RESTRUCTURING FOR NATIONAL DEVELOPMENT: OVERCOMING THE ‘DEPENDENT’ SYNDROM

Abstract

The issue of whether the Nigerian State requires some restructuring has remained
part of the contentious public discourses within the country. Whereas some see
restructuring as a condition that must be fulfilled before the country could overcome
most of the internal contradictions that have continued to militate against her
national development, others feel strongly that she does not require any restructuring
and can attain her national developmental ideals by advancing the notion of good
governance. Are there structural problems identifiable in the Nigerian State? Does
the Nigerian state, as presently constituted, encourage a culture of dependency? Does
the present Nigeria’s federal structure undermine national development? By applying
an explanatory research design, this paper explores the structure of the Nigerian
state and its implication on national development. The study relied basically on
secondary source of data, which were analysed through content analysis. Findings
confirm that the structure of the state is faulty and that this has proven
counterproductive in the sense that it breeds some sort of ‘dependency syndrome’
among the federating units. By assuming a worrisome distributive character, the state
seemingly limits the capacity of the constituent units in contributing meaningfully
towards national development. It is recommended that, in the face of the existing
contradictions, there is need to reorder the socio-political and economic arrangement
of the country so as to advance the goal of national development.