By Sonny Iroche
Nigeria’s Federal Character principle, rooted firmly in the 1999 Constitution (as amended), was crafted as a kind of safety valve for a nation wrestling with deep divisions. The thinking behind it. Create room at the table for everyone, calm down fears about regional dominance, and make sure every corner of this sprawling country could genuinely claim ownership of “the Nigerian project.” Coming out of colonial rule and civil war, what policymakers wanted was healing, bridges, not barriers. Fast forward more than twenty years into this democratic era. One uncomfortable truth has become harder to ignore: sticking rigidly to Federal Character rules and quota-based allocations,in everything from university admissions to public sector jobs, has backfired in ways many anticipated.
The most glaring casualty. Meritocracy itself. There’s now a growing sense that top-performing students or candidates routinely lose out because they hail from “the wrong” state or ethnic group. Here’s where things get even trickier. As Artificial Intelligence sweeps across industries worldwide,and as competition between nations becomes downright cutthroat, Nigeria faces a tough crossroads.
Can any country that systematically sidelines merit realistically hope to keep pace in an AI-driven global economy.. It’s not just theory; it cuts right to our prospects for future relevance. From Inclusion Tool to Institutional Weakening Federal Character boils down to one core idea: representation matters,a lot. Still, let’s be candid: if you push representation without demanding competence, all you’re doing is watering down your institutions (sometimes quietly). What started off as a short-term fix has morphed into something closer to a permanent speed bump on Nigeria’s road toward excellence.
Check how this plays out day-to-day: In universities, federal colleges, even military academies,the bar for entry often isn’t about who worked hardest or scored highest but rather which part of the country someone comes from.. You see scenarios where applicants with far lower grades leapfrog better-qualified peers purely due to state quotas. The underlying message. Your birthplace counts for more than your abilities do. That stings, and frankly, it puts us on shaky economic ground.
Welcome To The Ruthless and Unforgiving World Of AI.
Artificial Intelligence couldn’t care less about ethnicity or local politics, it runs strictly on skillsets like accuracy, inventiveness and execution speed. Just look at countries dominating the tech frontier today, from Silicon Valley hubs all the way through Asian innovation centers, they’ve gone all-in on nurturing talent wherever they find it and pushing people toward their full potential early on. In an AI-powered market: Code doesn’t respond to emotional appeals. Algorithms won’t cover up poor skills. Complex systems implode if managed by folks outmatched by their own tools.
Bottom line: Countries winning this race are those betting big on merit above all else because excellence isn’t some optional extra, it determines whether you sink or swim. Right now, though, Nigeria keeps tying its hands with inflexible quota frameworks, a risky move if we’re serious about building world-class research labs or cutting-edge cybersecurity outfits (not forgetting hospitals and defense units). If skill takes a back seat every time geography enters the equation, well, that says it all.
How Institutions Quietly Pay The Price The fallout from Federal Character rarely makes headlines overnight; instead, it creeps up slowly but steadily over time. Standards slip almost invisibly at first, lecture halls grow less challenging; professional benchmarks inch downward; red tape multiplies while nimble decision-making dries up; fresh ideas struggle for air; international competitiveness slips away before anyone realizes what happened.
Given enough time, what once seemed average starts to feel like the norm, while genuine excellence somehow gets side-eyed, written off as elitist or “out of touch.” Odd twist, isn’t it. The same regions Federal Character aimed to elevate are frequently those left shortchanged. Instead of throwing real resources into education, teacher training, digital access, and nurturing young talent where it’s needed most, the system hands out easy fixes. Basically, we’re slapping bandages on wounds without treating what actually caused them. If inclusion is the goal, shouldn’t we be lifting standards everywhere rather than flattening them across the board.
Meritocracy Doesn’t Undermine Unity Here’s one stubborn myth you hear over and over in Nigerian debates: that prioritizing merit chips away at national unity. Actually, flip that around, it does just the opposite. Systems based on merit foster: Trust in public institutions • Belief in fair outcomes. Respect for a level playing field When people see that hard work and ability count for more than background or connections, frustration fades. Folks can handle losing out; what stings is feeling cheated by a rigged game.
The way Federal Character currently works.
It quietly breeds resentment among high achievers who get penalized simply because of where they’re from (hardly fair). Meanwhile recipients end up with a hollow victory, they miss out on proving themselves head-to-head. No society ever rose to greatness by lowering expectations for everyone. Real progress comes from winning honestly earned rewards. What Nigeria Needs in an AI World The rise of artificial intelligence changes everything, for better or worse,and forces us to rethink how Nigeria identifies and develops its brightest minds.
Does this mean ditching inclusiveness. Not at all; it means being smarter about how we define it now. So what needs doing. A few things leap out:
1) Put merit back at center stage when admitting students or hiring, especially in STEM fields, medicine, defense and security. 2) Pour serious investment into schools and tech infrastructure in underserved regions so that talent emerges naturally,not because some quota demands it.
3) Leverage AI tools themselves: blind evaluations, standardized tests analyzed with data-driven fairness, all ways to curb bias.
4) Reframe Federal Character as a tool for development (not merely an admissions pass). Put another way: let’s stop slicing up an already small pie and focus on baking more pies, expanding opportunities so every Nigerian has a shot based on skill.
Sentiment Versus Survival: Where Do We Go From Here. Right now Nigeria faces a make-or-break moment, a fork in the road you can’t ignore much longer.
Down one path lies business-as-usual: policies shaped by sentiment instead of performance metrics. Down the other. Sweeping reforms that might not win votes, but could very well decide our future prosperity. AI won’t slow down while we debate; if anything, it’ll widen divides between countries rewarding brilliance versus those settling for “good enough.” No sitting this one out, the stakes couldn’t be higher.
Bottom line: nations destined to lead will be those investing relentlessly in their own talent pools, competing not just regionally, but globally using brainpower and creativity as currency.
And let’s set aside any idea that meritocracy is just some Western obsession; frankly speaking, it’s common sense anywhere you want real progress. If Nigeria wants true greatness during this defining era of AI innovation, it must face reality squarely: quotas can never replace competence; no country grows beyond limits placed on its best people. One last thing, the world won’t hit pause while politics catch up.
Note:
The writer, Sonny Iroche was a Senior Academic Fellow at the African Studies Centre, University of Oxford. He also holds a postgraduate degree in Artificial Intelligence from the same institution. Additionally, he serves on the Technical Working Group for UNESCO, on the AI Readiness Assessment Methodology, and is also a member of the Nigerian National AI Strategy Committee.
