Self determination: is Nigeria better off as one country?

The map of the world is being drawn and re-drawn as countries split up into many nations. There is no guarantee that a country will remain undivided, permanently. And, strong countries annex weak ones while the watch dog of the world and UNO watches helplessly. Most homogenous ethnic nations in our today’s world want to achieve self-determination. Consequently, Federal states break up into smaller nation states.

USSR was a counter force to America; they were the two super power countries flexing muscles on the global stage, then. But, the failure of the glasnost and perestroika heralded the disintegration of USSR. It was not only USSR that split into many smaller nation-states. Czechoslovakia was dismembered. Yugoslavia broke up; and Bosnia and Croatia came out of it. India and Pakistan used to be one country. Back home in Africa, South Sudan has become the youngest and newest nation-state on the African continent. 

Currently, some ethnic nations are agitating and fighting for self-determination. Scotland will conduct a referendum in September to determine its continued stay as a member of the United Kingdom. And, the Basque people want out of their union with Spain. Following the annexation of Crimea by Russia, the Donetsk and Lahaska states in Ukraine have started fighting for their separation from Ukraine. The two pro-Russian states are fighting with Ukraine for months with its dire consequences and casualties. Thousands of people have died in the battle. And Russia is accused of backing the separatist regions. But, for how long can Ukraine successfully put down the Donetsk and luhansk people’s agitation for state-hood? 

In the middle-east, Islamic state fighters have captured large swathes of Iraq and Syria. It has established its capital in Mosul, Iraq. The Islamic state fighters, who are mainly Sunni Muslims, persecute non-Muslims, such as Yazidis, Christians, and Shia Muslims, whom they regard as heretics. They want to create an Islamic caliphate in the regions that straddle Syria and Iraq. And, the Kurds in Iraq are very conscious of their ethnic origins. They nurse self-determination notions. The Kurds’ army that is called the Peshmerga is fighting the Islamic state fighters in Iraq. 

In Nigeria, Boko Haram, a terrorist group that is linked to al-Qaeda, has been waging war against Nigeria. Boko Haram insurgents have seized some towns in Borno state. They hoisted their flags in Damboa and Gwoza towns in Borno state. They will strap bombs to their bodies and detonate them in crowded places. The group abducted almost three hundred Chibok school girls and took them into captivity. Boko Haram’s aim is to Islamize Nigeria, and create an Islamic caliphate in Northern Nigeria. 

The Boko Haram insurgents’ grouse is the occupation of the highest political post in Nigeria by a Christian from the Southern part of Nigeria. Most Northern Muslims believe that the leadership of this country is their birthright. So, they perceive President Goodluck Jonathan as an interloper in Aso-Rock. Their mind-set underlines the divisiveness that has characterized our country. Nigeria is not a united country. People from one ethnic group view other people with deep distrust and hatred. 

Sadly, our efforts that are aimed at achieving national integration and unity have not yielded the expected results. For example, our participation in the NYSC programme has not disabused our minds of prejudices we have about other ethnic groups other than ours. And, we view issues through religious and ethnic prisms. Besides, religion has become a divisive factor when it comes to politics.

We fought a gratuitous civil war, which claimed the lives of millions of Nigerians. Ethnic hatred and religious intolerance partly caused the outbreak of that Nigeria-Biafra civil war. So, I was taken aback when the issue of our continued existence as one country was expunged from topics that were discussed at the concluded national conference. Delegates to the national conference have concluded their discussions and handed in their recommendations to the president. 

But, are all the people(s) from diverse ethnic groups that make up Nigeria happy to be in Nigeria? Is this country not too big and unwieldy to be governed by one central government? For how long shall we continue to pretend that the marriage of the Southern and Northern protectorates is working? Does egalitarianism, which is a force for national growth, exist here? 

Against the background of our fragile peace and unity, is it not imperative for us to discuss and negotiate our continued existence as one country? Isn’t it time for us to spare a thought for factors that corrode the foundation of our national unity? It is an incontrovertible fact that the greatness of Nigeria lies in its ethnic and religious diversities, large land mass and humongous population. But, the peaceful resolution of our issues is better than resorting to violence to achieve our aims. 

As the 2015 elections draw nearer, I am filled with apprehension owing to the utterances and threats issuing from ethnic chauvinists. If they are not checked, they can make America’s apocalyptic predictions about Nigeria’s demise in 2015 come true.

Chiedu Uche Okoye