This realisation of the oneness of Nigerians is essential to an organic evolution towards a united egalitarian nation state, wherein the ideals of democracy can translate into a good governance structure that will usher in a period of peace, prosperity and progress.
As Nigeria marks the milestone of nineteen uninterrupted years of successive civil democratic rule (the longest in its history), Nigerians are divided about the relevance of politics to their economic lives. However, all sides of this consideration are unanimous in their conviction that democratic rule has not lived up to its promise of individual and collective prosperity. Some have blamed this disappointment on certain individual politicians and parties, while others have put the blame on the structure of the Nigerian federation. With some appreciable advancement in Nigeria’s electoral processes that resulted in the triumph of the people’s power over incumbent presidency in 2015, Nigerians had then heaved a sigh of relief in anticipation of a break for the better, from the misrule of the first sixteen years of democratic rule. This anticipation was to reverse into apprehension a few months into the new era of the “Change” of the Muhammadu Buhari led All Progressives Congress (APC) administration.
The inability of the APC’s Buhari to navigate the ship of the Nigerian state away from the wrong direction of previous Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) administrations unto the right direction, has left many Nigerians with the impression that both parties are the same, hence “Change” remains elusive. The frustration of Nigerians with the system is quite palpable to the extent of widespread apathy and lack of confidence in institutions of government, resulting in the resort to different forms of self-help in their everyday lives. Today, the very essence of democratic rule is being challenged, with some going as far as positing that democracy does not work for African countries.
There is nothing wrong with democratic governance because the very nature of mankind is inherently democratic. This intricate consistency between democracy and the nature of mankind is evident in unquantifiable adoration of freedom by all. While there are valid arguments on all sides about the inability of the drivers of democratic rule to satisfy the yearnings and aspirations of the people, it is important to understand that all issues militating against good democratic governance are symptomatic of deep seated issues at the very base of the foundation of the Nigerian state.
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There has to be a Nigerian nation before democracy can work. There is urgency of the need for Nigeria to evolve from a geographic expression of micro and conflicting ethno-geographic nationalities into a united egalitarian nation state, as the condition precedent to good governance. In the current socio-political configuration, Nigeria has given democracy the new meaning of a government elected, dominated and coveted by ethno-geographic groupings with numerical superiority. This system of democracy has further deepened the existing fault-lines, with people now elevating their respective ethno-geographic identities over their citizenship of Nigeria. A democracy that is premised on a political process that is heavily dependent on ethno-geographic and religious sentiments is not likely to achieve sustainable socio-economic development, such as the kind desired by Nigerians. Democracy thrives better in a united egalitarian nation, where there is the existence of a clearly defined national consensus around the ideals of good governance. No such consensus exists in Nigeria today as all ethno-geographic groupings are in pursuit of sectional interests to the detriment of the national interest.
The entrenched narrative of modern Nigeria being a forced amalgam of diverse ethno-geographic entities without anything in common before 1914 is a false alibi used by interest groups to perpetuate the helplessness and hopelessness of the Nigerian situation for their selfish ends. In the contemporary world where united egalitarian nation states are in fierce competition for global resources, Nigeria must outgrow its current state of deep divisions along ethno-geographic fault-lines. These have pitched the various groups against each other in mortal combat over the country’s meagre oil mineral resources. However, the evolution of Nigeria into a truly united nation can neither be decreed by military fiat nor legislated by an act of parliament. It can only be achieved by widespread self-enlightenment among the people about the need and benefits of a united Nigeria were citizenship is supreme over existing ethno-geographic nationalism.
…the difference between the British and Chinese nation…and the Nigerian country…is the ability to discountenance their minor differences of ethnicity and appreciate their oneness under a broad racial similarity. The British and Chinese have been able to elevate the citizenship of their geographical realities over primordial statuses…
The people must realise that a mono racial Negro country like Nigeria qualifies to be described as a diverse country, as much as mono racial Mongoloid China and mono racial and Caucasoid United Kingdom. Contrary to an entrenched but false narrative, Nigerians from the four cardinal points have more in common socioculturally as a result of several centuries of interactions predating 1914 – through trade, diplomacy, intermarriages and even warfare. Like Nigeria, China’s broad Mongoloid racial classification is further broken into about 51 ethnic groups. These include the majority Han and minority Uygur, Hui, Buyei, Manchu, etc. Similarly, the mono racial Caucasoid majority that populate the British Isle are classified into different ethnic identifications. For example, Sir Winston Churchill, the celebrated war-time British prime minister (1940-1945) was of Huguenot (French protestant) origin, while Sir Philip Green, the British business mogul, is of Jewish ancestry. Queen Elizabeth II of England, as great granddaughter of Prince Albert of Germany, the consort of Queen Victoria, is of Germanic ethnicity. The current Queen’s consort is Prince Philip of Greece, classifying her heir designate and future King of England, Prince Charles, as an ethnic Greek.
Discernably, the difference between the British and Chinese nation on one hand and the Nigerian country on the other hand, is the ability to discountenance their minor differences of ethnicity and appreciate their oneness under a broad racial similarity. The British and Chinese have been able to elevate the citizenship of their geographical realities over primordial statuses and evolve a national consensus on the structure of good governance in their respective nations. This realisation of the oneness of Nigerians is essential to an organic evolution towards a united egalitarian nation state, wherein the ideals of democracy can translate into a good governance structure that will usher in a period of peace, prosperity and progress.
Majeed Dahiru, a public affairs analyst, writes from Abuja and can be reached through dahirumajeed@gmail.com.
