The Aare Ona Kakanfo of Yorubaland, Iba Gani Adams, has called for a return to true federalism in Nigeria, describing the current system of governance as a distorted structure that has contributed to insecurity and underdevelopment.
Speaking on Wednesday, during an interview on Frontline, a current affairs programme on Eagle 102.5 FM, Ilese-Ijebu,Ogun State, Adams argued that Nigeria is no longer operating a genuine federal system, but rather a highly centralised structure that undermines state autonomy.
He traced the origins of the problem to the post-independence era, particularly the military interventions that altered the country’s constitutional framework. According to him, the federal structure agreed upon at independence in 1960 was based on regional autonomy, which allowed each region to develop at its own pace.
Adams noted that this system was disrupted following the 1966 Nigerian coup d’état, which introduced a unitary approach to governance and marked a turning point in the country’s political evolution. He said the concentration of power at the centre has since weakened state institutions and limited their ability to address local challenges effectively.
“I subscribed to true federalism. And my own true federalism, I am calling for, is not statism. If we continue with statism, the federal government was turned into a unitary system of government. And we have the way we got independent in 1960. Before the military truncated in 1966, we got our independence on the basis of true federalism, which is regionalism and parliamentary system of government. And when the military came to power in January 1960, they stopped the federalism and turned it into statism.
And since then, different attitudes came to our political leaders. The issue of corrupt attitude triggered”.
He pointed out that the expansion of items on the exclusive legislative list from 45 to 68 has further reduced the powers of states and local governments, creating an imbalance that places overwhelming authority in the hands of the federal government.
“When we got an independent, in the constitution of Nigeria, exclusive list, we have 45 items in exclusive list. But now Nigerian government through military, and even through the civilian government in 1999 to 2026, they have increased the item in exclusive list to 68! 68! They have added 23 content items to the exclusive list. And this items was taken away from the concurrent and the residual. So how do you want the state to function? How do you want local government to function? The local government administration in Nigeria have been tactically killed,”
According to him, this imbalance has created a system where governors are described as chief security officers but lack actual control over security apparatus.
“So what I notice that the system we are running now is not federal system. They just call Nigeria federal government. It’s not federal system. It’s completely unitary system of government. And that was what impede our progress. That was what creates insecurity. When governor will be a chief security officer in Nigerian constitution, and the governor will not have his own police. The governor will not have full control of the Nigerian police. When the governor gave an order, the IG will give a counter order. And the counter order was coming from order from the presidency, which is the federal government.”he said.
Adams stressed that this structural flaw has directly contributed to the worsening security situation across the country, arguing that effective policing requires decentralisation, including the establishment of state and community policing systems.
Drawing comparisons with the United States, Adams noted that multiple layers of policing exist, allowing for more efficient security management and responsiveness to local realities.
“In 1979, Joseph Wayas was the Senate president of Nigeria by then. They asked him to go to the U.S. He spent about two weeks to study the constitution of the United States so that we can replicate that constitution in Nigeria. But when they brought the constitution to Nigeria, they changed it. By the time they wanted to write the constitution of Nigeria, they changed it. They removed the content that favored true federalism out of it because the military wants absolute power from the central, the working states and local government. And without true federalism, unreligious regionalism, there is no way we can move forward. In America, you have federal police, state police, county police, and even local policing structures. That is why they can effectively manage a population of over 300 million people,” he said.
He contrasted this with Nigeria’s centralised policing system, which he described as inadequate for a country of over 200 million people, stressing that the current framework overstretches federal security agencies while leaving states powerless.
Adams also addressed concerns about potential abuse of state police by governors, dismissing such fears as misplaced. He argued that the federal police system itself has been used to intimidate political opponents, proving that centralisation does not prevent abuse.
He insisted that the solution lies in creating checks and balances rather than maintaining what he described as a flawed and ineffective system.
“They have been turned to puppet by the government. If the president is trying to turn the governor to puppet, the governor himself will be turning the local government to profit. So the free structure of governance in Nigeria is not working again. We can only say one and a half, not three again. The power of the governor has been reduced by the presidency, and the power of the local government has been taken away by the governors. So we are not running federal system of government. For Nigeria to move forward, by not wasting your time, we need to go back to the basis. Even though we can’t use parliamentary system of government, we can still continue with the presidential system of government. After all, we borrowed this presidential system of government and federal system of government from the United States of America”.
Beyond security, Adams linked the absence of true federalism to economic stagnation and governance inefficiencies, noting that the current structure discourages initiative and productivity at the subnational level.
He referenced the achievements of past regional leaders such as Obafemi Awolowo and Samuel Ladoke Akintola, arguing that their success was made possible by the autonomy enjoyed under the regional system.
According to him, the Western Region under these leaders witnessed significant development, including free education and the establishment of major institutions that transformed the socio-economic landscape of the region.
You ask yourself, when Baba Awolowo was in power at the premier of Western region from 1952 to 1959 to 1960, and onward to Aare SL Akintola to 1966, look at what they done for Yoruba land. They laid the foundation of having a solid education, having a modern Yoruba nation for us by then. That was Odua investment about 23 different companies. Created by these two leaders. And by then, they gave us free education. They gave most of the professor we have now, most of the people that have now become our leader now, they got scholarship to different countries as indigenous students.
He cited landmark projects such as Cocoa House in Ibadan as evidence of what regional autonomy can achieve when leadership is empowered and accountable.
“And look at Cocoa House. Cocoa House was built when we had the Western region, about 20-something story building. You ask yourself, which state governor in Nigeria now, that being in power, let’s say from 1999 to 2026, have built 25-story building for their state. Most of their state property have been sold, or they have used it to get loan from the bank or from international organization”.
Adams lamented that such levels of development have not been replicated under the current system, arguing that reliance on federal allocations has discouraged innovation and self-sufficiency among states.
The Aare Ona Kakanfo also warned that failure to restructure Nigeria could lead to increased agitation for secession, as frustrations over governance and inequality continue to grow.
He referenced global examples such as the breakup of Sudan and the separation of Bangladesh from Pakistan as consequences of unresolved structural and political issues.
“And the only way we can put it in order is to have true federalism. If you are running from true federalism to regionalism, definitely you have to accept secession. You have to accept secession. And when you study the country that broke to two, it started like this. You study what happened in India when Bangladesh and Pakistan moved out from India as a state of political unrest, insecurity. When you study what happened in Sudan, that South Sudan broke out of Sudan, it’s because of political unrest and insecurity. When you study how Eritrea was moved out from Ethiopia, this is a similar issue. If we don’t do the right thing at the right time, we won’t have an option to have this country break away. Some parts will be broken away because if we can’t coordinate our country, protecting the life and property, people will be frustrated to be a citizen of that country”.
According to him, Nigeria must address its governance challenges proactively to avoid similar outcomes, stressing that delay could deepen divisions and threaten national cohesion.
Adams concluded that true federalism remains the most viable solution for national unity and sustainable development, insisting that restructuring the country is no longer a matter of political debate but a necessity for survival.
