Creation of More States in Nigeria: A Political Anaysis

Abstract

By the amalgamation of Nigeria in 1914, Nigeria was divided into two parts: Northern Nigeria and Southern Nigeriao They existed as two separate entities. The Richards Constitution (1946) divided Nigeria into three parts: Northern, Eastern and Western Nigeria. The objective was the attainment of Nigerian unity. It butressed the forces of regionalism in Nigerian politics. The Ibadan General Conference (1950) which revised the Richards Constitution, pioneered the Macpherson Constitution (1951), which endorsed separatism as a socio-political factor. Because the political division of the country was incongruous, there was agitation for the creation of more regions or states in order to allay the fears of minorities regarding prospects of domination of the c~untry by majority elementso The Lyttelton Constitution (1954) introduced a federal system of government, which crystallised regions as centres of political gravity in Nigeria. It trifurcated the p~wers of the Federal and Regional Governments into exclusive, concurrent and residual. Because of the intensification of demands for creating more states, a Minorities Commission was appointed in 19~7 to inquire into the fears of minorities and recommend means for allaying themo The Minorities Commission did not recommend the creation of any state, but it defined minority elements and suggested adjustment of state boundaries to enable any minority element to be regrouped, provided sixty percent decide to do so in a plebisciteQ In 1962, the Mid-Western State was created, based on the formula ' of self-determination recommended by the Minorities Commission. In J' 1966, during the~~ Constitutional Conference in Lagos, the delegations from Northern Nigeria, Western Nigeria, Mid-Western Nigeria and Lagos endorsed the creation of more states in the country, provided a plebiscite was used to determine the wishes of the people concerned. The delegation from Eastern Nigeria abstained. Since then, there has been a spate of demands for creating more states and adjusting, state boundaries, particularly by ~he Tiv-IdomaBirom- Jukun of Benue and Plateau Provinces, Efik-Ibibio-Annang-Ejagham of Calabar Province, Ijaw-Opobo-Ogoni of Rivers Province, Ika-Ibo of Benin and Delta Provinces, Yoruba of Ilorin, Kabba, Ibadan and Oyo Provinces, Ibo of Enugu, Onitsha, Benin and Delta Provinces, and Yoruba of the Federal Capital Territory of Lagos. In May 1967, Nigeria was divided into twelve states by a decree, which gav~ assurance that a States Boundaries Delimitation Commission v will be constituted to redress grievances by adjusting boundaries and regrouping peoples. Thereafter, there had been agitation for the creation of Central Yoruba State, Eastern Yoruba State, Cross River State, Bornu State, Bauchi State, Enugu (Wawa) State, Onitsha (Niger)State, and Owerri (Imo) State. Also, there had been a counter-agitation against the creation ••• /2 2 of the above stateso The FoMoGo then enunciated its policy by , explaining that the present twelve-state structure was the minimum and c oul d be i ncreaeed after re - examina tion at the appr opria t e time to determine the necessity for creating more stat es in the countryo Judging from the views expre ssed pro et contra, nine s t ates were proposed for adjusting boundaries on the basis of the principle of se l f -determinationo That is , the employment of the plebiscite to determine the wishes of at least sixty per cent of the people concerned. The five criteria for creating states were enunciated by General ~ Gowan on 30th November 1966 and reiterated on 27th May 1967. From my point of view, I suggest three additional criteria so that no state will be excised, if its area, population and density fall below a pre-determined mean average. If these criteria are applied in respect of the known desires of certain Nigerians for the creation of more states, other things being equal, ten additional states could emerge for consideration as possible new states of the Federation of Nigeria: Bauchi, Benue, Bornu, Central Yoruba, Cross River, Eastern Yoruba, Enugu (Wawa), Onitsha (Niger), Owerri (Imo), and Plateau. The creation of twelve states was a welcome relief for a chronic malady in Nigerian politics. It was a revolutionary act, which strengthened the federal government and discouraged centrifugal tendencies which made co-operative federalism elusiveo The constitution of the States Delimitation Boundaries Commission should enable the claims and counter-claims of state advocates to be dispassionately examined and resolvedo It is my considered opinion that Nigeria should be further split beyond the minimum of twelve states. The exercise involved should not be confined to the exclus~ve grouping of any particular linguistic .. r unit.* NigePians should be grouped ' for their identity of interest or historical association as good neighbours; but each state should be provided with certain basic amenities to enable its inhabitants to be more secure in their persons and to be more prosperous and happy as far as their standard of living is concernedo Finally, in creating more states, our aim should be to have a powerful federal government, which will exercise explicit and concurrent powers to the mutual advantage of itself and the not-so-powerful co-ordinates, whose residual powers shall be so regulated that their exercise should not endanger or impede or stultify the corporate existenc of the federation. *General Gowen told a delegation from the United States War College recently at Dodan Barracks, Lagos, that the F.M.G. will consider the question of creating more states side by side with the issue of boundary delimitation. He warned that if it became necessary to create more states, "no state would be created on the basis of ethnicity." Rather, the FoM.Gg would be guided by the criteria used in creating twelve states. Summary of World Broadcasts, ME/4591/B/4-5. Lagos in English for Abroad. 07.00 GMT. 3rd May 1974.