Nigerian Journal of Social Studies Vol.IV, 2002
IMPLICATIONS OF COMPETITIVE ETHNICITY IN THE PROCESS OF
NATION BUILDING IN NIGERIA
BY
Abstract
Nigeria is a
multi-ethnic nation with diverse cultural groups that are about three hundred in number. Rather than
harnessing our diversities towards viable national development, we have become slaves
to our ethnic origins to which our allegiance is largely focused at the
detriment of nation building. Fanatical ethnic consciousness has resulted into ethnic
prejudice and mistrust, religious and political problems, and socio-cultural
conflicts These vices have pervaded all spheres of life in Nigeria, be it employment,
education, religion and admission into federal Institutions. This paper has highlighted
some of the factors needed in nation building and how Nigeria has fallen short in meeting them due to
competitive
ethnicity. The paper recommends what role social studies education should play in teaching multi-ethnic issues in our schools so as to enable
students understand other ethnic groups
outside theirs and be able to co-exist peacefully
in the country to bring about a virile nation
Introduction
Nigeria is a
multiethnic society consisting of about 300 ethnic groups. It is a well known fact that Nigeria is a
colonial creation.
Awolowo (1947) pointed out that Nigeria was
"a mere-geographical expression". This means
that in terms of social relations and national identification,
Nigeria was not yet a nation by 1947. As a multi-national society, one of the
sociological problems of building Nigeria as a nation,
is multi-ethnicity with its concomitants
such as multi-lingualism and competitive ethnicity. Prior to the coming of the Europeans to Nigeria, the
indigenous Nigerian societies were not static and they were not in equilibrium
relations. There were
varieties of links which existed between the
various states and peoples which were the
predecessors of modern Nigeria, For example,
there were links among Kanem-Bornu, the Hausa States, Nupe, the Jukun Kingdom, the empires of Oyo and Benin, the Delta
States and the loosely associated Ibo
communities (Hodkins, 1960:2)a
These various societies, though inter-dependent,
apparently did not set up the process to constitute
themselves into one society. Yet, they provided socio-cultural
frame-work for all Nigerian society, their relations with one another;
according to Otite (1976) were as important as their
relations with societies outside the modern boundary of Nigeria,
Ethnographers estimate that over 250 ethnic groups make up Nigeria. Each of these consists of smaller social
groups for example the Yoruba consists of the Ekiti, Ijesha, Oyo and so on. The Ibo
consists of Oguta etc, the Urbobo of Agbarho, Agbon, Ugheli and others. The Hausa have their various indigenous
states none of these groups however
large was a nation in any sense before the
colonial regrouping. It was the colonial government that merged them together in 1914 and later Balkanized Nigeria
into three regions in 1947 along
ethnic lines.
According to Mezieobi (1994), from 1947, the
multiethnic composition of Nigeria continued to be a bane
to Nigeria's national unity and development. Mezieobi
claimed that whatever is done or anticipated
in Nigeria, particularly at government's quarters had ethnic undertone. In employment, admissions into schools, distribution of social amenities and in social
relationships, ethnic affiliations and attachments are very strong
and conspicuously manifest. Attachment of a Nigerian first to
his ethnic group before the nation is a bane to Nigeria's national
unity, national consciousness and socio-political integration (Mezieobi; 1994).
There have been cases of multi-ethnic vices
such as allegiance to ethnic-group, intra-cultural and
inter-ethnic antagonism, hostility, aggression, bitterness, hatred,
mistrust in the country which have not augured well for the building of a
virile Nigerian nation. Rather than
harnessing our diversities towards viable nation building, we have
become slaves to our ethnic origin to which our allegiance is largely focused at the detriment of nation building.
Interfaced with religion, statism
and class, ethnicity is a potent reality in
the Nigerian federal equation. Almost invariably, minority group problems and
other related to them in Nigeria, are assumed to have their roots, in. 'ethnicity', Both concepts - 'minority' and 'ethnicity' according to Inya (1996) are seen to
be inseparable. The collapse of nation building experience in a
majority of cases in Africa in general and in Nigeria in particular, has
resulted from rugged ethnic particularisms of given
constituent units of these nations.
Concepts of Ethnic Group and Ethnicity in Nigeria
The concept of ethnic group has been variously defined as based on nationality, race and religion
in the United States, Gordon'(1964)
defined an ethnic group as any group which is defined or set off by
race, religion or defined origin or some combination
of these categories. This definition is of limited utility especially when Nigerian materials are under consideration.
In Nigeria, the sense of identification with an ethnic group
is by far
different from that with either race or a
religious group as far as
Nigeria is concerned.
Seibel
(1964) and Clignets (1967) used the terms ethnic
group and tribe synonymously Rose (1965) defined ethnic group as those whose members share a unique social and cultural
heritage, passed from one generation
to the other. According to her, ethnic groups are frequently identified by distinctive patterns of family life language,
recreation, religion and other customs which cause them to be differentiated from others.
Combining the various definitions for the
purpose of bringing the various dimensions under a single
definition, Sanda (1976) defined an ethnic group as consisting of
interacting members, who defined themselves as belonging to a named or
labeled social group with whose interest they identify, and which
manifests certain aspects of a unique culture while constituting
a part of a wider society. Ethnicity in Nigeria involves the
identification of Nigerians with the dominant or
subordinate majority or minority ethnic groups, all of
which co-exist within the same society. The co-existence of these
ethnic groups within the same polity has frequently led to the description of Nigeria as an accident of history.
Competitive ethnicity started in Africa since
the colonial days. In search for the crumbs from colonial
production, competition among Africans created or reinforced common
consciousness among the various competing ethnic groups At
times the
historical and competitive aspects of this
consciousness were contemporary competition which may create a common warring
section among previously and historically hostile and
warring sections of the same ethnic group. Exclusiveness is an attribute of ethnicity, in group-out, group-in bounding emerged with it and, in time,
become mark more distinct than before
and jealously guarded, by the various ethnic groups. Acceptance and rejection
on linguistic-cultural grounds characterizes
social relations. These are expressed inevitably
through interethnic discrimination in jobs, housing, admission into educational institutions, marriages, business transactions or the distribution of social
services. This factor of exclusiveness is usually accompanied by nepotism and
corruption,
Conflict according to Okwudigba (1978) is an important
aspect of ethnicity. This is inevitable under
conditions of interethnic competition for scarce
valuable resources particularly in societies where
inequality is accepted as natural, and wealth is greatly esteemed. The fear of being confined to the bottom of the interethnic ladder of inequality generates divisive and
destructive. Socio-economic
competition which has anti social effects. Demonstrations,
rioting and various forms of violent agitations become
instruments in interethnic relations. The scarcity of much highly valued resources encouraged destructive competition.
Nation Building
There are many definitions to the concept of
a nation. The African Encyclopedia for schools and Colleges
(1974; 362) defines a nation as "a large group of people
who live in the same country; and who share similar traditions, culture and
ways of life, Watson (1977) defined a nation as a "community
of people whose members are bound together by a sense of
solidarity, a common culture and a national consciousness, Using
Watson's definition, three factors are basic about a nation and
they are;
(1) National consciousness;
(2) Similar culture and
tradition; and
(3) Common geographical
location.
Where there are differences in the characteristic
attributes of a
nation, among the peoples of that country,
problems are bound to arise in building such a nation. Problems
generally arise as a result of differences in culture, tradition, religion and
language. Also problems like alienation,
discontent, disaffection or disillusionment may arise where there is low level of national consciousness.
Nation building according to Ikwumelo (1975) involves actions, behaviours and thoughts or feelings aimed at sustaining the attributes
of a nation. The problem of nation building is more critical in the third world country generally and
more particularly in Nigeria where
there are peoples with different cultures, languages, religion and a diversity of inclinations who have
been forced together into one
geo-political entity (Ezegbe:1994). Eboh and Ukpong,
(1993) defined nation building as a process, whereby the leaders of a country
strive to achieve unity and progress for their nation through various
programmes. It is aimed at promoting peace and
harmony, reducing conflicts, laying good foundations for economic, social and political development and
above all to create conditions for progress.
A very crucial factor in nation building in
Nigeria is that of accommodation and integration among the
various peoples of the country. It is very necessary that the
various peoples should accommodate one another. This is not easy to
achieve in Nigeria .Also, the minority groups should be carried
along so as to peacefully achieve the goal of nation building.
Ezegbe (1993)
listed some factors from literature which according to
him constitute pre-requisites for the building of a strong nation. Some of the factors include:
(1) Obedience, allegiance and loyalty to a central government;
(2) Willingness to live together as a people;
(3) National sentiment of feeling; and
(4) Loyalty to a nation.
Most of the above are not easy in Nigeria
because the people are not ready to subjugate local ethnic
loyalties to those of the nation.
The task of nation-building within the context
of Nigeria is besieged by a variety of problems. Most of
these problems are seriously linked with multi-ethnicity with its concomitants
such as multilingualism and competitive ethnicity. Some of these problems are
discussed below:
The National Language Issue
A major problem facing the developing nations
of the world, especially those which are multi-ethnic and
multilingual in their composition is how to integrate their diverse
ethnic-linguistics groups. (Lawal, 1989). This has generated a lot of
controversy and crisis in Nigeria. Attempt to replace English
with an indigenous language as a national official language in
Nigeria started in 1960 after the attainment of independence.
Contributing to the debate on the issue of an
indigenous language, on the floor of the house of representative, Mallam A.Y.
Baba of Adamawa-North West constituency suggested
that the house should encourage the government
to introduce the teaching of Hausa, Ibo and Yoruba into the institutions of learning throughout the country.
This is to enable one of the languages to emerge as an indigenous official language in future. Opinions were divergent on which
language should be the indigenous official language.
While some people supported Hausa, some supported Ibo and some Yoruba language. According to Lawal (1989), in the heat of the
Nigerian civil war in 1967, when
hundreds of Igbo’s were reportedly being killed in the North, Solarin suggested the use of Hausa, as the national official language because to him, Hausa is a majority
language and language of wider
communication used in Nigeria's neigbhouring
states. Replying to this suggestion, Achebe accused Solarin of insensitivity
and inhumanity and tagged him as a lunatic (Achebe, 1975)
Opinions were divergent on the issue of a
national indigenous language because of the fear of
linguistic and cultural domination of minorities. Okene (1980) observed that if
Nigeria wanted to use language as a cohesive force of
effective nation-building, people must be resolved to
face the challenges of tribalism, which has eaten deeply into the
national structure.
Crippled Education System
As an instrument of nation building,
education builds the mass to build the nation. But
regrettably, the education system in Nigeria has
collapsed to the extent that nothing in the name of functional education goes
on in the educational system (Mezieobi, Nkire and Ikwumelu, 1996). According to them Nigerian schools are empty of
the right
quality and quantity of human and material resources to make Nigeria's nation building a reality.
Political Instability leading to Ethnic Crises
Nigeria has
been characterized by perpetuating socio-political
instability right from the first three years of her dependence. This is consequent upon Nigeria's ethnic multiplicity and its associated political oddities. There
are crises here and there. Incidences of communal
clashes between ethnic groups have been on the increase even in recent years.
In real terms, Nigeria has never really been an
integrated nation. Most of the time what is
described as harmonious co-existence between groups
is often very fragile and this snaps as soon as there is any slight provocation. What follows afterwards are violent
clashes in which lives are lost, school activities paralyzed
and valuable properties were destroyed.
For example,
there were series of inter and intra-communal crisis
and ethnic clashes in 1997 arising from either deliberate marginalization, differential opportunities of employment,
education, government appointments and so on.
The level of damage, the degree of loss of lives and
properties, the disruption of social activities are
pointers to the fact that ethnic clashes are doing
more damage to the nation rather than building it. Some of the crises/clashes are discussed below:
The Warri Ethnic War
This crisis
which started in the month of March, 1997 went on for over six months. The crisis broke out between the
Ijaws and the Itsekiris, two of the three major
ethnic groups in Warri. For some time now, the two groups have regarded each other
with mutual suspicions. The crisis of 1997 came after the location of
the headquarters of one of the newly created
local governments in the area. The crisis led to the sack of several villages
while properties worth several millions
of naira were wantonly destroyed.Sophisticated
weapons including grenades and other explosives were freely employed. According to the 1997 annual report on the human rights situation in
Nigeria, mercenaries were recruited to train youths in the art of handling sophisticated weapons of modern warfare. Many school children became emergency warriors and classroom activities were paralyzed for many months.
In this Kind of situation, nation building processes
cannot be possible.
Ife-Modakeke Fratricidal War
The creation of 183 additional local
governments in Nigeria by the Abacha administration in 1996 had generated hostilities in the country. In Ife-Modakeke, palpable tension had
been generated over the location of
the headquarters of the newly created
ife-East Local government; Indigenes of the two communities engaged themselves in physical warfare. Houses and properties were looted, vandalized or completely
razed. Many people were killed.
Educational and social activities in the area were paralyzed (CDHR; 1997).
Other Cases of ethnic/communal clashes hostilities between the Esan speaking
people of, llushin and their Uro-speaking migrant neighbors; and the ethnic
crisis involving Pam-Pam and Gindiri
townships of the Mangu Local Government
Council of Plateau State to mention but few, Many other inter-ethnic crises occur almost everyday
in the country and these rather than
helping in the building of a virile nation have been destabilizing the
process of nation building.
Conclusions and Recommendations
Nigeria's pervading multi-ethnic vices such as allegiance to ethnic group, inter-ethnic antagonism, hostility,
aggression etc may have be en
promoted by the monoculture nature of most Nigerian school and absence of well-conceived and
articulated multi-ethnic education
programme. Multi-ethnic education is necessary
m a country like Nigeria so as to enable students to understand other ethnic groups outside their own
and in so doing, ethnic tolerance,
understanding and mutual interrelationships across ethic boundaries would be enhanced.
Nigeria is yet to meaningfully address
multi-ethnic education in a multicultural nation and
world Social studies educators are therefore
urged to redirect some of their teachings to
multi-ethnic studies As highlighted by Armstrong (1980) Mezieobi (1994), some of the useful
tips for teaching multi-ethnic education effectively in social studies should be taken into consideration by teachers and some of these tips are:
(1) Teach the identified peculiar feature of the individual ethnic groups.
(2) Teach their common experiences or
commonalities.
(3) Highlight differences.
In teaching
multi-ethnic issues, the four major approaches which nave potential for multi-ethnic instructions should be
implored and they are: assimilation, cultural pluralism, multiethnilism and
critical pedagogy (Zevin 1992, Appleton, 1983; Banks
1988; and Mcharen, 1990),
It is hoped
that if multi-ethnic education is properly addressed in our institutions right from the primary schools, much
of the multi-ethnic vices, which are debarring the
process of nation-building will be drastically reduced if
not totally eradicated.
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