Is Nigeria Truly ‘One Nigeria’huh By Don Okereke One of the ludicrous clichés bandied about in Nigeria is ‘One Nigeria’. In reality, this precept is akin to a farce. Keep an eye on debates and vituperations on the public space emanating from our supposed intelligentsia and political leaders: the Femi Fani Kayode’s, the Edwin Clarke’s, the Ango Abdullahi’s and the ubiquitous laypersons who hide under anonymous moniker’s on social media/networking platforms and you will see the overt ethnic colourations, it’s about ‘we’, ‘them’, ‘our turn’ ‘their turn’ bla bla bla. Haba! Please let’s eschew sentiments as we mull over and brainstorm viable solutions to the Nigeria mire, sticking point. Salient issues that led to the first military coup, the counter coup and subsequently the 1967-1970 Civil war in Nigeria remain up in the air. Instead of using the rare opportunity presented by the forthcoming date for the centennial amalgamation of Southern and Northern protectorates of Nigeria for serious sober introspection, economic revival and no-holds-barred re-negotiation and political restructuring, our politicians gad-about with arrangements for a grandiose carnival. Can we say in all honesty that Nigeria is truly ‘One Nigeria’? Can we say the Nigerian Nation is more cohesive after nearly one hundred years of a forceful amalgamation for the aggrandizement of our colonial masters? Is Nigeria ‘One Nigeria’ where a while ago, about 10 Ibadan (Yoruba) traders that went to Bornu state to transact business were wantonly hacked to death? Are we truly ‘One Nigeria’ where at least 6 out every 10 Igbo’s I know, born and bred or resided in some Northern states for decades have relocated to the South courtesy of the Boko Haram onslaught? This déjà vu is recurring more than 30 years after the dreaded infamous maitatsine group launched a reign terror in parts of the north. Many non-natives were forced to abandon properties worth millions of naira. A schoolmate of mine sold a landed property in Katsina worth about a million naira for 300 thousand naira when he wanted to relocate to the South East with his family. Don’t forget in a jiffy the ‘’abandoned property’’ hangover in Port Harcourt (River state) aftermath of the 1967-1970 Civil war. Are we ‘One Nigeria’ where the first question a prospective tenant is asked when he/she goes to rent an apartment in some parts of Nigeria is, where are you from? His response determines whether or not the apartment/office space will be rented to him. Are we ‘One Nigeria’ where a prospective undergraduate from Southern Nigeria who sits for UTME (Universities and Tertiary Matriculation Examination), scores say 250 is not admitted into a university but his counterpart from the North who scores 120 is admitted to study medicine? The same principle (a bastardized quota system that exalts mediocrity) applies to admission to our so-called ‘Unity Secondary Schools’ and employment. Are we ‘One Nigeria’ where a Nigerian (Yoruba from Oyo state) is not allowed to work in Abia state Civil Service and vice versa? Are we truly ‘One Nigeria’ where Niger Republic, Lebanese, Senegalese nationals residing in northern states of Nigeria are more integrated, enjoy the same privileges as locals because they share common bonds of culture and religion whereas a typical Christian Tiv, Idoma, Yoruba, Igbo or Ijaw born and bred in the same environment remain a stranger? Is the rest of Nigeria on the same page with a former governor, a serving senator who unblushingly opines that any girl that protrudes bosoms and a pubic hair is matured and can be married off even if the girl is just 9 years old? With the persistent cries of marginalization, do we all have a sense of belonging as Nigerians? Is every Nigerian especially the minorities as Nigerian as other Nigerians? Are we truly ‘One Nigeria’ where some Hausa/Fulani whose third generations were born and bred in Jos (Plateau state) are still seen as settlers, non-indigenes? Forget about one or two political appointments given to non-indigenes to give a semblance of egalitarianism, can a Hausa man, whose parents and himself were born and bred in Lagos state aspire to be the governor of Lagos state in the next coming elections in 2015? Are we ‘One Nigeria’ where the Lagos state government forcefully and shoddily repatriated (deported) some south easterners to Onitsha recently? Why dump all of them at Onitsha by 2A.M? What happened to human dignity? Are they all from Onitsha? If the Lagos state government claims these folks are destitute, is dumping them at Onitsha the solution to the problem? Given that there are also Yoruba destitute in other parts of Nigeria, how will Yoruba’s feel if their folks residing in other parts of Nigeria are hounded home for no justifiable reason? It appears the Rivers State government has joined the fray for mass repatriation of destitute. We are told the FCT Abuja blazed the trail and got away with it. Very soon other states will join the bandwagon. Such bigoted, irredentist, clannish, jingoistic body language depicts gross insensitivity and invariably fans the embers of disunity. By the way, who is a Lagosian and who is not? If one is born and bred in Lagos to parents of Hausa extraction and have lived in Lagos all his life, is that person a Lagosian or not? If that person finds himself on the wrong side of the law or happens to be unemployed, a destitute, do you send him back to where his parents, grandparents migrated from? The brouhaha generated by this feckless stunt is avoidable. Hitherto Nigerians do not yet require Visas to travel from one part of the country to the other. This move is also preposterous because devoid of a State Immigration department, the States cannot enforce the deportations, as the deportees can swiftly return the next day if they so wish. How about implanting RFID Chips on the deportees so they can be tracked and prevented from returning? That will be ingenious. There are destitute, beggars everywhere- New York, London, France etc. If a UK citizen, a destitute from say Birmingham (England) is found in the streets of Aberdeen (Scotland), the authorities will rather rehabilitate that citizen than gaudily repatriate him to Birmingham. Balkanizing Nigeria may not be the solution afterall because even in a nuclear family there are bound to be issues, disagreements. There is no doubt Nigeria has got potentials. There is no doubt our sheer size puts us at an advantage on the bargaining table especially among the committee of nations but we really need to appreciate the home truth and take drastic measures to fix the mess in our sphere. Let’s stop postponing the evil day. Inter alia, it is high time this ‘State of Origin Syndrome’ in Nigeria was revisited and sorted out by the National Assembly once and for all. According to Nigeria’s Constitution, the right to live in any part of Nigeria is INALIENABLE whether one can thrive in that area or not. A Nigerian born in any part of Nigeria must be allowed to automatically assume indigeneship/citizenship of that state and must be entitled to all the privileges that the so-called locals are entitled to. The unprecedented concentration of political power at the centre, the consequent quest for it and the unparalleled financial reward accruable to political office holders in Nigeria, contributes in no small measure to the unending bickering and instability in Nigeria. It is my considered opinion that a political system skewed towards regionalism, true federalism or confederalism (a weak center) will be ideal for this country. Again, aspirants to State houses of assembly, the national assembly and other political offices in Nigeria should be made to work on part-time basis. Perhaps we can take a cue from the United Kingdom’s Principle/System of ‘DEVOLUTION’ which ascribes some level of autonomy to the constituent units giving rise to a Welsh Assembly, Welsh Police, Scottish Parliament, Scottish Police, Scottish Health Service etc. It appears the European Union bloc made up of about 27 sovereign countries is more cohesive than Nigeria. At least the EU shares common ideals and culture-democracy, religion, currency amongst others. Destitute or not, citizens of member states of the EU can opt to live and work in any of the member states without fear of deportation unless that person commits a serious criminal offence. What is your take, from the deepest recesses of your mind, do you think Nigeria is truly ‘One Nigeria’ yet or are we still evolving? Is Nigeria truly one country or a mishmash of countries, individuals at dissimilar strata, pyramid of consciousness and civilization coerced to exist as one? With more than 400 ethnic groups with varied cultural and religious affiliations, are we ever going to be truly ‘One Nigeria’? Are we living a lie? What do you think is the solution to this quagmire? It seems it is only football that unites us? Please enough of the hate, mudslinging and irredentism. One Nigeria or not, Christian or Moslem, Igbo or Yoruba, Hausa or Ijaw, I humbly implore us all to love one another. God bless you all. Don Okereke, is a Security Analyst/Consultant. He is the CEO of Forenovate Technologies Ltd and a passionate advocate of ‘Nigerians Unite Against Insecurity and Terrorism’. Email: donnuait@yahoo, Phone: +2347080008285, Twitter: @ donokereke Re: Is Nigeria Truly ‘one Nigeria’??? by c33b33(m): 2:23pm On Aug 15 We are living a lie indeed!,,,,, a forced marriage by the British that will never work. Re: Is Nigeria Truly ‘one Nigeria’??? by bloggernaija: 1:49am On Aug 16 There is nothing like one nigeria and there never was one. All the constituent parts are pulling in different direction. The north is busy with getting more religious .not the Egyptian or Lebanese type but the Afghanistan/ rural pakistani type.as if religion ever pay the bills. The SS society has been completely corrupted/ destroyed by oil .akwa ibom and cross river remain largely unaffected . The southeast wants Biafra today ,one nigeria tomorrow without actually living either. The southwest want at least a true federation where every nationality can move at her own pace.better still ,a complete divorce with treaties and trade agreements replacing this false marriage
Posted on: Sat, 24 Aug 2013 11:28:41 +0000
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