Is Nigeria a Nation, a State, or Both? -

At the end of this topic, student should be able to:

say the meaning of a nation
list and explain the key features that make a nation.
differentiate between a nation and a state
and finally be able to say if Nigeria has attained nationhood or not

What is a nation?

A nation is a group of people that historically share many things together such as language, religion, history, culture, and geographical territory.

Nigeria doesn’t have a common culture. The Igbo history is different from Hausa and Yoruba history. While the Yoruba’s culture of respect is something that is paramount to them, Igbo, most of the time see culture of respect as a sign of weakness and fiddle.

While the Yoruba history will be incomplete without Oduduwa, the Hausa/Fulani history can’t be told without a mention of Uthman Dan Fodio.

All the more than 300 ethnic groups in Nigeria have forethers in who they coin their history from. We will discuss more on this when answering the question, “Is Nigeria a nation or not?”

Difference between a nation and a state

While a nation is a group of people that share a common language, history, and culture, a state is an association of people that have formal institutions called ‘government’, defined territorial areas free from encroachment from outsiders, and political independence.

A country such as Nigeria can partially be referred to as a state with many nations (the ethnic groups) within it.

As we pointed out in our earlier class, a state must have four basic elements such as territory, population, sovereignty, and government.

Features of a nation

Common language

A nation has a common language for its people. The people align with the same language, which they use in communication and day to day interaction.

Common religious beliefs

The people of a nation share the same religious beliefs. They are united by religion. For instance, Israel is regarded as the only Jewish nation.

Common tradition

Members of a nation have a common identity, which is reflected in their common social and cultural ties that distinguish them from others.

Common historical experiences

As earlier stated that Yoruba history is incomplete without a mention of Oduduwa. They most times attribute this to battles they won together etc. These historical experiences make them unique from others.

Common origin

People of a nation have the same sense of origin which they trace their ancestry to. The Yoruba trace their origin to Ile-Ife.

With all the above clarifications and explanation, which does Nigeria belong: A nation or a state or combination of both?

Is Nigeria a nation or not?

By the aforementioned definitions and features, Nigeria is not a nation.

First, all the 371 ethnic groups in Nigeria see themselves as a nation, meaning by the definition of nation, Nigeria houses more than 370 nations. If they asked about their origin, the origin of Bini (in Edo State) distinguishes it from Tur (an ethnic group in Adamawa State.

In some instances, a state such as Cross River has many other ethnic groups, including Etung, Ibibio, Ikom, Iyala, Mbembe, Nkum, Oron, Agbo, and Bachere among others.

Each of the aforementioned ethnic groups see themselves as a nation because they share the basic elements of a nation: common language and origin.

Nigeria as ONE doesn’t have all the elements that make a nationhood. As some analysts would prefer to say, “Nigeria is a forced nation”.

Therefore, Nigeria is a partial state with many nations.

Is Nigeria a state?

If Nigeria isn’t a nation, then is it safe to call it a state? Even as a state, Nigeria doesn’t qualify as a complete state because it is losing some of the features that qualify a country as a state.

In terms of territory, some of its ungoverned spaces are controlled by nonstate actors, including terrorists and other criminal elements that the government prefer to negotiate with when they kidnap school pupils in the Northern part or whenever the Niger Delta gunmen threaten to blow up pipelines.

As we put this class together, there are some parts of Nigeria where terrorists collect taxes from farmers, within Nigeria territory, before farmers could access their farmlands. For instance, a tax receipt issued by Boko Haram to farmers surfaced online in January 2022, according to a report by Saharareporters.

In another story narrated by HumAngle in 2022, a 36-year-old farmer in Kukawa Local Government Area of Borno state (Northeast Nigeria), Bukar Umar, reveals how he and other farmers in his area were forced by the Islamic State West Africa Province (ISWAP) terrorists to give 20 percent of their harvest as tax.

In some parts of Kaduna, Katsina, Zamfara, Kebbi, Yobe, they face the same problem of being under the ‘technical control’ of nonstate actors and criminal elements who tax them either through harvest or cash.

Such practices within the Nigerian territory typifies that the terrorists have technically carved a territory for themselves.

For a country to be called a state, none of the features – territory, population, sovereignty, and government – must be lacking. When one is lacking, it loses its statehood.

A combination of both?

When at a crossroad, some scholars prefer to refer to Nigeria as a nation-state while prefer to call it a Nigerian state.

Verdict

Nigeria is not a nation because it is not united by a common language, common religion, and common tradition and culture.

Nigeria is also not a state because the government is weak at the centre to exercise its full control over its territory, allowing parts of its territory in the hands of criminals and gunmen.

A state must be able to secure its citizens and people within its territory, Nigeria has failed in this regard. Terrorists strike any time they like and have carved a part of Nigeria’s territory for themselves. These terrorists have their own government within the so-called Nigerian territory.

Although some foreign countries perceive it as a nation-state, the country’s leadership has not done enough to exercise full control of even a nation-state.

Practice questions

How do you perceive Nigeria: as a nation or a state, or combination of both. Explain your points with real-life examples of what is going on in the country.
List and explain five features of a nation
What are the basic elements a nation must have to be referred to as a nation?

Opeyemi Quadri

Ope is a seasoned content creation specialist and researcher with over a decade of experience writing on education, student aid, and government policies. He is deeply passionate about education-related data.

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