A CRITICAL REFLECTION ON THE BIAFRAN AGITATIONS AND THE QUESTIONS OF NIGERIAN AMALGAMATION IN 1914

Abstract

Historically, at the arrival of the European colonials, many African tribes were forcefully conscripted to form most of the present states. After much pressure, they gained independence from the colonial masters but these colonies inherited the same mentality, arrangements and system from their old colonial masters. Virtually all the boundaries of these colonies were superimposed on the land with little or no regard for the culturally coherent groups of people. Nigeria founded in 1914 by the colonialists is a good example of the loose correspondence between nation and state that exist in Africa today. Just as it is in the cases of Middle East, Turkey, Iraq and Iran which are homes to Kurdish tribe who are now minority in each of these countries. The Kurdish has made repeated attempts to break away from each of these countries to form their own original unified states. The striking features of these former colonies have been unhealthy mismatches of statehood and nationhood. Some of the handy terms from these groups are “Resource Control, marginalization, secession and Restructuring”. Nigeria is almost at a cross road because of how to build a national cohesion. This is because in addition to the avoidable but self inflicted Nigerian-Biafran war, the current fearful and fierce agitations for the independent Biafra, many leaders and other tribes have risen to question the rationale of the amalgamation and existence of the country as one.