Building Bridges For A New Nigeria

By Mike Ozekhome

This topic, “Building Bridges for a New Nigeria,” admits two things, namely, that Nigeria has failed or is failing; and there was an old Nigeria which was divided and that there is the need for a new Nigeria whose goal is to improve relationships among people who are very different, or do not like each other. So, this topic is about how to foster good relations among Nigerians. 

*Ozekhome 

Ethnicity, language and religion have divided and destroyed Nigeria. They drive our politics. Some Nigerians will vote for a thief provided he is from their tribe. Ethnicity, language and religion promote disunity, unhealthy rivalry and disenchantment. In this presentation, I will examine and probe the problems, and discern how bridge-building is the way forward for this nation. I particularly like the goals of Nzuko Umunna (NU), which is a general platform for creating effective management of Igbo professionals, both at home and in the diaspora, uniting and bridging the gap between the various Igbo groups; and promoting cooperation, peace and good neighbourliness between Igbos and other ethnic groups in Nigeria.

Through its handshake across the Niger and handshake across Nigeria programmes, Nzuko Umunna has demonstrated its love for, and belief in one healthy Nigeria. NU is therefore a metaphor for the average Igbo man and woman’s gregariousness to live anywhere with other Nigerians of whatever ethnicity, religion, language or culture. Highly Republican, extremely industrious, aggressively innovative and painstakingly dedicated to a course they believe in, the Igbos constitute the second largest ethnic group after the indigenes in any part of Nigeria. 

No other ethnic group believes in the unity, indivisibility and indissolubility of Nigeria as the Igbos. It is therefore a national embarrassment and shame when they are profiled for attacks, denigration; disrespect or disregard, and regarded as a dot in the longer circle of Nigeria. No! the Igbos are NOT A DOT. They are the pillars that hold the Nigerian project together. Of Prof Onigu Otite’s 374 ethnic groups in Nigeria that speak over 350 languages, the Igbos constitute the main link that binds the beads of the other 373 ethnicities of Nigeria. 

Nigeria’s creation was fundamentally flawed with the British super-imposing Northern hegemony and dominance over Southern Nigeria. Nigeria is an artificial creation. Indeed, the name Nigeria was given to her by a young British journalist, Miss Flora Louisa Shaw (who later married Lord Lugard) on 8th January, 1897. What is today known as Nigeria was ruled by the Royal Niger Company around 1886 to 1899. Following the revocation of its character, the Royal Niger company sold its holdings in the territory which later became Nigeria to British for £865,000.

This was the price for which Nigeria was purchased. (i.e., about N 735.2 million only). By 1900, the Southern Nigeria Protectorate and Northern Nigeria Protectorate passed from the Royal Niger Company to Britain. By 1st January, 1914, these two territories were amalgamated as the Colony and Protectorates of Southern and Northern Nigeria. The fusion of these two territories was done for political and commercial reasons without any consideration on the preferences of the inhabitants of these territories.

These people already had their set ways of life – the Benin and Oyo Empires; Hausa City States; Igbo City States; Kanem Bornu, Ile-Ife civilization cradle of the Yoruba race. We already had great historical figure like Oba Ovonranmwen Nogbaisi of Benin Empire, King Nana of Itsekiri, King Jaja of Opobo, Queen Amina, Mal Idriss Alooma, Queen Idia, etc. 

INDEPENDENCE 

Nnamdi Azikiwe, Ahmadu Bello, Obafemi Awolowo, Sir Tafawa Balewa, Chief Anthony Enahoro, Joseph Tarka, Chief Dennis Osadebe, Herbert Macaulay, etc., who fought, unarguably, for the flag independence of Nigeria from Britain, in reality, projected the ideas of their enclaves. For example, while people from the Southern part of Nigeria craved for independence in the 50’s, the people from Northern Nigeria felt the timing was wrong. Chief Anthony Enahoro’s motion for Nigeria’s Independence suffered setbacks in parliament on several occasions with the northern members of parliament staging a walkout as a consequence of the motion.

However, in 1953, Enahoro initiated move to self-government through the motion he sponsored in the Western House of Assembly. This eventually led to Nigeria’s independence on 1st October, 1960. While it could be argued that the people currently occupying the territory called Nigeria were never consulted before the amalgamation of 1914, all of them lifted the Nigerian flag the moment the Union Jack was lowered in October 1, 1960. 

THE FIRST COUP AND COUNTER COUP 

Many who felt granting independence to Nigeria would usher in unprecedented growth, were surprised to see unprecedented corruption, looting of the nation’s treasury and mismanagement of the country by the supposedly founding fathers of the Country. The military that came to salvage the problem on 15th January, 1966, even compounded it by their lop-sided manner of cleansing the system.

There is a conspiracy theory that the Igbos used the coup to pave way for General Aguiyi-Ironsi to be Head of State of Nigeria. The Northern members of the Nigerian Army did not hold back as they retaliated over the killing of Ahmadu Bello, Tafawa Balewa, Maimalar and others by also slaughtering many innocent Igbo soldiers and civilians through a genocidal ethnic-cleansing. This eventually led to the Nigerian Civil War. There have been many coup d’états in Nigeria since the 1966 coup d’état. However, since the year 1999, there has not been any coup. There have been different agitations springing up in some parts of the country. 

THE OLD NIGERIA: DIVIDED BY ETHNICITY 

Nigeria is a conglomeration or an aggregation of several nationalities which makes the country a pluralistic and multi-faceted society. The diversity of Languages, traditions, and customs contribute to the nation’s vast cultural variety. By merging the numerous ethnicities into what is now known as The Federal Republic of Nigeria, it is believed that Britain created Nigeria. This is Lord Frederick Lugard’s fusion in 1914. The protectorate of Northern Nigeria, the colony of Lagos, and the protectorate of Southern Nigeria were amalgamated to form one nation. Without the approval of the numerous ethnic nationalities, this was carried out to serve the interests of Britain. The fight for power among the many ethnic groups in Nigeria began with this deed. 

Since Nigeria gained political independence in 1960, there has been conflict between the country’s numerous ethnic nations about who will dominate the political system and the country’s natural riches. This conflict sparked the civil war that lasted from 1967 to 1970. Since the country’s independence, ethnic politics have dominated Nigerian politics. The power struggle between the three major parties during the First Republic was characterized by instances of ethnic politics, particularly between the Action Group (AG) led by Chief Obafemi Awolowo, with its base among the Yorubas of the Southwest, the National Council of Nigerian Citizens (NCNC) led by Dr. Nnamdi Azikiwe, with its base among the Igbos of the Southeast, and the Northern Peoples Congress (NPC) led by Sir Ahmadu Bello.

In the Second Republic, the Unity Party of Nigeria (UPN), led by Chief Obafemi Awolowo, had control in the Southwest, causing this tripod equilibrium to echo once more. Most of its adherents had previously been Chief Obafemi Awolowo’s students. The Yorubas were in charge of the party. The National Party of Nigeria (NPN), which had a more national orientation and represented the legacy of the defunct NPC, had its main support base in the North while the Nigeria People’s Party (NPP), led by Dr. Nnamdi Azikiwe, maintained power in the Igbo states of southeast Nigeria similar to the NCNC. It should be noted that these ethnic-based political groups were more of a revival of the First Republic’s ethnic politics.

The National Republican Convention (NRC) and the Social Democracy Party (SDP) were the two main political parties of the Third Republic, a failed military experiment under General Ibrahim Babangida, which aimed to eliminate the Nigerian political system’s “triangle of parties.” With the unfortunate annulment of the presidential election of June 12, 1993, which was largely considered to have been won by Bashorun M.K.O. Abiola of Yoruba descent from the Southwest, this strategy almost succeeded in ending ethnic undertones to party politics in Nigeria. It should be mentioned that the annulment sparked fierce ethnic, populist, and regional animosity, especially in the country’s southwest. 

The Action Congress of Nigeria (ACN), which is predominately Yoruba in the Southwest, the All Progressive Grand Alliance (APGA), which has a predominantly Igbo membership in the Southeast, and the Congress for Positive Change (CPC), which is predominately Hausa-Fulani in Northern Nigeria, are examples of ethnically oriented political organizations operating in the current Fourth Republic. 

The 2023 general election conducted recently further showed how divided Nigeria is. While Bola Tinubu of the All Progressive Congress had massive support from the South-West, the candidate of Labour Party, Peter Obi, had massive support from the South-East and South-South. Alhaji Atiku Abubakar had massive support from most of the Northern States. 

THE EFFECT OF ETHNIC POLITICS 

The Igbo, Yoruba, and Hausa ethnic groupings have long dominated national politics among Nigeria’s nearly 250 ethnic groups and the federating units. Perhaps this is due to their larger population, as well as their moderately active participation in the various governments since Nigeria gained colonial independence in 1960. 

It has always irritated other minority ethnic groups. This feeling of exclusion from Nigeria’s mainstream has led to distrust, dread, and a sense of pessimism among these minority groups, which invariably has an impact on their sense of patriotism as well as their sense of national identity and psyche. There seems to be a growing sense of sub-nationalism among the smaller ethnic communities, as well as a need and desire for the groupings to control their own destiny. They doubt the idea of nationhood in the Nigerian system and display a callous attitude toward problems that concern them. 

This battle for political and economic liberation is best exemplified by the people of the Niger Delta, which is located in the South-South geopolitical region of Nigeria. The locals are now in a state of despair as a result of oil exploration companies’ years-long exploitation of the abundant natural resources in their area. Previous Niger Delta political and thought leaders have unsuccessfully attempted to raise awareness of the region’s predicament worldwide. People’s patience has now run out after years of broken promises from several Nigerian governments and oil firms active in the area. The Ijaw people in this area have now ascended. The fight for an independent Ijaw State, or an Ijaw State to be taken seriously inside a unified Nigeria, entered a new phase, one of armed conflict and kidnappings, which lasted until the government’s amnesty program brought an end to them. 

The minority ethnic groups from the Nigerian Niger Delta region, where the majority of the nation’s wealth is created, desire urgent and immediate inclusion and being treated equally by the rest of the nation as stakeholders in the Nigerian project. The agony of their environmental degradation and social upheaval brought on by the exploitation of the natural resources in their area is what they anticipate as a fair and appropriate compensation for their contribution to the national economy. 

The failure of the Nigerian government to satisfy these minority ethnic groups’ aspirations has always manifested itself in agitation, which frequently results in wars. The agitation is expressed more fiercely the more strongly they perceive that the refusal to meet these demands is intentional and unjustifiable. 

If there is one thing all Nigerians are agreed upon, it is the belief – fueled by disappointment and frustration – that have we have failed to fulfil our potential as a nation, we are a long way from living up to the dreams of our founding fathers. Right from our 21st year of independence (when we hypothetically came of age), till date, few issues have consistently featured in our national discourse (particularly in the media) as the “National Debate”. By this is meant the seeming past time of virtually every Nigerian to bemoan our experience as a nation. Simply put, Nigeria is a failed, and broken nation. Apply every conceivable yardstick, according to every knowledgeable (and not-so-knowledgeable) expert, the country is not just a disaster waiting to happen – IT MAY ALREADY HAVE HAPPENED. 

*Excerpts from a lecture delivered on Friday, April 28, 2023, by Prof. Mike Ozekhome, SAN, CON, OFR, FCIArb, LL.M, Ph.D, LL.D, D.Litt., on the occasion of the Handshake Across Nigeria in Enugu, Nigeria.