I have watched with great admiration the wisdom behind the slogan: "Nigeria, Good People, Great Nation", which I have personally helped to popularize. Going by the things that developed as a result of a careful study of the Nation Nigeria, I began to see that the people of Nigeria are neither united nor diverse; they are a people in limbo!
No doubt, Nigeria is a great nation, inhabited in every corner by a wonderful, great and warm people. History has it that modern Nigeria dates from 1914 when the two British protectorates of Northern and Southern Nigeria were amalgamated by Frederick John Dealtry Lugard (later Lord Lugard of Abinger).
Prior to this date, the territory contained a number of people, each severally pursuing its own destiny, each at its own pace and each following its own chosen direction. Despite the differences, these various people had contacts with one another because sporadic commercial and social contacts had, for centuries, been in existence even though each group had remained distinct and separate politically and culturally.
Prominent among these groups are the Igbo, a highly decentralized confederation of clans held together by a common language and a common culture. The Igbo are found mostly in the eastern part of Nigeria with a developed sophisticated culture of renown, chronicled in the annals of international history long before the birth of Nigeria. The rest are the Hausa in the north, and the Yoruba, in the west, including a vast number of smaller tribes.
Today, Nigeria is a great nation owing to the fact that all the constituent tribes variedly associated with each other, are proudly and freely preserving their independence and pursuing their progress, each in a manner that is unique and distinct. The people are good because they are tolerant and believe strongly in the unity of Nigeria.
Unity is a state of affairs where the entire polity is completely reconciled with itself - a state of affairs where fear, reasonable or unreasonable, is diminished or reduced to manageable proportions. Since unity does not mean uniformity, tribalism which is better understood as ethnic nationalism, a stunted growth, a nationalism constricted to, fixated in, and organized on personalities, is the biggest obstacle to the word unity, on which the Nigerian State tends to stand.
According Dim Chukwuemeka Odumegwu Ojukwu, tribalism is a social philosophy based on the construction of series of imaginary boundaries which establish the "us" and the "them" dichotomy. This canker, no doubt, has really eaten deep into the fabrics of a united Nigeria of our dreams, and should not remain unchecked.
As a united nation, we can succeed in the building of a greater Nigeria if only we can be able to call a spade by its name, not a mere farm implement. As an indivisible state, unite to achieving a greater status in world history, it will be right to establish that children of mixed ethnic marriages should have full rights in each ethnic area of their parents. This will help Nigerians to diffuse their ethnic origin to the greater benefit of Nigerian unity.
Our children are consciously thrown together to study in federal institutions without any conscious effort made to unite each student. The government should create avenues to enhance national unity. National recognition should be given for conspicuous effort in the interest of unity. There is no better way to unity than endeavours jointly undertaken and achievements jointly won. It must be noted that a country in search of unity will take bold and positive actions for a smooth arrival.
In the search for unity, Nigeria has made certain commendable positive steps like the establishment of federal schools to integrate our youth, send them to the National Youth Service Corps to be better integrated in the Nigeria of our dream. Yet, a lot of issues remain and are begging to be addressed. The issues of unemployment, persistent stigmatization of Nigerian citizens outside their home states, religion, etc. If we must succeed as a united nation, we must leave behind all of the things that contradict our national life, because at the moment, Nigeria is obsessively jealous of those things that made her diverse despite an avowed wish for unity. We cannot shy away from the fact that in Nigeria the accident of birth is sacrosanct. So also are the accident of geography, language, religion, tribal marks, dress, etc.
If we don't feel accommodated with all these immutable facts, then we have never really, freely decided our preference. A successful, united Nigerian nation is achieved only when we are prepared to approach the issue of unity and national solidarity realistically, selflessly, fearlessly and with a singularity of purpose. Let us unite truly so that old prejudices and entrenched interests must be overcome. Let us banish from every Nigerian, the atmosphere of insecurity, abolish ethnic ghettos prevalent in some of our cities and in politics, and blur those imaginary boundaries that separate citizen from citizen.
Nigerians may however, decide that their diversity is more precious than unity, in which case, they do not really want to unite. But it is my candid opinion that every obstruction against the unity of Nigeria should be removed so that violence will never become her second name. Nigerians should recognize the fact that tribalism is just a single factor that is trying to nullify the efforts at evolving a national leadership capable of fulfilling their national aspirations. Though, I do not believe in a formula which can change the diverse society of Nigeria overnight, and transform it into a nation, yet I strongly believe that development is the curative medicine that every Nigerian needs.
When we develop in earnest, every other system, traditional, political, social and economic, will be disrupted. As Nigerians, let us rise above the present minor alterations and slight modifications that have bedeviled us and make fundamental changes. The choice to sincere development is truly and entirely ours, or else, we'll be unwanted and forgotten as a nation.
Source: Vitus Ejiogu is a writer and publisher with the Fire-Brand Int"l Ministries, a media ministry that is based in Nigeria.
He is the editor of FOUNDATION SATELLITE magazine also published by the ministry. He pastors a Church in Bauchi and is married with two children.
You can reach him at: firebrandhq@yahoo.com or, 234 802 8181 829. Website: http://www.firebrandhq.com or http://azepanig.blogspot.com.
He is the editor of FOUNDATION SATELLITE magazine also published by the ministry. He pastors a Church in Bauchi and is married with two children.
You can reach him at: firebrandhq@yahoo.com or, 234 802 8181 829. Website: http://www.firebrandhq.com or http://azepanig.blogspot.com.
Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Vitus_Ejiogu
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