Democracy, Fiscal Federalism and Challenge of Development in Nigeria

International Journal of Research and Innovation in Social Science (IJRISS) | Volume III, Issue VII, July 2019 | ISSN 2454–6186

Democracy, Fiscal Federalism and Challenge of Development in Nigeria

Ukachikara, Ucheoma O.

Department of Political & Administrative Studies, Faculty of Social Sciences, University of Port Harcourt, Nigeria

Abstract:-Wheare’s classic definition of federalism as the method of dividing powers (political and economic) in such a way that the general and regional governments are each within its sphere co-ordinate and independent seems to anticipate that development, which is the raison d’etre of governments, can better be facilitated by the people on whom the development will directly impact. By implication, the powers divided among the federating units as extrapolated from Wheare’s description are powers to engage in such multidimensional processes geared towards the improvement of the living standards of the people, achieved by paying immense attention to the people’s needs and interests. This paper investigated the relationship between democracy, federalism and development, and adopted the Overlapping Model of Wright’s Theory of Intergovernmental Relations which focuses attention on the relationship between and among federating units in a federation in respect of power and jurisdictional scope determined by the units’ income and expenditure capabilities, as the theoretical framework. The work is largely a desk study. Specifically, data was mainly collected from secondary sources, while content analysis was adopted as the method of data analysis. The paper argues that development is more likely to occur when the necessary powers are directly domiciled with the people, and the surest way to bring these powers closer to the people is essentially through the judicious implementation of democratic federal principles. It also argues that essentially, for heterogeneous democratic states like Nigeria to attain development, they must review their federal systems to be suited to the historical and existential realities of their societies. This is because the role of the modern federal state in development is mainly dependent on the form of federalism obtainable in that federation.

Keywords: Development, Federalism, Democracy, Intergovernmental Relations, Politics.

I. INTRODUCTION

It is common knowledge that federal systems are basically faced with the twin problems of democracy and development. That is to say that management of federal systems is a sensitive task, if development must be engendered. Most ethnically-segmented federations such as Nigeria are constantly grappling with problems of disintegration, occasioned by the lack of democracy, valid federal options and development. Hence, federations that seek to retain their relevance to their societies had better engaged in the process of constantly reviewing their federal systems. Of note, this review process is not, in any way, a sign of weakness.

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