” he said. “If Nigeria is good for you only in the sense of distributing largesse, which is what we have today, you are going to have problems. The central government, which controls the most largesse, becomes the focus of everyone’s ambition, and that makes matters worse.”
Responding to questions on whether restructuring could promote unity, Osuntokun argued that forced unity cannot work in a plural society like Nigeria.
“If you are compressing people into one space by force, that is not likely to work,” he said. “Nigeria is inherently pluralistic. When you force people, you get the kind of religious and cultural conflicts we now see. Progress comes when there is a positive correlation between productivity and income. But Nigeria today rewards consumption over production.”
He said genuine national unity would only emerge through voluntary agreement and mutual conviction, not compulsion.
“You can’t have genuine unity if it is imposed,” he said. “The way forward is to convince one another that restructuring serves everyone’s interest. If we accept it in principle and act in good faith, the fears people have will be addressed. We are not coming together in bitterness but to make the country better.”
On the timeline for transition to a restructured system, Osuntokun proposed a gradual process lasting up to ten years to allow disadvantaged regions to catch up.
“In the short term, we can freeze the existing sharing formula for ten years so that those at a disadvantage can catch up,” he suggested. “That way, we maintain fairness while working out a sustainable structure for the long term.”
Osuntokun concluded that restoring genuine federalism remains essential to national stability.
“Nigeria is more divided today than ever,” he warned. “If we do not correct the imbalance, the division will deepen. But if we embrace devolution and fairness, we can rebuild a more stable and united country.”
Boluwatife Enome
