Nigeria Civil War Analysis

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The Nigerian federal structure has its root in 1914 amalgamation of Northern and Southern protectorates by the then British colonial government for ease of administration; unitary (Kolawole, 1998). As documented by Obehi (2013), this system of government was bequeathed to Nigerians by the colonial administration following consultations with Nigerians who were rooting for regional autonomy. Thus, the constitutional arrangements that followed from 1946 to the military era in 1966 gave more powers to the three regions into which the country was already divided. Due to its colonial origination, the system of government adopted was parliamentary with the North, East and West dubbed the three major ethnic groups of Hausa/Fulani, Igbo and Yoruba. …show more content…

The war which was principally a tussle for secession had at its aftermath, the military regime shifting power to the center as a precautionary measure. This deliberate and precise effort of power concentration at the center, gave Nigeria a federal outlook with a unitary style of vertical power distribution.
Consequently, as opposed to the U.S. model of federalism which had the coming together of sovereignties, the Nigerian federalism was such where powers were devolved to the constituent units from an until-then unitary structure. By implication, the powers the central government held dearly for devolution to the sub-national units, had always been …show more content…

To be precise, that Nigeria has not experienced another civil war since 1970 is largely attributable to its federal practice (ICG, 2010). Multistate federalism in Nigeria has not only guaranteed self-determination through self-government for the diverse ethnic groups, but has also laid to bearest minimum the issue of disparity common to many federations including the Nigerian federalism of the first republic which spanned 1960-1966 (Clark, 2003). The emergence of democracy increased the access of all ethnic groups; majority and minority, to government. Likewise, it created an avenue for group deliberations, which has helped to create a common front against dictatorial inclinations. As buttressed by Jinadu (2002), for instance, the immoderate ambition of President Obasanjo to retain his position as president of Nigeria against the constitutional provisions is as a result of the public outrage of all groups at public and private

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