. Central Versus Provincial There are other political systems the country could have adopted but because of some reasons which I am going to share with you today, federalism seemed to be the best idea. This process involves filing a lawsuit to block the implementation of what the community feels is a potentially harmful requirement. But in Nigeria, The federal government controls about 80 percent of the resources in the country, leaving the state and local government at its mercy. These cookies will be stored in your browser only with your consent. The needs of the people in Seattle may be very different than those who live in the population centers around Miami. 6. Read Also:Importance of Journalism in Nigeria. Justice Udo Udoma is of the view that regionalism was introduced by the colonialists in order to divide and rule, and weaken true national unity in Nigeria. This is to ensure that everyone feels a sense of belonging. Possess power would probably give them the voice to air out their grievances. The government, at the federal, state and local levels, should continue to be answerable to the Nigerian people, work assiduously to protect Nigeria as a nation-state and be mindful that the. Both scenarios pose a threat to the countries integrity. There are several pros and cons of federalism to consider when looking at it as a political system. Importance of Federalism in Nigeria. Federalism makes it possible for some population groups to place the wants of the majority over the needs of the entire community. Importance of Federalism in Nigeria are listed and explicated herein. Each state has the power to trail policies that the citizens consider more important. in or register, we are proud to nigeria our inherited country,god bless nigeria. So, our federalist form of government has several advantages, such as protecting us from tyranny, dispersing power, increasing citizen participation, and increasing effectiveness, and disadvantages, such as supposedly protecting slavery and segregation, increasing inequalities between states, states blocking national . Rights of the minorities are protected too. Federalism as a system of government which is meant to help to advance good governance and development of a multi-ethnic and big country like Nigeria. document.getElementById( "ak_js_1" ).setAttribute( "value", ( new Date() ).getTime() ); Your email address will not be published. This seemed to be the default option given its heterogeneous nature. +rohyC ! 9S ) ?roh _ O4C sR & Pf?? AK kyC?& Pf;_Hu j_ G$: 5/ Although there are challenges to face in any type of government, most people who live in a federalist system say that they wouldnt change the structure whatsoever. Post-independence creation of states and further division of states created after independence was done as a framework for the development of Nigeria. THE BENEFITS OF FEDERALISM THE DRAWBACKS OF FEDERALISM Summary Below are the reasons why Nigeria adopted a federal system of government: The major reason for the adoption of federal system of government in Nigeria is borne out of the historical experience that brought all the ethical groups together under one Nigeria. It creates checks and balances in a system that promote individual freedoms and self-governing at a higher level when compared to the other options which are possible. Nigeria is the most populous black country and this has earned us an alias, "giant of Africa". Read Also:Importance of the Nigeria Foreign Policy. For example, in countries with states that speak different languages, regional schools can provide multilingual education. The comparison of the results of these policies can give a clear idea of which policy is better and thus, can be adopted in the future. +rohyC ! 9S ) ?roh _ O4C sR & Pf?? AK kyC?& Pf;_Hu j_ G$: 5/ 2. lessens the risk of one political party gain to monopoly on political power. We will write a custom Assessment on Federalism System, Its Advantages and Disadvantages specifically for you for only $11.00 $9.35/page. You are not allowed to sell the hair of a dog or cat in Delaware. 1. This normally causes disintegration and internal conflicts among different states (Dye, 114). Federalism in Nigeria refers to the devolution of self-governance by the West African nation of Nigeria to its federated states, who share sovereignty with the Federal Government . so that you can track your progress. sir Arthur Richards strengthened this proposal in 1945 and regionalism was introduced by his administration in 1946. The system causes government to have control of itself because of great rivalry of power between the state and the nation. If this structure was not available, then you would get cookie-cutter regulations that may not apply to some geographical areas. This has been the This goal has not been realized, as most of these states are incapable of standing for themselves financially. What Countries Use Federalism? On the contrary it has also been suggested that is created more diversity and conflict for the nation to grapple with. As I have already explained, Nigeria is an amalgamation of three different regions with beliefs and customs. Another advantage of federalism is that because our federal system creates two levels of government with the capacity to take action, failure to attain a desired policy goal at one level can be offset by successfully securing the support of elected representatives at another level. Federalism often protects the will of the majority at any cost. The states were later increased to 30 states. America also wanted to possess implied powers which were considered necessary and appropriate for the nation to undertake delegated duties and powers. When a project is embarked on ownership and we-feeling will make it get full support and less antagonization. Moreover, So majority if not all of them were in favor of a federalist system of governance. Your browser seems to have Javascript disabled. student. Just clear tips and lifehacks for every day, Advantages of Federal System of Government. Opinion. When the central and state governments, both work hand-in-hand for the development of their economy, with a degree of freedom that is necessary . 1. Each state has the same level of self-governance. Instead of designing a government that should unite the different elements in Nigeria, the colonialists fully adopted federal stem of government in 1954 and created greater regional autonomy. This resulted in the loss of many lives. 2019. IvyPanda, 23 Nov. 2019, ivypanda.com/essays/federalism-2/. His answer was that federalism a political system permitting a large . 3. The Nigerian Constitution supports decentralised electricity regulation. With the creation of Katsina and Akwa Ibom in 1987, the country became a federation of 21 States. inconveniences of federalism and makes no mention of its great advantages. This process is one of the primary reasons why democratic countries choose this form over the other governing options which are available. Which of the following could be considered of the advantages of federalism and decentralization? This cookie is set by GDPR Cookie Consent plugin. Federalism provides room for innovation and experimentation. There are some states which pursue policies which frustrate national policy because they cause them to sacrifice some of their interests to local interests such as segregation. In 1788, Fisher Ames of Massachusetts made a declaration to increase the powers of the national government. Nigeria is currently made up of 36 states, with Abuja as the capital. Since Nigeria is a heterogeneous nation and Federalism is more practicable in such kind of nation, it is an ideal system of government. However, it is also fact that since independence Nigeria has promulgated several constitutions and that if Nigeria wanted an alternative system of government, she could have opted for it. The states have now become the administrative units of the federal government. Several positive and negative attributes of federalism have manifested themselves in the U.S. political system. 4. Discuss the advantages of federalism Explain the disadvantages of federalism The federal design of our Constitution has had a profound effect on U.S. politics. Nigeria's independence was gotten and founded on the basis of a federalist system of Government. federalism. Federalism also causes disunity due to diversity in language, culture, religion and economy. This particular corroborated federalism in Nigeria. Federalism brings about peaceful political association of multi-ethnic groups: Federalism produces a stronger and stable nation: Equitable development and growth of the nation. In fact, Nigeria can be seen as a prime example of the "resource curse", a phenomenon where natural resource wealth leads to poor economic growth and development and an increased likelihood for civil conflict. The cookie is used to store the user consent for the cookies in the category "Other. This process can create positive or negative results. /Width 371 This assessment on Federalism System, Its Advantages and Disadvantages was written and submitted by your fellow Endogenous (De)centralization The key intuition of fiscal federalism theory is that the benefits of decentralization are positively correlated with the geographic The results that come from these efforts can then be useful when deciding if such an idea should be rolled out to the rest of the country. The federal system better tackles regional and local problems and needs. This was meant to re-establish proper rule and national governance. Some of these powers include: power to declare war, coin money, raise navy and armies and govern the Indian tribes (Elazar, 138). To avert this domination, states unite to form a strong, virile and stable union capable of withstanding external attacks. 7. Because each community can create their own set of laws and rules in a system of federalism (especially in the United States), then the structure can create unwanted competition for resources that seeks to limit some demographics. Save my name, email, and website in this browser for the next time I comment. Many Nigerian ethnic groups began to agitate for their own states. The origin of federalism in Nigeria can be traced to the colonial era. The United States, Canada, India, France and Australia adopted federalism because of the desire for security by the various ethnic units. fiscal federalism and Nigeria development indexes (measured in terms of per capita income, literacy rate and infant mortality rate). Keep it up , Yes , I love it and I was sentitize on those reasons. Nigeria therefore falls into the latter because of the wide diversities. Analytical cookies are used to understand how visitors interact with the website. He is also a Developer with knowledge in HTML, CSS, JS, PHP and React Native. On the other hand, local governments have a comparative advantage in the supply of local public goods, particularly those for which there are no significant economies of scale and whose preferences differ spatially. Federalism promotes liberty and self-governance. Nigeria app ing this period of military rule were l ##### tral government. Federalism promotes unity: the system provides a united national government deal in matters such as finance, defence, regulation of business and foreign affairs. Required fields are marked *. Geographical factor, (iv) Economic factor The Constitution designates certain powers to be the domain of a central government, and others are specifically reserved to the state governments. The Benefits of Federalism Among the merits of federalism are that it promotes policy innovation and political participation and accommodates diversity of opinion. Elazar, Daniel. It gives federal and state governments the authority to make laws that would improve power supply. You cannot drive a horse in Indiana above a set speed limit of 10mph. America also wanted to possess inherent power to enable them conduct foreign affairs which inherently belonged to the nation. Rather there has been more challenges than benefits of this federal system. Federalism is a mixed form of government where there is a general government always known as the central or federal government and regional governments which could be provincial or states governments. Federalism provides a structure that diffuses governmental power . The pros and cons of federalism provide evidence that it is usually better for a society and nation if there is a system of power sharing available for the government. or this it really helped me, Your email address will not be published. Federalism provides a way for different groups of people in different parts of the country to live together. The state and the nation always evade responsibility especially when it comes to dealing with environmental issues such as cleaning up of Great lakes. Then Nigeria was organised into a federation that had three regions. ##### 483. They will then have special authority to control interstate businesses and trade with the foreign countries. Several positive and negative attributes of federalism have manifested themselves in the U.S. political system. In this article, i will comprehensively discuss the reasons for federalism in Nigeria. Fourthly, there shall be the existence of court to interpret the constitution as it applies to cases and conflicts among the tiers of government. Others do not. IvyPanda. % It is important to also reason that small states are prone to domination and sometimes control by the big ones. The federal system increases the opportunities for average citizens to participate in government. The federal system initially was set up to serve the 13 original colonies and was able to maintain their own powers given by the powers vested in each colonies individual constitutions. There are increased interstate conflicts due to federalism. We also use third-party cookies that help us analyze and understand how you use this website. The local governments could distribute resources first instead of relying on the national government like the island because of the availability of local resources. The case for federalism in Nigeria has been to accommodate and manage diversity while taking economic advantage of its sheer size and population to promote development. The unity here is brought about by the desire of the component units of the federation to form union in respect of some matters. Each state has the power to trail policies that the citizens consider more important. What are strengths and weaknesses of federalism? Also, federal systems leads to unnecessary competition between different regions. A federal system, in which units exist only for political or pacifist reasons, forebodes a great burden for fiscal federalism. The priorities of the majority receive more attention with Federalism. Every power that is useful and can be implied in the federal government is always delegated by national government. the country. (2019, November 23). In the same way, the political culture of the United States is civic, republican and participatory. You are already subscribed to our newsletter! This disadvantage occurs because local governments can pass legislation, within reason, that covers community needs. Figures are often tossed around about how much money we could save without it - $9 billion, $20 billion, or more. Sharing of power between the center and the states can also be disadvantageous. It is difficult to enforce law on criminals because of federalism. This structure made slavery and segregation a continuing issue in the United States until the 1960s. Federalism System, Its Advantages and Disadvantages. Because this structure of government looks at cooperation and sharing as its primary structure, there is an opportunity to try a different set of policies to see how they will work. 3 What are advantages and disadvantages of Constitution? *$( %2%(,-/0/#484.7*./. C However, you may visit "Cookie Settings" to provide a controlled consent. What is the role of a reference librarian? %PDF-1.5 This is why federalism is such a great advantage. Each citizen of any particular state shall be entitled to equal rights, privileges and immunities. Culture of the country became a federation that had three regions systems leads to competition. Belonged to the countries integrity strengthened this proposal in 1945 and regionalism was introduced by his administration in 1946 by. 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