On the Formation of the Sustainable National Identity We Can Call Nigerian (2)

Zandam, I didnt misconceive you. You declared bad and and good as universal but I am not even talking about that. I am not even talking about the structure of the national identity you proposed. Pherhaps I am trying to arrive at theoretical frame work of your own thesis which I seem to find not in the thesis itself but in Waziri's contribution. The word (likely) in my contribution carries some weight. You may wish to go through it again if you don't mind.

Waziri: I always know that intellectuals are seldom polite for nothing. When I read your compliments I wasn't too quick to jubilate for I expected you to say something like this "I actually can relate to an idealism..........."

What we have here Mallam Waziri is not Idealism. We are talking about real situations in the world around us and what they have resulted into. I am happy that you are student of trends and from the way you make your points you sound to me like a very good historian. But the issue here is that of the philosophy of history and what we can be able to learn from it. I have my many reserved comments about WASP and its shaky bases.

We seem to have two independand premises: 1. That Nigeria doesn't have a national identity and it needs one. 2. That the identity should be carved out from the cultural heritage of one of the cultural entities in Nigeria(Say Yoruba for example). In our first premise comes your briliant calculation that the existing cultural entities canceled one another into nothinness, the result of which is that Nigeria doesnt have a cultural owner. At this very point I say we look at it differently. The cup is half full not half empty. The fact that Nigerian cultural entities failed to work together in a complimentary manner doesn't mean that they dont exist or that they are not funtional in their own particular regions. Fulako and the of Mutumin Kirki concepts as rightly elaborated by Zandam are still funtional in the various places they belong to.

Talking about the second premise, we are talking about theoretical base upon which we can be able to form a FUNTIONAL and SUSTAINABLE national identity. I insist that the only national identity that Nigeria can be able to sustain is the one that gives all Nigerians an equal sense of belonging. I proposed somethingness theory to cancel your nothingness theory; that we should be able to raise our regional identities carved from our regional cultural heritages into the national level to form a single indivisible national identity. What I am simply saying is that the 1914 amalgamation of the geographical locations of the entity called Nigeria is not enough to create a sustainable Nigerian identity. Nigerians have been too lazy about the real process of sharing experiences and the Nigerian regional cultures have been too closed to themselves and less open to others. But this can be changed if a serious government can come in and make things work.

Then, in our scholarship we have this problem of methodology and epistemology. We often go all the way to God knows where and take our examples from the places in the world with whom we share nothing. We often neglect the experiences of the people very close to us. Who cares to study the real roots of the problems in Sudan or to include it in the curriculum of the study of trends. Common knowledge about Sudan is that the crisis is between Muslims and Christians. This is the reason we are always astonished whenever we get to know that the population of the Christians in Sudan is much less than 15%. The reality of the matter is that the crisis of Sudan has its roots traceable in the crisis of identity. This is exactly what I am afraid we end up becomming if this issue of national identity is not treated well. We need to think a million times and consider the Sudanese experience a million times for the delicate nature of the problem. I don't think a specialist in the Future Studies who is worth his salt will disagree with the fact that after the disintergaration of the Southern Sudan, the Muslim Sudan will disintergrate into at least 3 to 4 entities. The Darfurians in the West, the Nubians in the North and other Esatern tribes all of whom were dominated by the Arab culture against which they are now revolting. The suprise  which is likely to happen is that Hausa people will likely take over the remnants. They now formed about 25% of the whole population of the Sudan and refused to undergo the acculturation process for which they are completely relegated to the background and treated like second class citizens. They have enough population to revolt effectively but they lacked the sufficient opinion leaders. With the number of young Hausa people graduating now in the universities and the ones within the militry officers rank, the next 10 to 15 years hold a suprise from them. This was aptly captured by late General John Grang, the Sudanese rebel leader during his life time   

I am happy that you mentioned the future problem of America as that of identity because of the Hispanic who wouldn't agree to melt. But I wonder that you still imagine other cultural entities melting in one not into one in Nigeria. You mentioned that Nzeougwu and Awolowo could't stomach the fact that Northern culture was dominating them and expect their childeren to agree to something like that. Please let us talk about formation not domination.