INTRO: First muted by Murtala Muhammed in his address to the opening session of the Constitution Drafting Committee (CDC) in 1975, the Federal Character principle is a political instrument of ensuring representativeness of the diverse people of Nigeria in public positions and affairs. It was seen as an oily formula to silence the troubled waters in Nigeria and the panacea to the issue of political economic instability which obstructs the balancing of the North and South on the one hand and the various ethnic groups mainly the three dominant ethnic groups (Igbo, Yoruba and the Hausa/Fulani) and also other minority ethnic groups on the other hand. According to the CDC’s report of 1977, Federal Character refers to the distinctive desire of the peoples of Nigeria to promote national unity, foster national loyalty and give every citizen of Nigeria a sense of belonging to the nation notwithstanding the diversities of ethnic origin, culture, language or religion which may exist and which it
...so, why ask why?