A renewed call for Nigeria to return to the regional system of governance has emerged, arguing that shifting power and resource control from Abuja to regional capitals would reduce the intense competition for the central government. The proponent suggests that when regions manage their own affairs, national politics loses its volatile, do-or-die nature, and each region can flourish in its unique way. Any political party unable to restore Nigeria to the days of regionalism does not deserve votes in the 2027 elections.
The Current Crisis
Twenty-seven years after the return to democratic governance and three years into President Bola Tinubu's administration, centrifugal forces are on the rise. Terrorism is spreading across regional boundaries, and two sections of the nation—once known for republicanism or monarchy before colonialism—are struggling with the insistence of another section on nomadism as a way of life. This contrived civilizational incongruity has led to bloodshed, depopulated villages, raped mothers, and kidnapped toddlers. Abductors demand and receive ransom payments with minimal resistance. Many Nigerian citizens openly reject the unitary constitution imposed by the military 27 years ago, expressing a desire to return to regionalism, where they could live in peaceful semi-autonomy without fear of invading forces disguised as cattle rearers.
The Historical Foundation
Stripped of diplomatic language, the truth is that Nigeria has a civilizational problem. This reality was acknowledged during pre-independence negotiations with Britain in 1960, resulting in a three-region constitution that guaranteed resource control at the regional level and contributions to fund the central government. Sir Ahmadu Bello, Premier of Northern Nigeria, explained the rationale by comparing Nigeria to a compound with three separate houses—North, West, and East. All were on a journey, but the West and East started early and were already moving, while the North began later and needed to run fast to catch up. The fair approach was to allow each region to devise its own means to achieve its goals.
Bello modernized Northern Nigeria within its inherited political framework, shifting legislative, executive, and judicial powers from individual emirs to broader regional and provincial structures. This maintained the symbolic cultural legitimacy of traditional institutions while building a centralized regional bureaucracy capable of competing with the South. The regional government of the North did not depend on federal funding; instead, it contributed to sustaining governance at the center, designing its own economic blueprint to harness resources and stand tall among regions. Throughout the First Republic, the North was a major economic player, not a parasite.
Dr. Nnamdi Azikiwe, primarily a nationalist and pan-Africanist, conceded that a unitary government run from the center would fuel fears of domination by one region over another. Whichever region controlled the center would be viewed with suspicion by others. The federal arrangement eventually designed for Nigeria was a compromise allowing each region to retain its uniqueness and control its destiny while belonging to a loose federation.
Chief Obafemi Awolowo, Premier of the Western Region, advocated true federalism, where strong regional governments control domestic affairs, resources, and local security, cooperating through a lean central hub. In a 1967 address to the Western Leaders of Thought in Ibadan, he outlined the limits of regional government control: (a) Revenue allocation based strictly on derivation, meaning regions keep wealth generated within their borders after paying a tax to the center; (b) Each region should have and control its own militia and police force; (c) Any union maintained by force is bound to fail; (d) Regional governments should be the centers of development and engines for rapid socio-economic transformation.
The Military's Disruption
The military jettisoned the only validly negotiated constitution Nigeria has ever had in 1966, and since then, Nigerians have been sleeping with one eye open. The 30-month civil war, perennial ethnic suspicions, political instability, ethnic militancy, religious extremism, mass poverty, and terrorism in various forms can all be traced to the refusal of the political elite to retrace steps back to regionalism.
A Call for 2027
In a deeply pluralistic nation with over 250 ethnic groups, centralized governance often intensifies friction, whereas regionalism can act as a pressure valve. This should be the single most important campaign point for all political parties approaching 2027. By shifting governance, resource control, and development from Abuja back to regional capitals, the desperation to capture the center diminishes. When regions manage their internal affairs, national politics loses its volatile edge, and regions blossom in their unique styles. Any political party that cannot take Nigeria back to the glory days of regionalism does not deserve votes in 2027.
Wole Olaoye is a Public Relations consultant and veteran journalist.
