Nigeria is a complex country
made up of hundreds
of ethnic nationalities
living together. Through
the amalgamation of the Northern
and Southern protectorate in 1914,
the various ethnic nationalities were
compelled to cohabitate, relate and
eventually fuse into one country at
independence. The quest for political
dominance by politicians from the
various parts of the country shortly
after gave rise to the use of ethnic-
ity as a tool to score cheap political
points. This cankerworm soon found
its way into the political class, leading
to sectionalism and sworn loyalty to
ones ethnic group above the coun-
try. Even after the civil war and the
various intrigues that followed the
marginalization of some sections of
the country, ethnicity has remained a
sore point in our national discourse.
Equally, nepotism, its twin brother,
has become almost a norm, a political
weapon to determine the position a
citizen could aspire to, not only polit-
ically, but also in the civil service and
even in the nation’s military. Conse-
quent upon this, it is appalling to note
that most often our best hands are
left to rot while the less endowed are
promoted to positions of authority
and responsibility, left to superintend
over strategic issues bordering on our
collective destiny as a nation.
Indegenization is seen by some as
a means of putting a stop to the un-
necessary marginalization that some
Nigerian citizens are being subjected
to in some sections of the country.
As a way of adapting to the native
way and culture of host commu-
nities, advocates of indegenization
believe strongly that the concept of
indegenization should be redefined
in our constitution as to make it easy
for every Nigerian to live, work and
flourish legitimately in any part of the
country he or she desires to live in.
This, they argue, will in turn cement
unity and forge peace and harmony
amongst the various ethnic nationali-
ties that make up the country.
The recent bill being sponsored by
the Deputy Senate President, Senator
Ovie Omo Agege on redefining who
is an indigene in Nigeria is a right
step in the right direction. The bill
tagged ‘A bill for an Act to alter the
provisions of the Constitution of the
Federal Republic of Nigeria, 1999 to
define who is an indigene of the State,’
seek to alter Section 31 of the Princi-
pal Act by inserting new subsections
2,3 and 4. The new provision, if
allowed to fly, grants one the status of
an indigene of a state, if he was born
in that state, or if he had lived in the
state consistently for a period of not
less than 10 years.
Coming at a time the Lagos State
House of Assembly moved that
anyone who has resided in Lagos for a
period of twenty years and can speak
the Yoruba language is free to be a
member of the Amotekun security
organization is worth commending.
Such effort at liberalizing the concept
of indegenization in the country will
go a long way to foster peace and
unity as envisaged by our founding
fathers. It will also help to ensure that
nepotism is gradually eased out of
our lexicon so that the coast can be
made clear for wider, more competi-
tive and dynamic participation by all
in nation building.
