UNITY WITHOUT UNIFORMITY

Nigeria’s federal system has long been marked by deep centralisation, producing persistent tensions around governance, identity, security, and development. While calls for restructuring or “true federalism” have recurred for decades, debates often oscillate between fears of national fragmentation and demands for greater regional autonomy.This paper argues that a flexible system of devolution, grounded in peacebuilding principles and comparative federal practice, offers a viable pathway for reconciling national unity with effective regional governance. Drawing on constitutional design scholarship and comparative insights from federal and devolved systems such as the United States and the United Kingdom, the paper advances the concept of “unity without uniformity.” This approach emphasises differentiated autonomy within a single constitutional framework, allowing subnational units to exercise context-appropriate powers while preserving the integrity of the state.The analysis situates Nigeria’s governance challenges within broader debates on territorial autonomy, institutional legitimacy, and conflict management in plural societies. It highlights how over-centralisation can weaken local ownership and responsiveness, while carefully designed devolution can enhance accountability, reduce identity-based grievances, and strengthen state capacity. Rather than advocating secession or constitutional rupture, the paper frames restructuring as an incremental, adaptive governance reform aligned with peacebuilding logic and democratic practice.This preprint is shared to contribute to ongoing scholarly and policy discussions on federalism, governance reform, and peacebuilding in Nigeria and other multi-ethnic states.