Nigeria's Path to Productive Federalism Explored

Dipo Baruwa addresses Nigeria's developmental challenges, arguing that they stem from a misalignment of authority, incentives, and capabilities rather than a lack of ideas. He critiques the evolution of Nigeria's fiscal federalism, noting a shift from rewarding production to prioritizing distribution, which has weakened the incentive for governments to enhance their productive bases.

Baruwa suggests that the focus should be on governance rather than constitutional engineering, advocating for the alignment of authority with responsibility and incentives to build productive capabilities. He acknowledges imperfections in the 1999 Constitution but asserts that Nigeria can create a more productive federation without waiting for constitutional perfection.

He references Section 162 of the Constitution, which outlines principles for revenue allocation, aiming to balance national cohesion through redistribution with the need to preserve incentives for productivity.