₦airaland Forum

Sure?

Hmmm

They gave you victory. Yet you say they can't conduct free and fair election! Was yours not free and fair?

The Intellectual Case Against Nigeria’s Break-Up (II) By Farooq Kperogi, Ph.D.
Twitter: @farooqkperogi

I want to begin this week’s installment by responding to a challenge thrown at me by a reader. The reader said India’s relative national cohesion is a consequence of its monolingual character. That, of course, implies that Nigeria’s linguistic plurality is the reason for its tendency toward fissiparity.

That is completely inaccurate, and this inaccuracy sprouts from the misconception that everybody in India speaks the Hindi language. The truth is that out of India’s over 1.2 billion people, only 258 million people speak Hindi as a native language, according to the country’s 2001 national census. That number represents less than 25 percent of India’s population.

Although Hindi is, along with English, India’s national language, it is spoken by less than 50 percent of the country’s population. People in southern India, who speak a multiplicity of mutually unintelligible languages, intensely resent Hindi’s imposition as a national language. So India is a polyglot nation like Nigeria.

I should add that nothing in what I have written so far is intended to make the case that Nigeria does not have profound problems that it must confront truthfully to realize its vast potential. I'm only concerned that efforts at nation building are stuck in prolonged infancy because of inaccurate claims about our differences and the insistence that these so-called differences make the emergence of a virile, united nation impossible.

I have been involved in arguments with my Nigerian compatriots in the diaspora about this issue for several years. A persistent example they cite to underscore the “unnaturalness” of the troubled ethnic alchemy that is Nigeria is the United States of America. They claim that America was founded through the consensus of the Founding Fathers and that this somehow illustrates their point that if Nigeria must endure, it must have some kind of a roundtable discussion to “renegotiate” the basis of co-existence. Fair enough.

However, a cursory look at the history of the United States will show that claims about the consensual nature of the formation of the country are balanced on a very fragile thread of socio-historical evidence.

Although the argument can be made that the consensus of the power structure of the dominant white population built America, the fact also remains that the subaltern populations—African Americans, Native Americans, poor whites, women, etc.—were systematically excluded from this consensus.

The African slaves that were brought here were not allowed to become citizens until relatively recently. And in much of Southern United States, they won the right to vote only in the 1960s.

Native Americans who had lived in this country for ages before the Anglo-Saxons came from Europe to uproot and exterminate most of them only became full citizens years after the country was formed—and against their wishes. (The first Native American in the U.S. Senate was elected only in 1992!).

The state of Louisiana, where I lived for about two years, was BOUGHT from the French without the consent of the people who inhabited it. Alaska was also BOUGHT from Russia without the consent of the people who inhabited it. Hawaii, America’s 50th state, was arbitrarily annexed in spite of resistance from Native Hawaiians. And this is true of most other states in the United States.

Again, like Nigeria, the United States fought a long, hard, and bloody Civil War to "FORCE" the Southern states of the country to remain in the Union. The South wasn’t allowed to produce a president almost 100 years after the Civil War. This makes the United States a “forced” nation—if we are persuaded by the logic of Nigerian irredentists who hold on to the idea of a mythical consensus as the foundation for national formation.

I agree that Nigeria in its present form was created for the convenience of British colonial conquerors. But so were India, Singapore, Malaysia, and several other modern nations. The fact of their colonial creation is not a reason to expect that they will collapse.

In any case, if we insist on consent as a precondition for nationhood, most of our “ethnic nationalities” should not even exist in the first place. For instance, there wouldn’t be an ethnic group called the Yoruba.

Obafemi Awolowo, MKO Abiola, Abraham Adesanya, Ernest Shonekan, Gani Fawehinmi, Wole Soyinka, Femi Falana, etc. would not be Yorubas. Why? Because they all come from parts of Western Nigeria that were not “Yoruba” until British colonialists incorporated (read “forced”) them into that identity.

The word “Yoruba” is the corruption of “Yoruba,” the Hausa word to refer to people in present-day Oyo, Osun, parts of Lagos, and parts of Kwara—itself first used by a Songhai scholar, as I will show next week. It didn't include much of present-day Ondo, Ogun, and Ekiti—and certainly didn’t include the Okun people of Kogi who are now called “Yorubas in Kogi.”

When I attended a wedding at a small town in Ekiti State in the early 2000s, my Yoruba friends from Lagos were shocked to discover that in rural Ekiti State most people neither spoke nor understood Yoruba.

We asked a couple of elderly people for directions to the venue of the wedding, and they couldn’t answer us because they didn’t understand Yoruba. They responded in Ekiti language, which is incomprehensible to “mainstream” Yoruba people. In rural Ondo and Ogun, and even parts of rural Lagos, you will find places where Yoruba is incomprehensible to vast swathes of people.

Interestingly, the people who were called “Yoruba” by the Hausas did not even identify themselves by that name until the twilight of the 19th century. They identified themselves, instead, by such names as “Oyo,” “Ijesa,” “Owo,” "Ibolo," "Igbomina," "Ibadan," etc. This is what historians discovered when they examined the records of the slaves brought from what is now western Nigeria to America in the 16th century. There was not a single slave who self-identified as “Yoruba.”

Well, it was our British colonial conquerors who foisted a “Yoruba” identity on all the people who inhabit the western portion of Nigeria—without the “consent” of the people. In other words, people were "forced" into a Yoruba identity, in the same way that the Nigerian identity was “forced” on all of us. That’s why both Awolowo and Adesanya (people who went on to become “leaders of the Yoruba race”) are on record as saying that they were first Ijebus before they were Yoruba, and then Nigerians.

I’m not by this ignoring the undeniable linguistic and cultural similarities, however initially distant, between the people that are called Yoruba today, but it took colonialism, and Samuel Ajayi Crowder’s efforts, for this to be discovered and mobilized for political purposes.

Next week I will discuss the constructedness of other ethnicities.

Great

The rich don't use their money but the poor use theirs or think they must use theirs so they do nothing since they think they don't have enough

Ok

I saw this and wept.

How can 2 states not be able to manage a University?

Good

It always takes a person with the balls to initiate the right cause. I like Buhari as a person. But I think he needs to resign and make history as the first African President to resign after running for same office for 4 times. Even Mandela didn't have that record. Madiba simply refused to go for 2nd term!

Our firm carries out Structural Evaluation of any Structure that has been affected by fire or has stayed so long before. As a matter of fact, every building needs to be Structurally Evaluated once in every 10 years.. It's not expensive. We run some hi-tech analysis using equipment and give you the result. You will know if the building is healthy or not.
Fire attacks the structural strength. Hence the tests before you start renovation after fire.
Check my whatsapp number on the signature

MOD
Change the title to "A Building in FUT Owerri is on fire"

See how you make my mind jump up

mapet:
Bros,

Trust me, I fully respect your profession as an Engineer and your valid input into the profession. Also if you checked my post you will have seen the way I framed it


So the summary of my arguments are thus
1. There is a clear difference between LEADERSHIP and "MANAGER-SHIP". You ever wondered why many top executives who have put in many years into their career, are primed for the top, sent to places like Havard Business Schools or other top rated institution some with special focus on leadership development?
2. Secondly I addressed my argument specifically premised on having a full view of the value-chain. The power sector in Nigeria is heavily laden on the Business, Regulation and Customer Service side, which is largely underdeveloped and complicated. Engineering acumen plays a little in the midst the complexities in contracts, litigations, regulations and market development requirements.

3. We may need to reassess our paradigm and have a necessary shift. Who says a "non-doctor" cannot head the ministry of health? Forget about the politics, if Y'Ardua had made Dora the Minister of Health, it would indeed have been a bold yet progressive move (meanwhile, for personal reasons I am not so much a Dora fan, but I acknowledge her good works). If we assess our ministry of health over the years, headed by Doctors, can we sincerely say we had that basic to breath-taking Health in the country? I love the American model that clearly delineates the Management/Leadership lines from the Doctors lines in many of their hospitals, thereby Hospitals are run by administrators (having more of leadership/business capabilities), while the Doctors are left to specifically face the business of Healing. Even right here in Nigeria, the Pharmacists are questioning the rationale why only medical doctors should be the Managing Directors of hospitals. Check the best government run-hospitals in Nigeria, even when you discount govt's input, you will discover that wanton spate of ineptitude in management (hospitals run by doctors). Our doctors do not even (seemingly) understand the concept of bed-space management, patient turn-around-time etc hence you get to those hospitals by 5.00a.m. and may end up seeing Doctor at 5.00p.m.

4. Yes an Engineer will be ideal to head the ministry of power (just like any other quality professional) but he must have the requisite leadership qualities and exposure matched with breadth of business acumen

I think you have more superior argument. Number 3 and 4 above were the knock-out points for me.
There isn't any measurable advantage of choosing a Medical Doctor over a Prof Dora or someone with outstanding performance with the managerial acumen. The deadness of the Nigerian Health sector speaks volumes.
(I am a Dora fan. RIP to her).

Thanks

Mapet wrote:

7. From my argument in 2 above, the power sector is an ecosytem of Business, Regulation, Investments......and I dare argue that bolts, nuts, wires and cables are at the last mile. For those of you that argue for an Engineer to head the Ministry of Works and Power, you speak in ignorance. Such a ministry should be headed by someone with demonstrable leadership, business and regulation knowledge, acumen, skill and experience (be it an Engineer or not)

Haba! MAPET this wonderful article that you wrote, why spoil it with Number 7? This your article needs to be published on Punch, Vanguard and Guardian. But remove number 7.

The truth is that Nigeria will never get out of this mess ahe is enmeshed in without appointing a highly experienced Electrical Engineer who has spent at least 2 decades of his life in Electrical Power development. Who equally has strong marketing talents.

You cannot make another profession who is not a medical doctor to be Minister of Health. Doctors will ground the ministry for you. Remember Yaradua who wanted Dora to be his Health Minister. If that is how Electrical Engineers in Nigeria about Power Ministry, electricity would have be in excess.

I am a Coren-certified Civil/Structural Engineer. However I was part of the FG project that built about 600 High-tension Towers (Pylons) from Geregu - Ajaokuta -Lokoja- Abaji - Gwagwalada - to Apo, Abuja. My work then was to verify that all the foundations being built by the Foreign Contractor was in accordance with what FG was paying for. There were 3 Booster Sub stations in Ajaokuta, Lokoja & Gwagwalada. I also supervised all their foundations.

During this project period, I discovered that if you don't put your foot down, the foreigners will dupe Nigeria blue and Black with support from some guys from the ministry and from Senate & Rep's. Many times we had oversite visits from them. Thank God for EFCC and BPP. The man heading BPP was Engr Emeka Eze. God bless that man. We are talking of very strong forces. But glory be to God the projects were completed successfully.
But you can see that all it would take to create constant electricity is to have a CORE Professional Electric Engineer heading the Power Ministry. Prof Barth Nnaji tried. He is a scientist not an Engineer. Scientists research to find what is existing. But Engineers create what is not existing.

NOW you are talking

Ok

Ok

So as we call Wole Soyinka Literature Laureate so we go call Addshina FOOD Laureate?
I bet that title will fade off. Food what?

The future is Public-Private Partnership
For instance our company DAYSTAR SHELTER Ltd can enter into a partnership agreement with the community so that we build a modern market or bridge for them. We charge toll of 100 per car and 50 per bike. This could last till 10 years or more depending on the financial weight of the project. By so doing everyone is happy. Same can be done with roads, power supply, waterworks etc etc. That is the future of development.
In Spain and France, most of the roads and rails are built and run under this kind of arrangement. VINCI Group is the company that does that there. In Africa, DAYSTAR SHELTER is the type of VINCI group there.

Great

OP thanks for the info.

I don't know why PMB can't just become a Hero by resigning so that Osinbajo can take over full force!

Hmmm

Congrats to her this beautiful Lady.
A First class Graduate and overall best at 22 yrs!!
Don't look down on yourself if you didn't get first class in academics. Thank God for other things that you are excellent in and work on the others you are not.

E.g I married my wife when she was a Mass Com graduate at 22yrs. She had First class in the kitchen and the other Room.

That is epic!

JamieHotSource:
Nigerian Senator, Dino Melaye who just suffered an assasination attempt

He "Survived" an assassination attempt
Not he "Suffered"...
To buttress my point, check: We only have Assassination Survivors not Assassination Sufferers'

Any negative news about Kogi na to hurry go press without checking the facts and truths. Even bloggers are getting traffic on top of Kogi matter.
Very soon, peace will reign in Kogi and you guys would not like to report that one unless you are paid. Journalism and Bad News! Kukuma change the name to "Badmouthism" mbok