Taking Nigeria as a case study, this book examines how the various issues involved in fiscal federalism in a developing country are handled.

In 1966, a soft-spoken 32-year old man emerged from relative obscurity and humble background to become Nigeria's Head of State and Commander-in-Chief of the Armed Forces. His name was Lt Col (later General)Yakubu Gowon. He emerged as the compromise candidate following the political crisis that engulfed the country after the July 1966 military coup that had led to the assassination of the country's first military Head of State, General Aguiyi Ironsi. At the end of the Civil War in 1970, General Gowon's doctrine of 'No Victor No Vanquished' greatly endeared him to many, and he was variously dubbed 'Abraham Lincoln of Nigeria', 'a soft spoken but dynamic leader' 'a real gentleman' and 'an almost faultless administrator'. However, after he was overthrown in a military coup in July 1975, long knives were drawn out for him, with the hitherto friendly press and public crying 'crucify him', and now variously vilifying him as 'weak' and of managing a purposeless administration that had led to the 'drifting' of the nation. In this book Professor J. Isawa Elaigwu attempts a scholarly political biography of someone he believes has rendered great ser-vices to the Nigerian nation despite his weaknesses as a leader. He rejects the notion that Gowon's nine years in office were 'nine years of failure' as the General's ardent critics posit, arguing that if it is possible to identify a number of thresholds in his administration, it is also possible to identify the approxi-mate point in time when the strains of his administration became visible to observers and the public in general. He poses and methodically seeks answers to a number of fundamental questions: Who was Yakubu Gowon? Why and how was the reservoir of goodwill and credibility which he had accumulated by the end of the Civil War expended? What image of Nigeria did he have when he came into power? And did he ever achieve his objectives? The book, first published in 1986, has been revised and expanded for this edition ____________________________________ Dr. J. Isawa Elaigwu is Professor Emeritus of Political Science, University of Jos, Jos, Nigeria. He is currently the President of the Institute of Governance and Social Research (IGSR), Jos, Nigeria. A widely travelled academic, Professor Elaigwu's works have been widely published within and outside Nigeria. He has also served as a consultant to many national and international agencies.

The Niger-Delta region is prone to conflicts and restiveness as a consequence of oil activities and under development, which, ultimately induce poverty. Oil, Democracy and the Promise of True Federalism in Nigeria attempts to demonstrate this unfortunate byproduct of federalism in Nigeria. Calling for resource control and the practice of True Federalism, the contributors of this volume identify some of the major endemic problems for the Niger-Delta people. It is in this light, that the contributors have presented the contending views on the challenges and opportunities on Nigeria's path towards the practice of True Federalism. Offering solution ideas for Niger-Delta development and the promotion of a peaceful coexistence, this comprehensive volume proposes hopeful, yet powerful arguments for the Niger-Delta region.

Seminar paper from the year 2020 in the subject Politics - International Politics - Region: Africa, grade: A, University of Ibadan, course: Political Science, language: English, abstract: The paper examined fiscal federalism and good governance in Nigeria. Fiscal federalism centres on allocation of resources among the federating units and as a matter of fact, acts as a precursor for good governance or otherwise. Qualitative research method was adopted for this paper. Findings revealed that there are contending issues and challenges of fiscal federalism in Nigeria; there is mismatch between revenue sources and functions of the various tiers of government and which in so doing hampers good governance.

Monograph on fiscal federalism in Nigeria examining the development of intergovernmental fiscal relations in Nigeria since federation in 1954, with particular emphasis on developments during the last decade.

This book uses the political economy approach to examine the relative failure of federalism in Nigeria. It shows the nexus between the political and the economic aspects of the country’s federalism. The central feature of Nigeria’s political economy is the relationship between oil resources and the state. The author argues that the inability of the federal government to distribute the oil wealth fairly amongst the component units contributes to the dysfunctional character of the federal system. This deficiency is rooted in the country’s unbalanced political economy, which promotes over-dependency on oil and consequently an over-centralised federal system. The book concludes that despite its complexities, federalism has become the basis for the country’s stability. Therefore, ethno-regional demands for ‘true federalism’ will continue until the political elite reform the ailing federal system.

Fiscal policy in oil-producing countries can be profoundly affected by oil revenue uncertainty and volatility. Policy formulation should factor in the exhaustibility of the natural resources and aim at reducing oil revenue volatility passed on to the economy. Past fiscal policy in Nigeria has not been successful in this regard, since both revenue and expenditure have been highly volatile, to a large extent reflecting oil price developments. The paper discusses the role an appropriately designed fiscal rule, nested within the long-run sustainable use of oil revenue, could have in providing a more stable framework for fiscal policy formulation. It also highlights practical implementation and transitional issues.