More than six decades ago, the founding fathers of Nigeria, committed to building a nation based on respect for the rule of law, honesty, truth, integrity and hard work, felt the need to support federalism as the best alternative system of government, irrespective of their ethnic, religious, cultural, geographical, political and economic differences.
They believed that federalism satisfies the urge of the various entities to retain some of their cherished or peculiar socio-cultural values and norms, while at the same time, enabling them to unite into one nation.

In recent times, however, the federal system of government has witnessed serious strains arising from the cries of perceived socio-economic and political injustices, inequities and imbalances by various groups across the federation. This situation seems to have been compounded by the tainted image of Nigeria by reports on the scale of corruption in both the public and private sectors of the economy, violent conflicts, complex insurgencies, rising criminality among youths and bad governance.

The cumulative effect of the reports of the World Bank in 2000, the National Bureau of Statistics in 2010, the Central Bank of Nigeria between 2009-2011 on social indicators and the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) Human Development Index in 2011, is that Nigeria is a country of many paradoxes: - ranging from a land of poverty in the midst of plenty to that of widening income inequality and rising high cost of governance in the midst of growing insecurity and unemployment rates among youths.

 The question then is, why does the second wealthiest nation in Africa and a country not lacking in natural and human resources, have a human development index that is lower than the average in sub-Saharan Africa? Why do great majority of Nigerians lack access to clean and safe drinking water, electricity and health care services? Why do we have over 10 million educated youths unemployed, leaving some of them with the option to engage in acts of criminality?

Though Nigeria is a country of many paradoxes, overall, the country has the potential to build a prosperous economy, reduce poverty and unemployment significantly, and provide the basic social and economic services her population needs. However, several years of military rule, poor public expenditure management, over-dependence on oil and unmitigated rent-seeking behaviour to amass wealth from the nation’s treasury, have conspired to undermine the country’s sustainable development.

Redeeming the image of Nigeria therefore, starts from genuinely addressing the root causes of endemic corruption in both the private and public sectors and youth involvement in acts of kidnapping, insurgency, terrorism, cybercrimes and violent conflicts. This entails the progressive implementation of the constitutional provisions on fundamental social, economic, political, educational, environmental and foreign policy objectives listed under sections 15-20 for the common good of all and as a primary constitutional duty of all those exercising executive, legislative and judicial powers in Nigeria.

In this regards, urgent attention and strong political will are needed to implement, particularly, the provisions of Section 15(5) of the constitution on abolishing corrupt practices and abuse of power; and Section 16 on managing the economic resources/public funds such that the wealth of the nation is not concentrated in the hands of few individuals or a group, but for the maximum benefit of all Nigerians and in the best interest of the public and justice.

Redeeming the image of Nigeria further entails building and sustaining trust and confidence between law enforcement/security agencies and the public, particularly communities, civil society groups and the private sector, as equal stakeholders in crime prevention and control as well as peace building efforts consistent with Nigeria’s constitutional and treaty obligations.

This is very critical for communities and groups who see the government as sanctioning alleged extra-judicial killings, forced disappearances and other excesses as a form of abuse of power committed against their locals in the name of law and order, counter-insurgency or domestic military operations.

Another viable option for Nigeria lies in the vigorous pursuit of greater inter-agency collaboration and cooperation in law enforcement, intelligence gathering and sharing, for effective prevention and control of trans-border crimes, proliferation and illegal possession and misuse of small arms and light weapons in the West African/ECOWAS sub-region.

Finally, in recognition of the negative role of the media in promoting conflicts through information mis-management, it is necessary to expose media practitioners to the importance and need for moderation, less sensationalism, integrity and professionalism. This can be done through continuing peace education and conflict reporting workshops and seminars aimed at sensitizing media practitioners to the constitutional objectives of building a united, strong, peaceful and prosperous society in the best interest of all.

 Professor Tawfiq Ladan wrote from Ahmadu Bello University, Zaria