Abstract
There is increasing concern that undermines the significance and robust value of the federal system of government in the Nigeria context. It is notable and universally known that federalism is the prototype of national development and economic growth for some countries like the United States of America. Despite evidence of positive outcomes in federal states, the Nigeria case is bedeviled with strives and unhealthy rivalries. There is an increasing upsurge of ethnic distrust, which is hampering the unity of Nigeria as a country—notably the anxiety of the south-east as well as the south-south peoples. The problem has been exacerbated under the government of President Muhammadu Buhari. Against this backdrop, this study appraised the pattern of agitation in the Nigerian federal system. The study adopted a mixed-methods approach that comprised qualitative and quantitative research. The sample size was 1320, and this was applied to the quantitative survey, while the qualitative survey was conducted among small size groups. Data were collated and analysed quantitatively and qualitatively. The former applied structured questionnaires, descriptive statistics, and inferential statistics. The latter applied unstructured interviewing and thematic analysis. More than three-quarters of the 735 participants disagreed that the federal government enshrined national unity in the structure of federal appointments. The chi square estimate, x2 89.8; p<0.01, was significant in measuring the pattern of federal appointments and ethnic agitations. Qualitative data reveals that Indigenous peoples of southern Nigeria identified a skewed pattern of federal appointments in key military hierarchy and mainstream oil corporations that excluded their ethnic members. This is the major cause of agitation. This study suggests renegotiating the oil derivation dividend and reorganizing appointments in a significant oil corporation to support the host communities' consent to the development of natural resources.