One Hundred Years of Nationhood and the Challenges of Nation Building in Nigeria (original) (raw)
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Nation-Building and National Integration in Nigeria: A Historical Study
One of the most persistent problems confronting African states has been that of nation-building, especially national integration. As the case of Nigeria clearly shows, this problem became-more pronounced after independence. This is not to say, however, that the issue of nation-building and national integration was absent, per se, under British colonial rule. In all honesty, theamalgamation of 1914 brought the hitherto heterogeneous peoples of Nigeria together under one administrative framework. Trying to integrate all these groups into a united country has remained a herculean task. This easy seeks to historicize this phenomenon to serve as a guide for finding sustainable, solutions to its lingering consequences. In so doing, the historical/descriptive approach is adopted, informed, as it were, by the very nature of the topic. Thus, content analysis of relevant literature was employed and the topic analyzed thematically. The finding is that political stability imperative in any attempt at resolving the crisis of nation-building and national integration in Nigeria. There need fora paradigm shift with regard to some of the official policies whichhave tended to exacerbate rather than diminish thecrisis of nation-building and national integration in Nigeria.
CHALLENGES OF NATION-BUILDING IN A MULTI-NATION STATE: THE NIGERIAN EXPERIENCE
JOURNAL OF ARTS AND SOCIAL SCIENCE REVIEW (JASSR), 2022
The entity called Nigeria having a minimum of 250 nationalities is a colonial creation of Britain which emerged through the amalgamation of the southern and northern protectorates in January 1 st 1914 by Lord Lugard. Thus, people of different nationalities, with varying culture, language and religion were joined together without their consent as a country. However, since the attainment of independence in 1960, the different Nigerian governments have tried to turn the heterogeneous and multi-ethnic Nigerian state into a functional and integrated polity. These efforts have not yielded the desired results as centrifugal tensions, self-determination agitations, ethnic based identity politics and religious cleavages have enveloped national consciousness. Thus this paper examines the challenges of nation-building in Nigeria. It explores the successes that have been achieved and the challenges confronting nation-building endeavours in Nigeria. The paper is descriptive in nature and it relied on secondary source of data. The paper identified various challenges such as lack of effective leadership, corruption, bad governance, ethnicity and insecurity among others as major barriers to nation-building in Nigeria. This paper therefore concludes that unless Nigeria have leaders with ability, integrity, commitment, sense of fairplay and vision, she cannot succeed in her nation-building efforts.
Nation Building and the Impediments of Building the Nigerian Nation.
The nation-State called the Nigerian nation is far from the semblance of a nation. Although, the pretext of her adopting the nomenclature of a 'nation' remains a dim reality; regional, religious and ethnic acrimony have all eaten deep into the so called Nigerian nation and this has rubbished the ideal part of what the connotation of a nation is to the country. Colonialism has been blamed for the harsh realities of the country to forge common unity and peace amongst its people but beyond colonialism, the country has refused to rise above what obviously negates her corporate existence as a political entity. Right from when the country gained political independence in 1960, myriads of political uncertainties continue to plague her. From the civil war in 1967-1970 to serious religious and ethnic cum regional unrest and in recent time, Boko Haram insurgency and Fulani herdsmen proclivity for religious and ethnic cleansing especially in the northern part of the country and some selected states across the country, the corporate existence of the Nigerian nation is under threat and the fact remains that, it is very difficult for the country to witness genuine quest towards nation building. This paper examines the challenges being faced by the Nigerian nation towards nation building. The paper analyses nation building and the impediments of building the Nigerian nation by looking at Professor Ibrahim Gambari's thoughts on nation building in Nigeria.
Nigeria is a plural society. The country is made up of not less than 250 ethnic groups each with its own cultural, political and social identities. These ethnically and politically diverse people were amalgamated in 1914 by the colonial administrators. The seed of discord may have been planted by the colonial authorities through their administrative system which did not bring them together under a single authority. The British colonizing forces met a working native political system in most parts of what later became Nigeria under her authority. For reasons of convenience and economic expediency, they adopted indirect rule system. Under this administrative system, the traditional rulers still appeared to their subjects as the de facto as well as de jury leaders. This system led to the development of two classes of people in the new nation. These are the ruling/elite class and the masses. Colonialism thus integrated Nigeria into the world capitalist society with its exploitative tendencies. It is no news that colonialism resulted in the exploitation of resources of the colonies, in addition neo-colonialism ensures that the legacies of the latter were perpetuated by the succeeding local bourgeois. Consequently colonial heritage of exploitation and divide and rule has remained one of the major obstacles to development in Nigeria and most African countries. The British colonial administrative system also created room for mutual suspicion and fear of domination of the majority ethnic group by the minority groups. This problem has constituted a major hindrance towards national integration in Nigeria. The post independent policies have deepened this diversity to the extent that Nigerians are now more divided than before. The study argues that the post independent leaders, both military and civilian have not helped matters. They have conducted the affairs of the state in such a way that
Nigeria and the Challenges of National Unity
IJAEDU- International E-Journal of Advances in Education, 2020
The task of unifying the various ethnic, religious, political and socioeconomic groupings in Nigeria has remained a daunting national challenge more than hundred years after amalgamation in 1914. This is particularly puzzling considering that all government regimes since independence in 1960 have made national unity their important agenda. Concomitant programmes, policies and mantras including institutionalization of the federal character principle, the National Youth Service Corps (NYSC), unity schools, national symbols, National Orientation Agency (NOA), and mantras such as "the unity of the nation is not negotiable", among others have been adopted to facilitate national unity in Nigeria. Yet the gap between the various groupings seems wider as the nation is still plagued with ethnic rivalry, religious intolerance, political exclusion, quest for self-determination, power sharing and violent agitations to mention a few. This paper explored the challenges of national unity in Nigeria after one hundred years of existence. Employing the Choice theory, documentary data sources and qualitative data analysis, the paper contends that the challenges to national unity in Nigeria appear to persist because of the manipulations of political, ethnic and religious elites due to pecuniary gains and enduring rivalry over the control of state power. The result showed that unity remains a scarce commodity in Nigeria because of the manner elites conceived and implement policies to reinforce primordial loyalties. As a result, government policies and projects are narrowly conceived and implemented to favour selected groups and communities. This heightens disagreements and controversies among the diverse peoples and communities, threatening the nation"s existence and development.
To Be and How Not To Be: The Challenges Of Nation-Building in Nigeria
ARISTO, 2019
The work is the analysis of both the various nation-building challenges that have confronted Nigeria since independence and the possible ways the country can overcome them. The dream of Nigeria since independence in 1960 is to turn itself into a viable and cohesive nation. This has become an impossible dream however due to a myriad of challenges. Nigeria is a multi-ethnic society with over 250 ethnic groups. Each of these ethnic groups also have religious and economic issues that separates them from one another. Nigeria’s diversity has been a major obstacle in its drive to become a global and responsible player in the international community. By using the qualitative research methodology, the work identified various challenges, such as corruption, autarky, governance and distribution that have been the major barriers to the creation of a viable polity. The style used in the study is also historical, descriptive and analytical. Crucially, the study also used the concept of nation-bu...
Unity In Diversity in Nigeria’s Nationhood – Which Way Forward?
International Journal of Scientific Research, 2012
The Nigeria existence from 1914 till date (2013) has been bedeviled with crises. These include negative forces of fear of domination, ethnicity, indigenization crises, militancy, kidnapping, terrorism etc which have been tampering a new dawn of One Nation, One People and One Destiny. It is against this backdrop that this paper seeks to examine various issues and challenges bedeviling unity in diversity in Nigeria's nationhood. It critically reviews issues posed by national question with particular reference to the defective Nigerian constitution, federal structure, federal character issue, revenue allocation dislocation and Nigerian citizenship question. It further explores how to strengthen our common ideals in order to foster unity in diversity. The paper concludes by recommending among others that the issue of nationhood must be addressed within the context of true federalism, sovereign national conference, resource control and patriotic value system.
A Political History Of Nigeria And The Crisis Of Ethnicity In Nation-Building
International Journal of Developing Societies, 2014
The virus of ethnicity has been one of the most definitive causes of social crisis, injustice, inequality and religiopolitical instability in Nigeria. Ethnicity has been perceived in general as a major obstacle to the overall politico-economic development of the country. Nigeria is marked by underlying ethnic cleavages and interethnic fears and tensions, hence a bellicose nation. These are revealed from time to time by conflicting lobbies at the moments of competition for shares of the national cake and political appointments to high offices, resource control, head of political parties and ministerial positions. Losers in competitions for high national offices often attribute their failures to ethnicity or ethnic marginalization, while winners hardly ever explained their success in terms of the influence of ethnicity, and are therefore not gallant losers or magnanimous in victory. The Nation's incessant appeals to ethnicity have obviously showcased the evils inherent in the politicization of ethnicity. Consequently, the ensuing complications of ethnicity have grossly impinged on the development of the country in all ramifications. The paper, a historio-political venture, argues that the path was colonially charted though; the Nigerian political elite have in complicity exacerbated ethnicity in the country. As Nigeria warms to its centennial amalgamation birthday, the Nigerian political history is summable as a squandered century of nationhood, a nation-building in close call, extremely in dire need of operational reappraisals.
The Challenges of National Integration in Nigeria
2007
This paper interrogates the challenges of national integration in Nigeria. Several policies and programmes of government like harmonized state structure, establishment of National Youths Service Corps Scheme, Federal Character Commission have not been able to achieve the goal of unifying the peoples of Nigeria. The question is, what are the factors responsible for lack of unity, tribalism, nepotism, electoral malpractices, anarchy and social disorganisation, which are the bane of the Nigerian soda-political structure today? This paper provides answers to this question. It exposes the intricacies of national integration and seeks to x-ray the factors which hinder the realization of the dream of national integration and their possible alternatives. The identified alternatives deal with how to achieve the objective of national integration in Nigeria. Introduction This paper addresses issues related to integration among groups in Nigeria. It lays emphasis on the needs, policies and prog...
to be and how not to be: nation building challenges in nigeria.pdf
Aristo, 2019
The work is the analysis of both the various nation-building challenges that have confronted Nigeria since independence and the possible ways the country can overcome them. The dream of Nigeria since independence in 1960 is to turn itself into a viable and cohesive nation. This has become an impossible dream however due to a myriad of challenges. Nigeria is a multi-ethnic society with over 250 ethnic groups. Each of these ethnic groups also have religious and economic issues that separates them from one another. Nigeria’s diversity has been a major obstacle in its drive to become a global and responsible player in the international community. By using the qualitative research methodology, the work identified various challenges, such as corruption, autarky, governance and distribution that have been the major barriers to the creation of a viable polity. The style used in the study is also historical, descriptive and analytical. Crucially, the study also used the concept of nation-building as its Theoretical Framework. This has made it possible for the work to highlight and posit specific pragmatic and logical ways Nigeria can overcome its nation-building challenges and emerge a viable, cohesive and functional polity in the 21st century.