Comparative Analysis of Federalism and Natural Resource Management in Nigeria and South Africa (1960-2010)

The history of mankind in all generation has been a struggle dominated by the need to enhance his material condition either as an individual or as a collectivity. The struggle for material condition has led to the evolution of different types of political systems, which include federalism. Importantly, each state is endowed with different kinds of natural resources, which has engendered development in some states and underdevelopment in others. While scholars have made substantial contributions on the nature, structure, dynamism and economics of federalism, very little efforts has been directed to a comparative analysis of the impact of the structure of federalism on revenue allocation and the management of natural resources in Nigeria and South Africa. In particular, this study attempts to resolve the following puzzles as delineated: (i) how does the structure of federalism impact on the pattern of revenue allocation among the constituent units in Nigeria and South Africa? (ii) Do the proceeds from natural resources exploitation in Nigeria and South Arica adequately enhance the provision of basic social amenities? (iii) Does the role of the state in Nigeria engender conflict in resource access and management in contradistinction to the role of the state in South Africa?

The study adopted the documentation method of data collection. The study also adopted the basic propositions emanating from the Marxian political economy approach, which are applicable to Nigeria and South African social formations as our theoretical framework of analysis. Among other things, the study revealed that the unbalanced structure of the Nigerian federalism impact disproportionately on the revenue allocated to the component units, while the structure of the South African federalism enhances equitability in revenue allocations. The study also observed that the proceeds from the exploitation of natural resources did not adequately impact on the provision of basic social amenities in both Nigeria and South Africa. The study recommend for the restructuring of Nigerian Federalism with a-three-tier government based on the existing 6 geo-political zones as the federating units. Again, the government should enact law that ensures that proceeds from natural resource exploitation are used to provide basic social amenities to the entire political system, but particularly to the region of extraction.