Problems Of Ethnicity In The Nigeria Federal System Of Government

Quite a number of literatures have been produced on the subject of ethnicity  in Nigerian politics.  Early writers paid special attention to the negative influence of ethnicity and cautioned Nigerian leaders to threat the political terrain with tack or good words and carefulness.  Perhaps, Professor Okwudiba, Nnoli’s work.  Ethnic politics in Nigeria (1986) and ethnic politics in African in (1989) are the most incisive of the writings on the problem of ethnicity in Nigeria.  In the work, Professor Nnoli traces the origin of ethnicity in Nigeria and rightly blamed it squarely on European imperialism  He also wrote extensively on the origin of the struggles and clashes between the Igbos and Yoruba and Igbos and Hausas among others.  Nnoli sees tribalism which became the recurring feature of Nigerian political life as part and parcel of colonial racism who primary objective was the complete alienation of the colonized Africans enabling a better and more complete domination and control of him.

Writing on social differentiation ethnicity gender and class in African perspective on development  edited by U C F Himmelstrand, or Egbosa, H. Osaghe noted that ethnicity is perhaps the most popular concepts used in the analysis of African politics.  He is of the view that the character of present day ethnic groups and ethnic relation evolved with the modern political structures.  He considers this to the product of history and goes further to see the preponderance of the Igbo, Yoruba and Hausa/Fulani as the emergent realities in Nigeria, Dr. Egbosa holds slave trade responsible for laying the foundation for the new phase of ethnicity by tightening kingship bonds.  This makes every ethnic group conscious of it’s existences and has reduced politics to struggles for the extraction and distribution of national resources.