ETHNICITY AND AGITATION FOR CREATION OF STATES IN NIGERIA: THE DEFUNCT NORTH WESTERN STATE AS A CASE STUDY
ETHNICITY AND AGITATION FOR CREATION OF STATES IN NIGERIA: THE DEFUNCT NORTH WESTERN STATE AS A CASE STUDY
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Date
1979-06
Authors
R.AYO, DUNMOY
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Abstract
Demands and agitation for creation of new States in Nigeria has
been a recurrent feature since the London Constitutional Conference
of 1957. The fundamental reason for the demand has always, until
very recently (i.e. since the growth of an oil revenue -
fuelled economy) been cultural pluralism or ethnic differences.
This pluralism has led to the perennial problem of "minority groups"
within administrative units, thinking objectively or otherwise
that they are at a disadvantage.
The Willink Commission that was set up by the British Colonial ..
government in 1957 did not make any recommendation that would break
up the three regions. Instead, it held the view that the only
meaningful way of allaying the fears of minorities was to encourage
democratic government within the regions. After independence in
1960, only the Mid-West region was carved out of the old Western
region in 1964, leaving the East and North intact.
The Military regime under Gowon tried to solve the problem
of minorities by breaking up the regions into twelve states in 1967.
The euphoria did not lasts demands for more states continued.
Minorities within the "1967 new states" started agitating. One
of such areas of agitation was the defunct North Western State.
This thesis exaines the nature and structure of this agitation.
My findings demonstrate that majority of the rural dwellers
were not fully aware of the agitation. Those who knew about it
on the two sides (old Niger and Sokoto provinces) were the educated
elites and urbanites. This has led me to conclude that ethnic
differences were only used by the elites of both sides to break
up North Western State. The agitation was an intra-elite struggle
for values like political offices, administrative posts and
contract awards. The only reason why the State could have been
dismembered at all was its vastness, which was not conducive to
effective administrative and economic planning.
Although I do not deny the existence of ethnic contradictions
in the thesis, I am highly convinced by the available evidence that
those primordial contradictions have been harped upon and utilized
by the dominant elite class within the system for elite-ends.
I suggest that this sort of manipulation in the Nigerian
political process can be much more contained if there are
fairly strong unifying ideology, committed leadership
mass literacy and purposeful government
Description
A Thesis submitted to the Department of Political Science,
Ahmadu Bello University, Zaria, in partial fulfilment for the
award of Master of Science degree.
JUNE 1979.
Keywords
ETHNICITY,, AGITATION,, CREATION,, STATES IN NIGERIA