The Roman Concept of Imperium and Post-Colonial State Power in Nigeria: A Critical Reading

The Roman concept of imperium, the legally constituted authority to command in military and civil contexts, is a foundational category of Western political theory that has shaped colonial governance models and, by extension, the post-colonial Nigerian state. This study critically examines the legacy of Roman imperium in the architecture of Nigerian state power, focusing on the constitutional and administrative structures through which authority is centralised, delegated, and contested in the Federal Republic of Nigeria. A critical-historical methodology was adopted, tracing the conceptual genealogy of imperium from Roman legal sources through British colonial administrative theory to the Nigerian Independence Constitution and the 1999 Constitution. Secondary analysis drew on scholarship in Roman political history, colonial history, and Nigerian constitutional law. Interviews with six constitutional law scholars at Obafemi Awolowo University provided contemporary perspectives. Findings indicate that the federalism-unitarism tension in the Nigerian state reflects an unresolved inheritance of the Roman imperial model, in which central authority is constitutionally supreme but practically dependent on regional compliance. The emergency powers provisions of the Nigerian constitution mirror Roman provisions for dictatorial authority in crisis situations. The study concludes that understanding the Roman conceptual roots of state authority enhances critical engagement with post-colonial Nigerian governance structures and recommends Roman political thought as a foundation course in Nigerian public administration programmes.

Keywords: Roman imperium, post-colonial state power, Nigeria, constitutional authority, political philosophy