RESTRUCTURING AS THE PATH TO PROSPERITY OF NIGERIA: A VIEW

Abstract

The modern debate for restructuring Nigeria's polity and geographical territory had been raging on for about a decade. The idea of restructuring Nigeria dates back to the pre-civil war era. The late Colonel Chukwuemeka Odumegwu Ojukwu, the then Military Governor of the defunct Eastern Region, advocated restructuring for the Country. The Nigerian Constitution 1999 did not recognise non-federal arrangements. Many well-meaning Nigerians have been calling for the restructuring of the country to set Nigeria on the right path to prosperity where the balanced interests of every section of the country will be well catered for, contrary to what obtains at the moment. The primary objectives of this paper are to identify the reasons why the Nigerian state should be restructured, the areas that need restructuring, the advantages and disadvantages of restructuring Nigeria and make recommendations. This paper approaches the problem via a non-doctrinal and qualitative approach, using textbooks, law reports, Internet sources, Newspaper publications and journals. The findings in this paper are that Nigeria political, economic and social structure need reconfiguration in line with the yearnings of the citizens so that Nigeria can be put on the path to prosperity among the comity of nations. This paper makes recommendations for state resource control, devolution of political power, state police economic and social emancipation of Nigeria to benefit all the federating units.