In the First Republic, The country was split into three geopolitical regions — Western Region, Eastern Region and Northern Region — and its political parties took on the identities and ideologies of each region.

The Northern People's Party (NPC) represented the interests of the predominantly Hausa/Fulani Northern Region, the National Council of Nigeria and the Cameroons (NCNC) (later renamed to National Council of Nigerian Citizens) represented the predominantly Igbo Eastern Region, and the Action Group (AG) dominated the Yoruba Western Region. The NPC took control of the federal parliament, and formed a coalition government with the NCNC. Ahmadu Bello, leader of the NPC, was poised to become the Prime Minister, but instead he chose to become the Premier of the Northern Region, and supported his deputy Tafawa Balewa's candidacy for Prime Minister. This raised suspicions amongst the southern politicians, who resented the idea of a federal government controlled by a regional leader through his designated proxy. In the end, Tafawa Balewa of NPC was named Prime Minister and Head of Government, and Nnamdi Azikiwe of NCNC was named President.

At Nigeria's independence, the Northern Region gained more seats in parliament than both Eastern and Western regions combined—this would cement Northern dominance in Nigerian politics for years to come. Resentment amongst southern politicians precipitated into political chaos in the country. Obafemi Awolowo, Premier of Western Region, was charged with sedition and convicted in a controversial trial. With incarceration of Awolowo, Samuel Akintola was elected as the Premier of Western Region. Akintola was widely seen as a tool of the North, and he presided over the most chaotic era in Western Region—one which earned it the nickname "the Wild-Wild West". This forced the Balewa government to crack-down on lawlessness in the West using military might.

I personally think our current federal situation is a joke - The Nigerian people all have different identities due to its varying ethnicity as well as Religion. We may choose to deny, But it is apparent that there is not much tolerance across these lines. I propose that every region should hold their own elections and have their own president and representatives while a Prime minister is rotated amongst the regions with a federal executive council comprising of representatives from all regions to monitor the regional executive and parliaments.

my Nairaland friends, Let me know what you think.

My brother it is a bad idea. We must instead focus on making the electoral process free and fair. Then we will see better results.