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The “Persistent” Federation: Nigeria and its Federal Future
Published online by Cambridge University Press: 13 August 2021
Extract
At the Azikiwe memorial conference held at Lincoln University near Philadelphia, Pennsylvania in late April 1998, a longstanding observer of Nigerian politics pointedly informed the Nigerian ambassador to the United States that the so-called Federal Republic of Nigeria was in fact neither federal nor a republic. The remark was met with rowdy applause from the migrant/exile audience. It was certainly accurate at the time, but not even the audience could know for how much longer. While it is perhaps still premature to celebrate, by virtue of the recent elections Nigeria is once again at least nominally a republic in the Latin sense—res publica —a thing of the people. As for Nigerian federalism, Ali Mazrui’s characterization seems accurate: It is “alive, but not well,” and the recent elections do not augur well for its recovery.
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- Copyright © African Studies Association 1999
References
Notes
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