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“Nigeria is not a nation. It is a mere
geographical expression. There are no
‘Nigerians’ in the same sense as there
are ‘English’,
‘Welsh’ or ‘French.’ The word
‘Nigerian’ is merely a distinctive
appellation to distinguish those who
live within the boundaries of Nigeria
and those who do not.”
(Path
to Nigerian Freedom by Chief Obafemi
Awolowo)
Nation-building refers
to the process of constructing or
structuring a national identity using
the power of the state. This process
aims at the unification of the people or
peoples within the state so that it
remains politically stable and viable in
the long run. Nation-building can
involve the use of propaganda or major
infrastructure development to foster
social harmony and economic growth
(Wikipedia, the free encyclopaedia)
Originally, nation-building referred to
the efforts of newly-independent
nations, notably the nations of Africa,
to reshape colonial territories that had
been carved out by colonial powers
without regard to ethnic or other
boundaries. These
reformed states would then become viable
and coherent national entities.
Nation-building included the creation of
superficial national
paraphernalia such
as flags, anthems, national
days, national stadiums, national
airlines, national
languages, and national
myths. At a deeper level, national
identity needed to be deliberately
constructed by moulding different groups
into a nation, especially since colonialism had
used divide
and rule tactics
to maintain its domination.
However, many new states were
plagued by "tribalism", rivalry between
ethnic groups within the nation. This
sometimes resulted in their
near-disintegration, such as the attempt
by Biafra
to secede from Nigeria in
1970, or the continuing demand of the
Somali people in the Ogaden region
of Ethiopia for
complete independence.
To understand the notion of
nation-building, one needs to have some
definition of what a nation is.
According to
Carolyn Stephenson (2005),
early conceptions of nation defined it
as a group or race of people who shared
history, traditions, and culture,
sometimes religion, and usually
language. Thus the United Kingdom
comprises four nations, the English,
Irish, Scottish, and Welsh. The people
of a nation generally share a common
national identity, and part of
nation-building is the building of that
common identity.
Today the word nation is often
used synonymously with state, as in the
United Nations. But a state is more
properly the governmental apparatus by
which a nation rules itself.
For the evolution of nation-building,
Almond and Coleman (1960) defined input
functions as:
1.
Political socialisation and recruitment.
2.
Interest articulation.
3.
Interest aggregation.
4.
Political communication.
Output functions were:
1.
Rule-making.
2.
Rule application.
3.
Rule adjudication
Lucian Pye identified multiple meanings
of political development with, among
them:
·
as prerequisite to economic development,
·
as politics typical of industrial
societies,
·
as political modernization,
·
as administrative and legal development,
·
as mass mobilization and participation,
·
as the building of democracy,
and
·
as stability and orderly change.
He identified equality as one of the
basic themes running through all of
these. While nation-building after 9/11
still incorporates many of these
meanings of political development,
equality does not seem to play a major
role in practice.
Nation-building that will likely
contribute to stable international peace
will need to emphasize the democratic
participation of people within the
nation to demand rights.
It will need to build the society,
economy, and polity which will meet the basic
needs of
the people, so that they are not driven
by poverty, inequality and unemployment,
on the one hand, or by a desire to
compete for resources and power either
internally or in the international
system. This does means not only
producing the formal institutions of
democracy, but the underlying culture
which recognizes respect for the identities and
needs of others both within and outside.
It means development of human
rights-- political, civil, economic and
social, and the rule of law. But it also
means development of sewer systems, and
roads, and jobs. Perhaps most important,
it means the development of education.
Nation-building must allow the
participation of civil
society, and develop democratic state
institutions that promote welfare.
Democratic state-building is an
important part of that. This is a
multi-faceted process that will proceed
differently in each local context.
Many commentators on Nigeria’s history
and development are always fond of
saying Nigeria that is, the country, is
an artificial creation of a colonial
power, Britain. Let us agree this is
true. But is Nigeria the only artificial
creation in Africa, or indeed the whole
world? Many countries in the world as we
have them today are artificial
creations. Even the greatest country in
the world, The United States of America
was not created by God naturally. It was
the ability of men of vision and wisdom
and sufferings. Most African counties
fall into this artificial creation
phenomenon.
So, why is Nigeria deemed as unique?
Is it because we have 250 or so
tribes?
Is this an insurmountable
problem, if indeed it is a problem?
It all began with our past heroes and
leaders. Look at the late Chief Obafemi
Awolowo’s statement above and you will
understand the problem.
The late sage, as much as we
venerated and adored and believed in
him, never believed in one Nigeria, it
would appear, from the very beginning,
but he tagged along with the other then
regional leaders and the colonial
masters, Britain to form the country,
Nigeria, even though his heart and
instinct were against the idea. It seems
rather unfortunate. But it was this
singular statement and action – and
perhaps many more - that has, till the
end of time, labelled him as a “tribal
leader” and which as we know, denied him
from ever leading Nigeria.
Please, do not get me wrong. I am an
unrepentant Awoist, and proud of it too.
And I know what I committed to the late
sage’s UPN in 1979 when I was just
graduating from the university. But with
the benefit of hind-sight and truth, we
now know why Awolowo never ruled this
country, to our eternal regret. Even his
political foes have acknowledged that
after his death. That was his mistake
and he should rue it, even in death.
Yet, many of us are sure that the whole
of Nigeria would have been better off
under his Presidency or leadership.
So who builds a nation? Past notable
examples of nation builders include Otto
von Bismarck (the Iron Chancellor), who
united Germany; Kemal Attaturk, who
defeated the Ottoman Empire and founded
and united present day Turkey. Even,
there are the Kwame Nkrumahs, Leopold
Senghors, Jomo Kenyattas, Julius
Nyereres, Fidel Castros, Mahatma Ghandis
of this world.
What can be done about nation-building
is the question (if it should be done)
or who should do it, and who CAN
effectively do it. The literature is
divided over these issues:
Individual statesmen and women:
Where are they in Nigeria? Over
the past 50 years, what we have seen are
nation-destroyers, not nation-builders.
We have been extremely unlucky with our
leaders, as well as the followers, at
any rate. So, the blame does not lay
wholly on the type of leaders our
society threw up.
In Nigeria, it has been very difficult
to name even one of those people we love
to refer to as our Founding Fathers
(like the American Pilgrim Fathers) as
nation building statesmen. It is really
difficult, and this is simply because
their mission then was not to build a
nation but rather to build power bases
and usurp power by whatever means; and
mostly serving sectional or tribal
interests, if not their pockets.
Intergovernmental organisations (IGOs),
States or Nongovernmental
organisations, (NGOs):
Here, the
issue is not so much which agency, but
how the agency functions. Does it simply
throw money at the problem? Does it
exacerbate tensions by providing money
or projects unevenly across ethnic
groups or regions in such a way as to
generate competition or,
worse, security fears?
Is its presence so big that it
overwhelms the local or national
governing structures it is trying to
nurture? Is it culturally knowledgeable
and sensitive?
Military or Civilian:
The military must prepare leaders for
nation building, by providing training
in "culture; basic law and civics; city
planning and public administration;
economics; and ethics," as well as
language, and "how a free, democratic
government is supposed to work”. Has
this happened in Nigeria? The military
incursion into government set Nigeria
back a hundred years. They have no
vision, no purpose, are largely
opportunistic and corrupt, and hence had
no idea what nation-building is. In
fact, the military further polarised an
already fractious Nigerians.
Thus, the civilians have not fared
better either. Catch-22 situation, isn’t
it? And unfortunately for us, it is same
set of people, under a democratic
dispensation, who are supposed to build
the nation better, under peaceful, free
and relaxed atmosphere, than under
usually draconian military rules.
“The democratic approach to nation
building refers to cases in which
elected governments operate under
inclusive institutions and the leaders
behave in ways that strengthen
democracy. This approach has the
greatest potential for creating a stable
multiethnic nation. Unfortunately,
Nigerians have not yet successfully
pursued this path”
(Abu Bakarr, 2004)
Indigenous or exogenous actors:
Nation-building is an evolutionary
process. It takes a long time. One of
the problems with outside actors is that
they come and they go, but they are
still necessary; arguing for the
importance of indigenous nation-building
does not mean that outside actors should
ignore the process.
Role of youth in nation building:
The saying goes that “youths are not
only leaders of tomorrow, but partners
of today” Maybe its time to start
planting in them for tomorrow’s harvest.
During this past US election, The
Republicans underestimated the role of
youth in politics, something the
Democrats used to their advantage.
The government and society at large have
equal responsibility to provide the
youth with an environment that is
conducive to bringing about a mature and
responsible youth population for the
coming generation to lead a better life.
As nation builders, let us focus on
brain drain of the thousands of
graduates leaving the country for
greener pastures. This issue of
migration has a negative impact on our
nation. Nations are build out of human
intellect, migration of our many
graduates has a serious implication on
us.This
means that a nation cannot be built
without the recognition and the
collective efforts of such graduates. (Abiola
Saba)
Professor Ibrahim Gambari, in 2006, said
“Today, as a nation, we face more
challenges than we have known hitherto.
Our population has ballooned from 55
million at independence to nearly 130
million. Yet, in our country,
children still go to bed hungry and most
families subsist on less than one dollar
a day. It will, therefore, not be
glib to state that in every household,
community and state in this nation,
where the top hierarchies of human needs
are not being met, we certainly have a
problem. In a world awash with
affluence, yet mired in poverty and
hunger we cannot escape our culpability.
This is more so in Nigeria, which once
boasted of having agriculture as its
primary industry.
Most Nigerians will readily admit that
what affects us the most, is poverty and
underdevelopment, which are now buffeted
by perennial bad governance and
debilitating corruption. Likewise,
those who are outside Nigeria looking
in, will say the same thing, albeit,
with a qualifier; to them Nigeria’s
myriad of problems is self-induced.
This often the argument advanced by
those who were opposed to any debt
forgiveness for Nigeria. They
refuse to accept that a nation with so
much wealth could be so indigent.
To them, our country and the challenges
it faces, presents a unique paradox”.
A key challenge, therefore, is the way
we manage our affairs. The question for
Nigerians is how to realize the
principles outlined in the constitutions
and thereby promote a stable
multi-ethnic nation. Ehiedu Iweriebor
(1990) identified six criteria for
measuring the progress of the nation
building process. These are: leadership,
transportation and communication
networks, economic development, national
education, pedagogical nationalism, and
civil society. Though his study outlines
the successes and failures of the
various Nigerian governments, it fails
to explain why a particular type of
government might fail or succeed in
promoting nation building.
As stated in Article 14 of the 1979
Constitution: "The composition of the
government of the federation or any of
its agencies and the conduct of its
affairs shall be carried out in such
manner as to reflect the Federal
Character of Nigeria and the need to
promote national unity, and also to
command national loyalty thereby
ensuring that there shall be no
predominance of persons from a few
states or a few ethnic or other
sectional groups in the government or in
any of its agencies." Furthermore, "the
composition of the government of a
state, a local government council, or
any of the agencies of such government
or council, and the conduct of the
affairs of the government or council or
such agencies shall be carried out in
such manner as to recognize the
diversity of the peoples within its area
of authority and the need to promote a
sense of belonging and loyalty among all
the peoples of the federation."
A democratic approach is the best path
to nation building in a multi-ethnic
country like Nigeria. As we have seen in
the Nigerian experience with nation
building, it is difficult to pursue a
non-democratic means of reform without
aggravating internal unrest and
international censure. Sadly, the lack
of a democratic mandate, poor
institutional design, and bad leadership
has all made it nearly impossible for
successive Nigerian governments to
pursue a democratic approach. Many
Nigerians are not satisfied with the
1999 Constitution because it failed to
address the structural imbalance of the
federation (Abu Bakarr, 2004).
Even of more concern is the lack of
accountability, the massive corruption
scandals of successive governments, the
poor state of the economy, and the fraud
that characterized both the 2003 and
2007 elections.
"If we continue to have these same
levels of corruption and the economy is
mismanaged, then the sustainability of
democracy will be reduced. The country's
survival will be endangered."
(Suberu, 1999) Even though the emerging
domestic and international political
environment has minimized the
possibility of a return to military
rule, there is a real danger of
democratic decay in Nigeria. As we have
seen over the past decades, democratic
decay is a recipe for chaos and military
intervention.
All in all, I will posit, successful
nation building is no mean task. The
problem with our pseudo-leaders is that
they have never taken nation-building,
management of resources and people,
leadership, seriously. In fact they do
not know what it means to be leaders.
They are essentially ignorant though
educated (even this is questionable)
Nation-building and the
associated developmental issues require
men and women of deep vision; sincerity
of purpose; selflessness; genuine love
for their country and their people;
hardworking; of conscience, integrity,
credibility, trustworthiness, honesty,
reliable and able; people who do not
think of stealing or embezzling; people
who do not misuse the authority and
power conferred on them, by God or Man;
people who do not think that getting to
positions of authority is a “do-or-die”
affair; people who understand the
meaning of nation building, leadership,
good governance, rule of law, political
emancipation, equality, human and civic
rights, civility, freedom of speech,
rule of law, diversity and religious
tolerance,; people who will shun and
will not tolerate tribalism, corruption
and nepotism.
These are the people who can build
nations.
To my people, how are we building this
nation? It is time for all Nigerians to
collectively do their part in being
nation builders and stop being nation
destroyers.
References:
Almond, Gabriel A. and James S. Coleman
(eds.) The Politics of the Developing
Areas. Princeton: Princeton University
Press, 1960.
Bah, Abu Bakarr "Approaches
To Nation Building In Post-Colonial
Nigeria". Journal of Political
and Military Sociology.
Http://Findarticles.Com/P/Articles/Mi_Qa3719/Is_200407/Ai_N9435086
2004.
Caroline Stephenson, “Nation Building”,
2005,
http://www.beyondintractability.org/essay/nation_building/
Iweriebor, Ehiedu, 1990 "Nigerian Nation
Building Since Independence." Nigerian
Journal of Policy and Strategy, Volume
5, Numbers 1 & 2. JACON.
Ibrahim A. Gambari, “Nigeria
- The challenge of nation building and
external relations” The
Ado Bayero Lecture Series, Centre For
Democratic Research ad Training, Bayero
University, Kano, Nigeria, 8 February
2006
Pye, Lucian W. Aspects
of Political Development.
Boston: Little, Brown and Company, 1966
Suberu, R T. 1999 “Public Policy and
National Unity in Nigeria”. Ibadan:
Development Policy Center
Wikipedia, “Nation building”.
Thanks to my erudite sister, Abiola Saba
(Timeless Impact) of Mantua, NJ who
contributed in no small measure to this
article.
Nigeria For Sale:
The
Insult Of
Babangida/Odili And Saraki Presidential
Ambition
:
By
Akintokunbo A
Adejumo
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