Nigeria: An Illegitimate Union
It’s quite pathetic hearing or reading the ignorant statements of people in support of the indivisibility of Nigeria. I term them and their 
‘reasons’ ignorant because they try as much as possible to avoid facts, thereby relying on illogical appeals! In a chat with a Yoruba friend of mine few days ago, he said: “Nigeria must be one because that is what our fathers chose and lived, so who are we to divide it…” I have heard others say things like “Nigeria must remain indivisible because its formation is God’s choice” (the notorious statement from Yemi Osinbajo); “Nigeria must remain as a country because the nations in it have a century of shared history;” “Nigeria must be one to remain a strong nation based on its population,” etc. I have also heard someone claim that the regions calling for division are not compassionate because if they were, they would consider the striking statistics on poverty among the regions of the north.
Taking a look at the first statement by my Yoruba friend, one would realize that he made a false assertion. Now let us make recourse to the political theory known as the social contract theory, which was championed by British political theorists and philosophers. Social contract theory describes the formation of nations or sovereign states as contracts agreed upon by the people. In the making of this contract, the supposed subjects of the rule must be the participants in the contract making. And this contract must involve free and independent people. Now going back to the statement that “Nigeria must remain one because that is what our fathers chose,” one would immediately notice a serious fault with that claim. First of all, was Nigeria the CHOICE of the people in it? A detailed research on the conditions of the amalgamation in 1914 seriously defies the claim that Nigeria is the choice of the indigenous peoples who inhabit the geographical area known as Nigeria! The action of the colonialists in the creation of the British business empire known as Nigeria is similar to a situation where an intruder gets a strange man and a strange woman to stay in one house without consulting them because the intruder feels they must stay together because he has signed a marriage contract for them and, most importantly, their staying together is to his advantage! The question is: does anyone have the right to sign a contract which is binding on someone else without the subject’s permission? The formation of Nigeria is similar to a forced marriage, and that is the greatest reason why NIGERIA IS ILLEGAL!
Analyzing Yemi Osinbajo’s argument on why Nigeria should be indivisible, one would notice a problem. The claim that Nigeria is indivisible because its formation is God’s choice is too weak and poor an argument coming from an academic professor. This clearly brings two things in mind: Osinbajo is either an ignoramus or a liar! With the ugly history of colonialism and the amalgamation of Nigeria by the British in mind, one would definitely be stupid to say that God formed Nigeria. I wonder if he regards the colonialists as God or as those only doing the dictates of God. The formation of Nigeria was only one of the procedures employed by British to facilitate colonialism. If he really knows this colonial and amalgamation history of the geographical area named Nigeria, which I doubt he is ignorant of, then he is a liar for his attempt to deceive gullible people with an argument grounded on a false premise! Mr. Osinbajo, Nigeria was not formed by God. NIGERIA IS A PRODUCT OF EVIL AND ATROCIOUS DECISIONS ON THE INDIGENOUS PEOPLES OF THE GEOGRAPHICAL AREA BY ALIEN BRITAIN!
Now let us reflect on this question: do abnormal incidents or institutions get normal automatically because of the years they have lasted? This is a question directed to those who claim that Nigeria has a century history, and sees that as enough reason to remain indivisible. This claim could equally justify the treatment of African Americans as slaves because they share descents that was characterized by centuries of slavery. If such a claim were right, there wouldn’t even be abolishment of slave trade in the first place for the sake of its history that lasted for centuries. An illegitimate formation or institution will remain illegitimate no matter how long it has lasted. THE FORMATION OF THE UNION CALLED NIGERIA IS ILLEGITIMATE, AND NO MATTER HOW LONG IT HAS EXISTED, IT IS STILL ILLEGITIMATE!
If we claim Nigeria must be one to be a stable nation based on population and land mass, then, the question remains: Is population or land mass a necessary factor for stability? If it was true that population and land mass necessarily count, it would be absurd to have economically stable countries like Finland, Denmark, etc.
Compassion as the reason why Nigeria should remain a union also fails to rationally and sensibly ground the idea that Nigeria must remain a union as formed by the colonialist. Compassion is a virtue, and this implies compassion can only be practiced at will by an agent and not through compulsion! If the colonial entity called Nigeria was formed for the sake of charity, that is sustaining the poor nation with the wealth of the wealthy nations, it clearly defines the fraudulent nature of the formation of the entity. Can one do charity with someone else’s wealth without consulting the owner? If this entity was formed for the reason of compassion and charity, the people who are at the giving end would have been consulted for their consent, otherwise, the notion termed charity is a fraud! FORCING A WEALTHY WOMAN TO BE SUBJECT TO A MARRIAGE CONTRACT WITH A POOR MAN IN ORDER TO SUSTAIN THE MAN IS A FRAUD AND MUST BE REJECTED! THIS IS THE CASE OF NIGERIA!
By Olisa Onuchukwu
M.Phil Philosophy Student (University of Ghana)
