Derivation Principle Dilemma and National (Dis)Unity in Nigeria: A Polycentric Planning Perspective on the Niger Delta

Military incursion into Nigerian politics unilaterally abrogated derivation principle that existed before the discovery of oil in commercial quantities and imposed an authoritarian and centralized fiscal system. The paper traces the poverty and human misery in the Niger Delta to three factors: (1) unresponsive government policy, (2) inadequate finance and (3) corruption and low public morality among government officials operating in the Niger Delta. The centralized fiscal system has acted as a set back on the progress of the Niger Delta where most of the country’s revenues are derived. As expected, agitations for inclusiveness on the part of the people has led to several crises. In order to resolve the challenge of derivation and governance crisis in the Niger Delta, this paper derives some lessons from American federalism, Alaska’s oil experience and Eastern and Southern African wildlife conservation programmes. Recent indications show that there exists robust and resilient associational life in the Niger Delta, which are imperative for igniting a shared community of understanding, and for valorizing the process of true federalism and democratisation in the region. Using polycentric institutional mechanism, this paper, therefore, proposes African Community-Initiatives and Development (ACID) Model for streamlining the activities and operations of formal institutions and self-governing institutions in the Niger Delta.