Share THE planned amendment of the Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria (CFRN) 1999(as amended) is not the appropriate response to the ongoing clamour of the people of Nigeria for true federalism. The simple reason is that the CFRN 1999 is more of a unitary constitution which has been found to be unsatisfactory and unworkable in a federation. The wave of clamour for true federalism is a reflection of the frustrations of Nigerians with the 1999 Constitution which is simply not working and is about to turn the country into a failed state. The problems with the 1999 Constitution are incurable by ordinary process of legislation or constitutional amendment because the issue of centralizing trends in Nigeria’s federalism can neither be addressed nor reversed by the current National Assembly which in itself, is a beneficiary of the lopsided structure, and is seen as part of the problem. To put the issues in proper perspective, it is pertinent to trace the background to Nigeria’s federal system. After the forced amalgamation of the Northern and Southern Protectorates in 1914 to form one Nigeria, the British Colonial office was burdened with the search for a viable structural arrangement that would accommodate the different tribes, ethnic nationalities, empires, republics and autonomous communities that made up the geographical expression called Nigeria.