Nigeria at 63: Resolving issues of diversity and inclusiveness, By Dakuku Peterside

Managing diversity and promoting inclusiveness in Nigeria is an ongoing and multifaceted challenge. It requires concerted efforts from government at all levels, the civil society, the private sector, and individuals to ensure that all Nigerians, regardless of their backgrounds, can participate fully in the country’s social, economic, and political life. Embracing diversity and inclusiveness is a moral imperative and a pathway to a more prosperous and harmonious Nigeria.

The Economist Intelligence Unit ranked Nigeria in the world’s top five most diverse countries in 2009. It simultaneously ranked the country as the 45th of 47 countries in sustaining national diversity. The management of diversity and inclusiveness are essential and contentious issues in Nigeria today, as it was in 1960. As acknowledged by President Tinubu during a recent foreign trip, our diversity ought to be an asset for nation-building and development. Promoting diversity and inclusion is crucial for social cohesion, economic development, and the nation’s well-being.

This great country is an intricate assemblage of cultures, faiths, and languages. With a population that surpasses 220 million people, Nigeria prides itself on an impressiveness of over 250 ethnic groups, with over 500 languages, lending voice to its diverse populace. Managing and celebrating this diversity is essential for national unity.

Our incredible diversity is a double-edged sword; it made us a great nation, a melting pot of rich diversity that, if properly utilised, will make Nigeria one of the best countries to live and work in. Harnessing positive cultural traits brings great rewards to all. This is evident in our culinary expressions, music, and arts. It is little wonder that Nigeria dominates all other African countries in these aspects. Our food, music and arts are synonymous with African food, music, and art. The second side of the sword is the challenges that our diversity have created in making Nigeria a cohesive and united state. People from many of the ethnic nationalities that make up the country place their identities and loyalties first to their ethnic nationalities before contemplating their Nigerian identity. It is little wonder that some have described Nigeria as a mere geographical expression, devoid of the bond of nationhood that makes a great state.

---

Historically, the unholy union of many ethnic nationalities into one dominant protectorate (the Northern and Southern protectorates, respectively) for the administrative ease of Britain, without due consultations with the nationalities or due consideration of their historical engagements, created tensions that reverberate till our present time. Rival and antagonistic ethnic nationalities were lumped together and expected to coexist peacefully, without correcting the historical malice, stereotypes, and innuendos that had existed for hundreds or thousands of years before colonisation. As if that was not enough, in 1914, the British colonialists performed the unholy marriage of the Northern and Southern Protectorates to create Nigeria. This marriage was clearly for administrative ease and not any well-thought-out plan towards creating a nation-state. 

There was no clear evidence that the first experiment of bundling the ethnic nationalities into protectorates brought them together in any way, other than for administrative benefits. Each ethnic nationality maintained its identity and never wholly surrendered to the new identity. Scaling up a forced union through the amalgamation of 1914, without giving proper attention to making the ethnic nationalities bond together, created a Nigeria of many ethnic nationalities that were suspicious of each other. This suspicion and sometimes outright hatred among ethnic nationalities served the British colonisers’ divide-and-rule approach well. In 1914, we had a nation-state made up of ethnic nationalities that were neither interested in the contraption nor trusting of anything about it to place their complete loyalties in Nigeria.

Unfortunately, 63 years after Independence, we have yet to make a significant improvement in managing our diversity well, much less leveraging it to our advantage. Today, we are still dealing with the issues of dismantling ethnic nationality loyalties and subjecting all allegiances to the Nigerian state. We are brutally confronted with diversity challenges daily in politics, social existence, communal relations, and religious expressions.

The post-1914 yoking together saw many activities geared towards making a ‘Nigeria’ out of the dominant ethnic nationalities. Several constitutions were made, and several state institutions were created to exert the influence of a state on the collective. There was also a uniting vision of getting Nigeria to become an independent country, and a rallying ideology for all leaders of the major ethnic nationalities. 

Beyond these uniting efforts, a chequered history of mistrust, hatred, and suspicion led to pogroms, ethnic clashes, and the wanton destruction of lives and properties. The 1960 independence happened under this context of fear and distrust among the ethnic nationalities. Little wonder Nigeria’s civil war killed millions a few years after Independence.

Since the end of the civil war in 1970, Nigeria has been battling to create a cohesive nation-state that would blur the ethnic lines. The Nigerian state has tried to fight nepotism, tribalism, and access to opportunities on the basis of ethnicity. Some of the adopted measures, although created with good intentions, have spawn unintended problems. For instance, creating the Federal Character Principle to give access to opportunities to people from various ethnic backgrounds became counterproductive, when meritocracy and value were sacrificed on the altar of equal access in Nigeria. The death of meritocracy in Nigeria due to clannishness, nepotism, and irredentist tendencies has stopped Nigeria from harnessing its best resources for socio-political and economic growth.

Unfortunately, 63 years after Independence, we have yet to make a significant improvement in managing our diversity well, much less leveraging it to our advantage. Today, we are still dealing with the issues of dismantling ethnic nationality loyalties and subjecting all allegiances to the Nigerian state. We are brutally confronted with diversity challenges daily in politics, social existence, communal relations, and religious expressions. Any little issue of national importance is seen by many from the narrow prisms of ethnicity and religion. We are a nation silently at war with ourselves on the basis of ethnic and religious loyalties. The last national elections exemplify this. I must acknowledge that some progress has been made in the management of our diversity and enabling inclusion, but recent events show an erosion of this progress. Recent calls for secession, banditry, terrorist activities, farmer-herder crises and communal flare ups, are some examples of the worsening tensions in our union. Professor Anya, a distinguished Nigeria Merit Award laureate, said, “We can no longer say with certainty that we have a nation.” Niger Delta leaders, South-Eastern leaders, Middle-Belt leaders, and the Northern Elders Forum have not remained quiet.

The key driver of the challenge of managing our diversity in Nigeria is the pervasive limited economic opportunities and politics of exclusion in the country. The lack of opportunities or unequal access to opportunities exacerbates the feelings of exclusion and anger, especially in a struggling economy. The poverty and greed of the elite has combined to divide the nation. Poverty creates an atmosphere of shame and blame and quickly pushes people to resort to divisive ethnic and religious sentiments. And over 130 million Nigerians are multidimensionally poor. Besides, ignorance and illiteracy promote conflict and hinder inclusion. Our greedy elite are comfortable with fantastic corruption that leads to a few siphoning our common patrimony for themselves and their cronies. Any plan to manage our diversity and create inclusion must address poverty and corruption, which lead to unequal or no access to opportunities.

Government must be the critical driver of promoting diversity and inclusion through legislation and policies. Political leaders must aim for the equitable representation of diverse groups in government and public institutions, and that no one group dominates the others in government. This has direct political consequences. Political leaders must be deliberate in the even distribution of infrastructure, resources, political offices, and the accommodation of different cultural expressions in Nigeria.

Therefore, we must develop more ways of celebrating our ethnic and cultural diversities. All must resist any tendency to promote cultural superiority in the country. Promoting religious tolerance and understanding is crucial to maintaining peace. Although English is our official language, we must keep the local languages alive. We must ensure that education is accessible to all, regardless of ethnicity, religion, or socio-economic background. We must promote workplace diversity, inclusion, equal opportunities, and fair employee treatment.

Government must be the critical driver of promoting diversity and inclusion through legislation and policies. Political leaders must aim for the equitable representation of diverse groups in government and public institutions, and that no one group dominates the others in government. This has direct political consequences. Political leaders must be deliberate in the even distribution of infrastructure, resources, political offices, and the accommodation of different cultural expressions in Nigeria. Our political leaders need to focus on building trust and creating a culture where everyone feels free to aspire to the best that Nigeria can offer them. They play a critical role in managing ethnocultural divisions, gender biases, and most recently, the youth bulge. Politicians have a responsibility to create and sustain an inclusive environment for all. Our recent experience shows that the country suffers many mishaps when the political leadership does not manage our diversity properly and create an inclusive environment.

Civil society organisations and non-governmental organisations (NGOs) must play a vital role in advocating for diversity and inclusiveness, and monitoring and holding the government and private sector accountable for their commitments. And all stakeholders must support initiatives to promote cultural understanding, tolerance, and the acceptance to bridge divides.

Managing diversity and promoting inclusiveness in Nigeria is an ongoing and multifaceted challenge. It requires concerted efforts from government at all levels, the civil society, the private sector, and individuals to ensure that all Nigerians, regardless of their backgrounds, can participate fully in the country’s social, economic, and political life. Embracing diversity and inclusiveness is a moral imperative and a pathway to a more prosperous and harmonious Nigeria.

Dakuku Peterside is a policy and leadership expert.