Throughout our history as a “nation” depending from where one starts, from amalgamation to independence or from independence to present, Nigeria has not been able to advance politically, socially, technologically, civilly, culturally or educationally as per yearly rated trajectory according to the years we have stayed together..
Nigeria, as a country, still cannot provide a consistent flow of power nor produce basic materials needed for technological advancement… We still have a swath populace that cannot read or write… Nigeria still cannot feed its people, we still cannot protect ourselves through law enforcement, we still kill and act with impunity on religious matters. We still depend on foreigners for our basic needs and engagement. We still kill and act untoward to each other based on tribal and ethnic affiliation. We still worship individuals or human deities as in “kings, princes, emirs”. We still cannot make or enforce basic laws that governs all.. And where those laws “exist” it is selectively enforced based on tribal and ethnic affiliations.We still haven’t decided on any system of governance monarchical, Sharia, feudal or democracy
We are still in primordial state of existence after over 100 years of forced marriage! But the reason for the lack of advancement is not farfetched. Beyond the various theories, the lack of progress in Nigeria and some other African countries is based on a universal truth–albeit human nature on a grand scale. Likes attract unity and unity attract progress in what nationalist claim as unity of purpose …as there is single pursuit of excellence in whatever form they the united deem fit…It doesn’t matter whether it is Mafia or yakuza purpose, Christian or Islamic purpose.
Successful nations have three things in common
A dominant ethnic or tribal group > 50 percent
A dominant language
A dominant religion and culture.
Examples
USA… the dominant group is White, language: English, religion: Christianity, culture: Wasp
Japan.. dominant group is Yamato, language: Nihongo, culture: Nihon, religion: Shinto
Chinese …dominant group Han, language: Mandarin, religion: Taoism and Confucianism,
There is no point rehearsing the fact that various successful European nation states are mere tribal and sub-tribal groupings. Relatively rich nation of immigrants like Brazil and Australia also share these traits.
Brazil dominant group: White-Latin, language: Portuguese, religion: Christianity.
Australia, dominant group White-Anglo, language: English, Religion: Christianity.
The subtext of these incendiary ingredient is that they create a sense of unity within the dominant ethnic/tribal group and reinforces the need for their survival… It is this urgent need for survival – a natural human trait – that ultimately create the singularity of purpose…a vehicle for human advancement.
These dominant groups shape the ideas and direction of the survival of their ethnic group which is often packaged as that of the”nation”.. The oft intractable debates amongst members of these dominant group doesn’t negate the underlying structural motivation …survival of their specie by whatever means.
Back to Nigeria…in place of a dominant group…”no””thanks” to the European cog in the wheels of the Fulani sweep through the present day Nigerian space… we have 3 to 4 disparate groups fighting for supremacy
The fight though a normal natural dance of survival for any group does not bode well for the overall unity of any country or nation. This dance is really not necessary as any of these groups found in Nigeria can comfortably afford to live within their linguistic, religious and cultural space that nature accorded.
The natural law of survival posits that groups fighting each other in a given space rarely make any positive contribution within that space as their existence is merely primordial..a survivalist existence.
The Nigerian space is a riotous primordial survivalist state as was between Singapore and Malaysia; Czech and Slovenia; Eriteria and Ethiopia and between various groups in the former Yugoslavia to name a few. It was when these once survivalist states surgically exercised there mendacious existence that progressive existence began. Singapore and Malaysia are the best of neighbors today.
Emmanuel Achife is a political commentator.
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