NIGERIA 1914 -2014: WAS THERE A 100 YEARS CONTRACT?

LORD LUGARD

Some have spoken about the so-called amalgamation document that explicitly stated the duration of the experimentation called Nigeria.  Its existence is yet to be substantiated but its imaginary content is evident. Project Nigeria has been a tumultuous one right from inception.

But this is not peculiar to her; other entities with similar levels of complexity (many tribes, religion and culture) also exhibit such traits.

Central to the cracks in the walls called Nigeria is the quality of leadership she has cultivated over the years. With the present events in the nation and the political vexations of the various parties, each with a posture that favors violence; it may just be time for a formal examination of this purported document. Its content might have specified a dissolution procedure at the end of the experiment that is more amicable or presents a win-win situation??

The political alliance in Nigeria as it goes to the polls is such that has never been seen before. In the past, major political parties where clearly divided around tribal lines. Making it easier to be vindictive and at the same time harder to control conflicts as, cultural and religious sentiments quickly beclouded judgments.

ASO ROCK

Today the PDP has a southern president and a Northern chairman the opposition APC party a Northern candidate with Southern leaders. In the North, President Jonathan has die-hard supporters both in the streets and in the palaces. While he does harbor some core enemies too in his Niger Delta homestead.

His major opponent Gen. Buhari has huge supporters both in the North (his own region) and in the south. These combinations and matrices make it difficult to perpetrate the trouble which the populace is envisaging, because in the real moments of crises, tribal lines shall become more pronounces and leader and supporters will lean towards the obvious, thereby causing a total breakdown in the current structure.

A divided Nigeria has no real economic or political advantage as it will shrink markets, create new borders and barriers and take everyone to ground zero; making all the efforts and achievements of the last 100 years - the $510 billion economy - a completely futile exercise.