現代化與政治發展的概念與定義充滿著爭議性與挑撥性，相關的面向與爭論且尚 未有圓滿決解之道。本文嘗試探討因這些概念與定義所引起的問題。此外，本文同時檢視奈 及利亞的聯邦主義是否運用這些概念達成現代化與政治發展的目的。分析過奈及利亞在殖民 時期的政治體制與新近實行的聯邦主義，本文將重點置於教育在現代化與政治發展過程所扮 演的角色與發揮的功能。結論認為教育對奈及利亞政府在國家整合與建立方面確實發揮相當 的貢獻。

　　　　　The concepts and definitions of modernization and political development are controversial and provocative, and not all the dimensions and issues can be dealt with satisfactorily. This paper intends to discuss some of these problems that have resulted from the research in this area. It will also examine Nigeria's federalism in an attempt to ascertain how successfully these concepts can be applied to that country in terms of it achieving modernization and political development. After analyzing Nigeria's political system under colonialism and its Federalism, we focus on the role and function of education in modernization and political development. The conclusion is that education does make a lot contribution to Nigerian government in national integration and nation-building.