International Journal of Research and Innovation in Social Science (IJRISS) | Volume III, Issue III, March 2019 | ISSN 2454–6186

History and National Integration in Nigeria: An Empirical Overview

Mile Terwase Joshua

Ph.D, Educational Foundations and General Studies, University of Agriculture, Makurdi, Nigeria

Abstract:-In contemporary Nigeria, one would have thought that the rich Nigerian history, its immense human and natural resource endowment, with its democratic attempt so far, a credible effort towards national integration of its society would have been well fostered and achieved. But what one is witnessing so far today, seems to boil down to the fact that we have not yet started and national integration is even a non-issue in national discourse. But the crises that has been sky rocketing the country today so far which made many to call out for all forms of restructuring, have much of its roots traced to this crucial question of national integration. The trust of this paper therefore, is to examine the issue of national integration in Nigeria through an empirical historical perspective with the aim of finding the way forward to the present Nigerian quagmire.

I. INTRODUCTION

The devastating fundamental flaws and gross structural and operational defects of economic and political systems we are suffering are very serious and grave. These certainly have profoundly threatened our integral survival as a sovereign nation. These have even made many a man think that these can be over come by dismembering the Nigeria polity and replacing it with new polities or democratic polarities based on our nationalities and sub- nationalities or even regionalities. This seems to fits in perfectly with the design which western imperialism has in store for us. But the reality of our history, of our contemporary conditions and position in the world make it very abundantly clear that our capacity to exercise our freedoms and rights to ensure our /survival, progress and dignity as a nationality can only be secured on the broad basis of national integration of the Nigerian polity and within the new polity’s broader West African and African framework of integration and not otherwise1.

II. CONCEPTUAL CLARIFICATIONS

It would be futile to conceptualise national integration abstractively, because such an exercise will have little to do with historical reality. National integration has to be understood and defined historically.