Matters arising from Nigeria’s unity

Nigeria is the most populous black nation in the world. It occupies a hegemonic status within the West African Sub-region and popularly known as the ‘Giant of Africa’. The country is a creation of British colonialism in 1914, and gained political independence on October 1, 1960, and became a federal republic in 1963 with four regions.

Geographically, it shares a border with the Benin Republic in the West, Niger in the North and Cameroun in the South.

Demographically, Nigeria has over 250 ethnic groups and 500 languages with the dominant ones being Hausa, Igbo and Yoruba. There are three recognized religions which are Christianity, Islam and Traditional religion. It is this diversity or heterogeneity that aptly defines Nigeria’s unity as ‘unity in diversity’. This is reinforced by Nigeria’s constitution which states that Nigeria is a united and indivisible entity.

However, over the years, the country’s unity has been undermined and threatened by several factors. One of such factors is insecurity. There are rising waves of insecurity characterized by kidnapping, ritual killing, drug and human trafficking, militancy, insurgency, communal violence, youth restiveness and unabated killings of farmers by herdsmen with its attendant effect on the socio-economic development of the country.

The issue of insecurity is not actually new but has assumed complex and threatening dimensions in recent times across the country. Consequently, it has generated a humanitarian crisis, leading to displacement and wanton destruction of lives and properties. The multiplier effect on the country is unemployment, loss of jobs, fear and a vicious cycle of poverty as foreign investors consider the environment unsafe for business activities.

Security experts and analysts have attributed this worrisome security situation to the porosity of the borders, which invariably gives room for the proliferation of small and light weapons. There is also the allegation of collusion of security agencies with armed bandits. The spate of unabated killings going on in the Middle Belt States (North Central geopolitical zone) by Fulani herdsmen has raised cause for concern as culprits are never prosecuted.

It has also raised serious concern on the nationality question as most stakeholders have accused the government of tacitly permitting or allowing ethnic cleansing or genocide in some parts of the country. The north, in particular, is termed a ‘volatile zone’ due to incessant and massive bloodshed in that region.

The second matter arising from Nigeria’s unity is recurrent ethnoreligious violence caused by intolerance, radicalization and politicization of religion for political ends. This hydra-headed phenomenon has polarized the two dominant religions, Christianity and Islam. Analysts have revealed that most politicians and religious zealots exploit the ignorance of their religious followers to perpetrate in violent activities.
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