The inter-face of ethnicity and revenue allocation in Nigeria's first republic

Abstract

In 1960, Britain bequeathed to Nigeria an imperfect federation, consisting of three uneven regions. This lopsided arrangement, paved the way for the domination of the federation by the biggest region -the Northern region. This paper adopts the instrumentalist view of federalism. It interrogates the impact of ethnicity on allocation of federal finance in Nigeria between 1960 and 1966. The paper explores the constitutional basis for revenue distribution and the process of subversion by the ruling party. It examines the various mechanisms employed by the North to appropriate federal patronage for its region at the expense of other regions in the period. The paper contends that the unequal access to and competition for scarce resources at the Centre made politics become a dangerous enterprise. The ruling elite (Northerners) seized this opportunity to institutionalise iniquitous fiscal policies which snowballed into political tribulations in the first republic. Till date the ethnic factor continues to play a pivotal role in the political economy of resource sharing in Nigeria. The paper concludes that Nigeria has not been able to manage the challenge of revenue allocation well because the ruling class has been sectional and corrupt. Much more importantly the ability of the North through the instrumentality of the Central government to dominate its competitors engendered serious crisis in the Nigerian federation which eventually led to the political instability that engulfed the first republic and led to its demise in 1966. It suggests the adoption of key pillars of fiscal federalism such as equality and partnership between the centre and the federating units, state ownership of natural resources, funds transfer and scientific equalisation, all of which have made developed federations' intergovernmental relations adaptive and innovative. These measures could help evoke equity, douse tension and make the Nigerian federation very viable.

A review of diversity management in Nigeria: Organizational and national perspective

“…However, the current ethnicity dialogue in Nigeria has been associated with the geographical structural partition of the society. This dialogue goes as far back as the days of the British colonial government (Ekanade, 2012). This structuring was established for easy governance by the British colonial rule (Ekanade, 2012), they merged political divisions of the country along the lines of the three main ethnic tribes (Igbo, Hausa and Yoruba); hence, the political parties were strongly ethnically driven (Akinboye and Anifowoshe, 1999).…”

“…In Nigeria, for instance, ethnic loyalties lead to conflicts when political allocations apparently do not favour a particular ethnic tribe or region (Odiegwu et al, 2012). Likewise, budgets for the national income gained from natural resources have stirred up ethnic conflicts in Nigeria (Ekanade, 2012). Thus, some ethnic groups express concerns about inequality as they experience treatments they perceive to be unfair (Rhuks, 2012).…”

“…This is reflected at the national, state and local levels of the country. From a cultural perspective, although gender differences have a positive side in relation to family structuring, this has been abused, leading to women being and feeling oppressed (Ekanade, 2012). Furthermore, these abuses of gender power relations have left women out of opportunities that exist for men.…”

“…In order to help unveil the complexity of diversity management in Nigeria, this study explores ethnicity, religion and politics, gender, age, class and political partisan (affiliation) in Nigeria. These social dimensions shape the current thinking on dominant social dimensions and their intersecting complexities in the Nigerian context, this is based on the predominant social discourse in the Nigerian national systems (Oguntola-Lauda, 2008;Ekanade, 2012;United Nations, 2012;Mudiare, 2013;Olurode, 2013) (Diagram 2).…”

“…A continuing population challenge faced by the country has been the unification of the 200-plus ethnic groups and cultures identified within its borders (Udogu, 2005). This diverse characteristic raises debates (Ekanade, 2012;Danladi, 2013) on the relevance of one system of law throughout the nation and the imposition of English as the official language, which has contributed to supplanting local loyalties with the 'feeling of being Nigerian'. Hence, the ethnic challenge undoubtedly significantly impacts the socio-economic and political stability of the nation, and the government has for many years tried to use the 'feeling of brotherhood' to combat hostility among diverse societies (Agundu et al, 2007).…”