Decentralize or Decline: Nigeria’s Moment of Truth
Decentralize or Decline: Nigeria’s Moment of Truth By Onyekachi Chukwunyere Ebosi Why Nigeria Must Decentralize Resource Control Nigeria stands at a critical crossroads. For decades, the country has operated a highly centralized system in which the federal government controls most natural resources. While this structure may have once seemed practical, today it has become a bottleneck: slowing growth, limiting innovation, and leaving vast economic potential untapped. Ironically, we already understand this problem in another sector: security. The growing call for state policing is based on one simple truth: the federal government cannot effectively secure all 36 states from the center. Nigeria is too large, too complex, and too diverse. So here’s the question: If decentralization is necessary for security, why not for economic survival? The Core Problem: Over-Centralization Nigeria’s natural wealth is enormous; oil, gas, solid minerals, agriculture, and more, spread across differe...