BIAFRA : Which way Nigeria?

 In 1914, there was an artificial birth of a country which the British colonial masters named Nigeria. Before then, Nigeria had different territories with varieties of cultures,

 traditions and civilization. By 1960, the amalgamated nation was detached from the apron springs of the colonialists. To Nigerians, independence has been given but invariably it was the time when disunity visited.

After independence, there were a couple of crises, starting from political crisis down to ethnic riots (between/among regions). Six years after independence, the military took over.

After the military ascension, the problem of ethnicity and loyalty to one’s ethnic group also crept to the military. For example, the Hausa soldiers felt cheated from the action of the first coup because majority of the politicians killed during the coup were mainly Hausas. What followed was a counter-coup

Next, in 1967 the southeast, the Igbo felt secession was the next best course hence the three years of civil war. The Nigerian Army defeated Biafra and after the war General Yakubu Gowon, the military head of state declared no victor, no vanquished.

Thereafter, Gowon initiated the 3Rs policies to: reconcile, to reconstruct and to rehabilitate the nation after the three years of destruction. Unfortunately, decades after, the country still battles with the problem of disunity.

Today, many Nigerians are clamouring for restructuring. The south in particular wants to return to regionalism as practiced during the first republic. Because the states are not safe due to the current unitary policing system, they want state police. The South-south complains of being cheated in the allocation of the income generated from crude oil which is from their region.

Even among the northerners, there are divisions. The North central feels more comfortable being called Middle Belt rather than being referred to as northerners. Other ethnic groups in the North that are not Hausa/Fulani also complain of marginalisation.

Nigerians are divided along ethnic and religious lines; a Christian will rather prefer to relate well with a fellow Christian while Musa the herdsman do not feel secured with his cattle in the southern part of the country.

These divisions have caused the country so much: terrorism, herdsmen-farmers crisis, rise in banditry in different parts of the country etc. Due to the state of disunity, Nigeria is not at that ease; the country has ever been at ease.During the Goodluck Jonathan administration, a confab was organized which many stakeholders participated. At the confab, they came up with a report but years after the confab the results have not been seen. Yet, some say that the unity of Nigeria is non-negotiable?

Regionalism has taken control over nationalism, individualism over patriotism. A Yoruba man is more attached to his ethnic group than to the nation; he is more of a Yoruba man than a Nigerian. This applies to other ethnicities too, all of which make unity difficult.

Which way Nigeria?