Given the current elections I have been wondering about the National Consciousness with everybody trying to play the Tribal card in order to get votes. Do you guys think that Nationalism is dead?

It is not dead . I think it is simply not as prominent as some of us wrongly believed it was .

But do you think it should play an important role in our development.

Because in all honesty the level of poverty in the North is scary

lowee231:

But do you think it should play an important role in our development.

Because in all honesty the level of poverty in the North is scary

NO SIR!

Something that never lived can not be said to be dead!

Azikiwe and Herbert were the only nationalists in Nigeria, and they are dead, with nothing to show for it.

Was it ever born in Nigeria?
A nation where you walk into a company that is headed by a Yoruba man, and your name is Chukwu . . . . You might have lose out before interview, a nation where a business run by ibo man will never be exposed to an hausa man.
A nation where you have to speak the language of hausa to be in the league?

Again, was it ever born?

noblezone:

NO SIR!

Something that never lived can not be said to be dead!

You could not be more correct. This is what I wrote about federalism when few trolls kept shouting “Ironsi killed true federalism in Nigeria”. Ironsi could not have possibly killed anything that never existed.

Dede1:


You could not be more correct. This is what I wrote about federalism when few trolls kept shouting “Ironsi killed true federalism in Nigeria”. Ironsi could not have possibly killed anything that never existed.

True. Nigeria has practised true federalism. What Ironsi killed was more like a quasi-federal system, but the system was the best for Nigeria.

Perhaps we are looking at Nationalism from a "Traditional" (Pan-Africanist) perspective. Nigeria has seen decades of rot and strangely it is still tied together. (some may say unwillingly) I am beginning to suspect there is a Nationalist Movement or should I say "Nationalist Spirit" among a good number of Nigerians cutting across ethnic and religious lines. There are "Educated", "Politically-Aware", "Socially-Conscious", "Religiously-Tolerant" Nationalists among us, what is absent or has been a back-breaking Fly-in-the-ointment is the intimidating and continued growth of these two phenomenon Corruption+Religious Politics.

Every "Democratic Nation" is actually a sophisticated system of Socio-Political and Religious "Institutions" that its citizenry nurture to a point where Nationhood is a Powerful Idea that goes beyond ethnicity, religion, political and ideological differences  

Corruption is something we are all aware off so i won't argue the FACT beyond saying that it has a strong quality of putrescence . The longer you leave it as it is, the stronger and more rotten it becomes, making it extremely difficult to deal with. Which is why it is commonly seen as Very Normal in the Nigerian Situation

Religious Politics Politics is a One wheel on the Cart of Democracy and when one wheel is bad, it has a powerful effect on the direction of democracy. All you need is for one wheel to go bad and you can have a nasty driving experience with the remaining 3 wheels still functional. Now add Religion (The other wheel of Democracy) and you have a fatal accident   When Politicians use Religion as a tool to play dirty-politics they utilize a powerful force over the people they govern because people are more than likely to act on religious lines than on political or social ones.

When we (with Nationalistic Spirits) can begin a process of stemming the tide of corruption and religious intolerance, ethnicity and social leanings are all but a weak tool for the ignorant and illiterate. the question is HOW?

Nationalism died in June 12.

T9ksy:

Not sure of Herbert but Azikwe was never a nationalist!
Under the veneer of "Zik of Africa" baloney, he was definately championing the igbo cause.

Definitely a disgusting lie.

T9ksy:

Not sure of Herbert but Azikwe was never a nationalist!
Under the veneer of "Zik of Africa" baloney, he was definately championing the igbo cause.

Zik was a nationalist and he never championed the Igbo cause unlike Awo or Ahmadu Bello did.

ezeagu:

Definitely a disgusting lie.

Crude Oil:

Zik was a nationalist and he never championed the Igbo cause unlike Awo or Ahmadu Bello did.

So the stories that he:
1: abandoned the National Youth Movement (carrying its Igbo members with it)
2: supported the attempt to create an independent state of Biafra, traveling extensively in 1968 to win recognition for Biafra and help from other African countries. in 1969 he realized the hopelessness of the cause and threw his support for the Federal Govt urging Igbos to forget secessionist plans

Just confirming if I got the facts right

Instead of being petty, I dare you to list the things he has done for Nigerian nationalism.

I admire him as a "TRUE" Nationalist but to say he never had moments of Doubt and [b]Acted [/b]on them is to defraud history of its facts and prepare a false future that has certainly propagated the ethnic friction that exists today. Only a Real Man Stands after falling several times . Zik is truly a Great Man

When I was in my first year in Uni, I was asked to write a term paper on Nigerian Nationalism as a requirement for all these General Courses.

In the process I came across Negritude, Azikiwe, Garvey etc. Before I knew I was moreorless caught up with what i was doing.

12 years down the line I have friends doing this inter tribal marriages and I wonder about their offspring where will their loyalties lie, the uprisings in the Arab-will it ever happen here and the current turn of events. I read about the lynchings of Negroes in Southern America and I wonder why it was allowed to take place.

The truth is that Nigeria as a nation will only progress if we all remain open minded about the right of persons of different tribal origins to pursue life in its fullest.

That education is the greatest fight against tribalism.

An individual has no control of his origins, when I was born I didnt chose to be born of a particular tribe or religion why then should I be persecuted for being who I am.

The division of Nigeria isnt a solution to our problems because when the resources are scarce(resources will always be scarce) people will always find a reason to discriminate.

But it all states with the having the right mindset and chosing to do the right thing. I hope as people get older and better educated will start to merge together as one.

Black is Beautiful

i miss Fela the last man with courage and passion and style