THE UNUNITED STATES OF NIGERIA

The entity called NIGERIA has over the years evolved into just an official identity for a group of self-regulated people in the heart of Africa. This geopolitical area is currently made up of thirty-six separate groups called States and a thirty-seventh serving as a headquarters called the federal capital territory. These groups are further divided into over seven hundred sub-groups called Local Government Areas, LGAs. Lastly, these LGAs are broken up into over three hundred and fifty tribal sects with diverse languages. It must be said here that the geographical area described above with so many identity markers is smaller in size to the state of Texas in the United States of America.

Day after day we hear an endless clamour by some special interest groups for the creation of more states and LGAs for the benefits of the system we operate to get to the grassroots. Sadly, these outcries are not motivated by love or empathy but by a lack of trust and greed. We were trained subconsciously not to trust the other Nigerian seeing them as subtle competitors for the scarce resources available. A simply test can be applied to check our mindset concerning the other Nigerian; that is asking yourself this question, ‘’what is the literal translation for the names given to other Nigerian tribes in my local dialect?’’ I took this test a long time ago and found the answers to be derogatory and insulting. How then can we trust one another?

Greed is the root of all forms of corruption, fighting, and marginalisation experienced in Nigeria today. The system we operate in Nigeria is orchestrated to fail because the Federal government financially upholds the States, which ought to be the reverse. With all the divisions and segregations in Nigeria, we do have a common ground that is the FEDERAL ALLOCATION. Each State and constituency skims and strategises new ideas to improve on their percentage from this allocation not considering what more they could do to increase their contribution to this allocation. This is the height of greed.

However, there is hope for our nation. We must choose to shun all forms of discrimination and divisions either on the basis of state of origin, language ties, ethnicity or any other. We should learn to see one another as NIGERIANS and work hard and smart to fulfil the words of our 1999 Constitution, which states;

‘’Nigeria is one INDIVISIBLE and INDISSOLUBLE sovereign state to be known by the name of the Federal Republic of Nigeria.’’

‘‘Accordingly, national integration shall be actively encouraged, whilst discrimination on the grounds of PLACE OF ORIGIN, SEX, RELIGION, STATUS, ETHNIC or LINGUISTIC association or ties shall be prohibited.’’

Please never forget this:

From the words of our beautiful national anthem, ‘‘ONE NATION BOUND IN FREEDOM, PEACE AND UNITY.’’

Thank you and God bless Nigeria.