Oil, Democracy and the Promise of True Federalism in Nigeria

The editors (one a professor of economics at Delaware State U. in the United States and other two recent high officials of the government of the state of Bayelsa in the south of Nigeria) and their contributors believe that Nigeria requires "true federalism" in order to fulfill the promise of economic and political freedom for its citizens and capitalize on its oil wealth. True federalism would mean that no section of the polity suffers from inequality in national wealth distribution, that there are no losers in the political process by virtue of minority and majority role in the political order, that all federating unit members equitably benefit from the national wealth and share equitably in creation of the national income, and that the national political and economic order does no suppress or disenfranchise minority populations. They present 35 papers addressing a broad range of issues connected to this vision of how federal democracy can help Nigeria turn oil from a curse to a blessing. Annotation c2008 Book News, Inc., Portland, OR (booknews.com)

Augustine A. Ikein, Ph.D., is an Associate Professor of Economics, Finance and Policy Studies, at Delaware State University. Professor Ikein was also a recipient of the United States Fulbright Fellowship Award and a Visiting Fulbright Scholar to University of Port Harcourt, 1998-1999. Steve Azaiki, Ph.D., is the former Secretary to Bayelsa State Government 2002-2005 and is the current President of the World Environmental Movement for Africa (WEMFA) in Nigeria. D.S.P. Alamieyeseigha, Ph.D., was the First Executive Governor of Bayelsa State of Nigeria, 1999 through 2005.