FEDERAL CHARACTER PRINCIPLE AND THE CHALLANGES OF NATIONAL INTEGRATION IN NIGERIA: A COMPARATIVE ANALYSIS OF SOME FEDERAL APPOINTMENTS UNDER JONATHAN AND BUHARI’S ADMINISTRATIONS
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Date
2016
Journal Title
Journal ISSN
Volume Title
Publisher
Journal of Sustainable Development in Africa, Clarion University of Pennsylvania, Clarion, Pennsylvania
Abstract
The Nigerian state is heterogeneous both in character and content. Every effort to manage this diversity has so far not yielded desired result. This paper examines the Federal Character Principle as one of the instruments intended to manage our obvious diversity such that no part of the country is marginalized or feels marginalized or sidelined. The paper observed that the Federal Character Principle have not achieved its set objectives, which is national unity and loyalty. It draws from secondary sources and discovered that there are factors that make equitable distribution of public appointments difficult which is beyond the powers of the federal character commission. The major argument of this paper is that if the Federal Character Commission as an organization expected to enforce this principle is not restructured and given more power to sanction individuals and organizations that are found of circumventing the relevant guidelines in this regards, the hope of national unity and loyalty will continue to be a mirage. It concludes that national unity is necessary for the attainment of any sustainable development effort.