Countries are made up of units of communities, towns, cities, etc of different ethnic stocks and tribes of peoples.

At the global level, the world is a conglomerate of nation-states. In each nation-state, tribes and ethnic stocks form a subset of the nation. In other words, while nations are made up of countries, countries cannot consist of nations with relative peace. Although
since relativity is always a factor in human dynamics, there may be exceptions to this rule.

A cursory look at some events in history will open our minds to the truth of the aforementioned analysis.

Former USSR and Yugoslavia.
These two entities were a perfect examples of countries of nations forcefully held together by one factor or the other. And these were made up of largely civilized, enlightened and sophisticated peoples, so to say. But because nations forced together within a country are like a pent-up fury in a person or air bottled up in a tube, a little provocation of the person or a puncture of the tube, the fury is vented with spleen on the provocator like air bursting out of the tube with gust. The re-enactment of these two factors in the countries in reference led to the inevitable disintegration of them into their natural several nations.

Britain, a highly civilized and enlightened society is made up of four nations of England (the English), Scotland (the Scots or Scotish), Wales (the Welsh) and Ireland (the Irish). They have lived together as one people for decades but what most people may not have observed or known is that there had always been some little amount of racial schism under the surface. You have to get assimilated into the society to observe this. But inspite of their enlightenment and length of unionhood, Scotland attempted a peaceful breakaway in a referendum of recent. Even the failed attempt does not guarantee a continued unionship for ever.

So, coming nearer home, Nigeria and nigerians do not possess what it takes to make a nation of nations. What with tribal and religious bigottry and a disparate levels of emancipation, civilisation and enlightenment. Yakubu Gowon and those around him then realised this truth when he proclaimed that "the basis for Nigeria's unity did not exist". But unfortunately, he failed to do the needful. The factors they discovered as militating against Nigeria's unity at that time have since been agravated and multiplied.

The earlier the nations that were forced into a marriage of inconvenience as represented in Nigeria are allowed to go their separate ways the better for all.

Some people, out of sheer ignorance use USA as an example of a nation that Nigeria could become. But they fail to understand the simple fact that America is made up of immigrants. The only tribe that could lay claim to ownership of the nation are the Appalashians or the Red Indians but who are so infinitestimally small in number and primitive to exert any effort towards such goal. Matter of fact, the landing of Christopher Columbus and his group followed by the influx of migrants from different races of the world turned out to be a blessing rather than a curse to the natives, freedom rather than bondage, enlightenment instead of primitiveness. No country in the world with such conglomerate of peoples of several races, can be a true nation like America. Even then, you still have rumblings of separatist schism - Texas as a case in point.

Whether we like to admit it or not, the different levels of civilization, ingrained tribal tendencies and irreconciliable religious dogma plus visionary differences inherent in Nigeria will forever stand in the way of nationhood.

Three distinct nations in the south of the country have active or dormant self-determination groups waiting for a catalyst to spring into action while the deluded leaders of different ethnic groups who are only united by greed and corruption occasioned by the free flow of oil money pretend all is well.

To prevent an inevitable bloodshed, a recourse to regionalism or an experimental con-federation for 50 years should have been considered.

One finds it funny that Nigeria, as a legal entity, ceased to exist in 2014, yet, there is a treacherous silence rather than a cacophony of incesant calls for a national conference of sort to re-negotiate the union or agree to divide peacefully.

My humble opinion though, as i do not arrogate absolute knowledge of the discourse to my person.