Osun University Professor Bolaji Olumuyiwa Omitola Warns Excessive Centralisation Is Undermining Nigeria’s Development

Osun State University Professor Bolaji Omitola warns that excessive centralisation of political and administrative powers is undermining governance and development in Nigeria.

Omitola stated this on Thursday while delivering the 29th inaugural lecture of Osun State University and the second from the Faculty of Social Sciences, titled “Governance in Nigeria: Between David and Goliath” in Osogbo.

He described the tension between centralisation and decentralisation as a recurring feature of Nigeria’s political history, noting that the country has continued to oscillate between forces seeking greater control at the centre and those demanding autonomy for component units.

According to him, the problem has become more pronounced under the 1999 Constitution, which has progressively expanded federal powers while shrinking the operational space available to states and local governments.

Omitola said the 1960 Independence Constitution and the 1963 Republican Constitution granted significantly greater autonomy to the regions, with the centre playing a less dominant role.

He contrasted this with the 1999 Constitution, which places 68 items on the Exclusive Legislative List and only 12 on the Concurrent List.

He argued that several responsibilities that could be handled more efficiently at the state and local government levels have been concentrated at the federal level.

The professor cited education, healthcare, local government administration and several regulatory functions as areas that have increasingly come under federal control.

He said the over-concentration of powers has reduced states to “second fiddle” to the Federal Government, unlike in the First Republic when regions were major centres of political and economic power.

“Effective governance requires a balance between central authority and local autonomy. While centralisation may promote order, stability and uniformity, decentralisation encourages participation, responsiveness, innovation and accountability,” Omitola said.

He also criticised the proliferation of federal agencies, arguing that institutions such as NAPEP, ICPC, NDDC, NAFDAC, NDLEA and EFCC have assumed responsibilities that could otherwise be handled by subnational governments.

Omitola maintained that Nigeria’s federal system must recognise the country’s diversity rather than suppress it, stressing that unity would be stronger when communities and component units are given meaningful opportunities to participate in governance.

He therefore called for a restructuring of Nigeria’s governance architecture to achieve a more appropriate balance between the federal government and the states.

“Failure to address this imbalance will make the country continue to wobble and fumble in its quest for sustainable development,” he warned.