Biafra; The 1914 Amalgamation, A Curse

■Author :  Utiung Mathias 

■ Twitter: @Umuchiukwu_writ

■ 12, Sep 2018

The "One Nigeria" slogan is one of the biggest lies of this century; There is absolutely nothing one about Nigeria. If we look into the activities raised in the country from time immemorial till date, we will discover that there is nothing that binds or makes Nigeria one in its entirety, this is because we have almost everything different, different Value system, different language, different dance, different kind of food, religion, ancestry and so on. The amalgamation of Nigeria has been seen as a fraud from every quarter of the country; Many people have argued that the basis of Nigeria's problem as of today can be traced back to 1914. The bringing together of northern and southern Nigeria protectorates in 1914 was not in the interest of the people but was based on business interest by the British colonists championed by major Lord Lugard.
The reasons for the amalgamation were given that. The north is poor and had no resources to run the protectorate, and they have no access to the sea, but The south had resources, and have educated people.

The northern protectorate was not making a profit, but the south was; So the British had to merge the protectorates using the surplus in the south to offset the deficit in the north. Nigeria's foundation as a country is weak and founded on lies; Despite various methods adopted to manage the great country, 90% of Nigerians live below the poverty line which includes both northerners and southerners, all are suffering the effects of bad leadership from both region. When the British set their foot on the area presently known as Nigeria, it was a cacophony of many nations; Nations which the British preferred to call times.
One of the lies Nigeria was founded on is "Though tribes and tongue differ, in brotherhood, we stand" Its one of the major falsehood Nigeria was founded and on which modern Nigeria thrives. The question is "Why do British merge culturally diverse people to forge Nigeria?
Was it not possible for them to allow these nations(Which they prefer to call tribes) to evolve with minimum external influence and interference? The truth still remains that, the amalgamation of northern and southern Nigeria was not in the interest of Nigerians, as they were not consulted before the amalgamation. Even my three-month-old niece knows that the north and the south have absolutely nothing in common; Not the same language, culture, religion, ancestry, not even the same worldviews, and as such, we can't possibly live together as one country.
Nigeria is many nations forced to remain within an unworkable marriage; The amalgamation was borne out of compulsion. That line "One nation bound in freedom, peace, and unity" in the zoo national anthem is one hell of a dirty lie; Where is the freedom? Where is the peace? Where is the unity?
I really think we have had enough of this rhetoric, lies, and delusion; Its high time we go down to the real business of paying ourselves the courtesy of being blunt. The only thing Britain has in mind while carrying out the amalgamation was their administrative and economic convenience and nothing more. The action of the British can be compared to a man who bought both herbivorous and carnivorous animals from the market and chose to put them in one cage to make it convenient for him to transport them home; This man knew that herbivorous animals feed on herbs and are very harmless and easygoing, while the carnivorous animals feed on flesh, and at most times very aggressive and violent. In other words, the herbivorous animals in that cage might end up as meat for the carnivorous ones even before the man gets to his destination. This man knew all this and still chose to put both animals together.
Chinua Achebe said "A man who does not know where the rain began to beat him, cannot say where he dried his body" This simply shows that the 1914 amalgamation was not for the interest of the people.
But was based on the business interest of the British colonists. Therefore, it will be better for us to move apart and survive than to move together and perish in the collision.
Edited By Ezekwereogu John For Umuchiukwu Writers