Managing Constitutional Change in the Nigerian Federation

Rotimi Suberu

Publius: The Journal of Federalism, 2015, vol. 45, issue 4, 552-579

Abstract: Since making the transition from military to civilian rule in 1999, Nigeria has witnessed intensive, but largely unfulfilled, pressures for comprehensive federal constitutional change. This article analyzes the multiple ethno-political drivers and institutional themes of Nigeria’s constitutional struggles, the conflicting approaches to federal reform by governmental, civic, and ethno-regional groups, and potential pathways to a more effective governance of the country’s constitutional challenges. The article contends that incremental constitutional change and non-constitutional renewal, including benign constitutional transgressions and creative legislative and judicial interventions, offer the most feasible path to federal accommodation and development in Nigeria in the absence of national consensus on the desirability and modality of wholesale, mega-constitutional reform.

Date: 2015
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