The Nigerian federalism faces certain difficult problems including those related to census, revenue allocation, religious and inter-ethnic conflicts, allocation of public offices and the unequal distribution of wealth between different regions and between classes.
1988 Local Government Reforms | As part of its transition-to-civil-rule programme, the Federal Military Government of General Ibrahim Babangida inaugurated the Dasuki Committee in 1986 to review the problems of local governments in Nigeria and make recommendations for dealing with them.
The decision by the federal government to reform the local government system in the country in 1976 did not really come as a surprise. Before then, the local councils had little bearing on the lives of the local people as there was little to write home about their performance.
In a federation, powers are usually shared between two levels of government, namely, the central and state or regional governments. In theory, the twp levels of government are equal and coordinate in their respective spheres of influence.
The local governments in Nigeria are directly under the control and supervision of state governments. The state governments exercise their authority over the local councils through the Ministry of Local Government which was once abolished and later reinstated.
Federal character is a principle of representativeness in which the muiuncnt, promotion and distribution of state resources are aimed at establishing a fair balance of ethnic and regional representation in all federal government agencies and parastatals.
Privatisation and commercialisation policies were first introduced under the Structural Adjustment Programme (SAP), which was imposed on the country by the Bretton Woods Institutions (i.e International Monetary Fund (IMF) and the World Bank) in 1986.
Corporatocracy refers to a political system that is controlled by corporations or corporate interests. In corporatocracy, individuals are appomted to rule the state by another set of individuals that constitutes the shareholder or rather those who top in the hierarchy of stakeholders.
The concept of ‘kritarchy‘ emanated from the Greek words: 'krités' meaning judge and 'arche' meaning principle. The concept was formally coined by the English author Roben Southey in 1844. Kritarchy is a form of political system where all panics enjoy equal justice.
Privatization is a policy of the government created to afford individuals, corporate bodies, the opportunity to take over ownership and control of government enterprises, companies, etc. while Commercialization is a state policy of making its companies, enterprises, parastatals, etc, more efficient and even more profit oriented. It will also make these organisations come up with efficient management of resources.
Revenue allocation refers to the distribution of national resources between different levels of government, especially in a federation. A federation consists of strong and weak states, rich and poor states and large and small states.
Population Census has always been a controversial issue in Nigeria especially since political independence in 1960. In particular, the population counts have pitched the north against the south and it appears the problem is still far from being solved.
Devolution is an economic concept based on the disintegration or atomization of powers within an organization, company or state. This supposes the dispersion of decision-making and resources in different hierarchies or regions.
Principles of government are basic truths or laws, which guide the study and practice of politics and government. They are developed by political theorists and writers based on their experience or observation of the political process but these principles have come, to be accepted over the years by scholars and practitioners alike as indispensable and essential to understanding political phenomena.
A fundamental human right is a privilege or prerogative conferred by law upon a person. It is expressed in the constitution or law of the state. Fundamental human rights remain rights as long as the state has power to protect them. Talking about fundamental rights in a war-tom country like Somalia, for example, is obviously an exercise in futility.
Zoning is a recent phenomenon in the political history of Nigeria. Zoning is a political device designed to ensure that political offices are distributed equitably among the various regions or geo-political zones of the country.
Montesquieu defines separation of powers as a system of government by which the legislature, executive, and judiciary are each separate in terms of functions and personnel. He warned that under no circumstance should any two or more functions be performed by one person or body of persons since such a practice will eliminate the liberty of the citizens and thereby encourage tyranny.
Quota system is a much abused and vilified instrument of social engineering in Nigeria. It is a principle of representativeness which states that every region or state of the country should be represented in the public bureaucracy of the federal government in proportion to its size or population.
DIRECT AND INDIRECT DEMOCRACY
What are Direct and Indirect Democracy?
Democracy is a type of government system in which the decision-making power rests with the people, as the only sovereign and autonomous will to obey on the part of the public powers. Power is distributed among various institutions that allow citizens to express and exercise collective...
The principle of checks and balances means that each organ of government should exercise control over the other, while Separation of Powers can be defined as a system of government which the legislature, executive, and judiciary are each separate in term. of functions and personnel. Baron de Mostesquieu argued that where the legislative and executive powers were united in the same person, there could be no liberty.
