Legitimacy or Sovereignty
The Sovereignty of Nigeria shall not be up for debate Quoted above are words used each time a National Conference has been convened in Nigeria. The benefit of those words are yet to be seen, as are those of the National Conferences. Could it be that these Conferences failed because of the limitations on discourse? […]
The Sovereignty of Nigeria shall not be up for debate
Quoted above are words used each time a National Conference has been convened in Nigeria. The benefit of those words are yet to be seen, as are those of the National Conferences. Could it be that these Conferences failed because of the limitations on discourse? That remains to be found.
Legitimacy of a Nation is a sensitive issue. I have spent the better part of some days asking myself this: How does a Nation-State gain/attain legitimacy? For clarity, here are definitions of the two terms taken from the OALD 6th Edition.
Legitimacy is coined from legitimate which means (1) for which there is a fair and acceptable reason, (2) allowed and acceptable according to the law. Emphasis are mine. Synonyms for legitimacy are Justice, Validity, Rightness, Correctness and Acceptability.
Sovereignty means (1) complete power to govern a country, (2) the state of being a country with freedom to govern itself.
Now that both definitions are clear, which do we see addressed more often in Nigeria? Legitimacy or Sovereignty?
In 1960, Nigeria received Independence from Great Britain. By that act, she gained sovereignty. However, prior to this occasion, the Nigerian State had not acquired or built legitimacy from her constituent groups. This lack of legitimacy unravelled on multiple occasions before Independence.
Herbert Macaulay questioned the legitimacy of colonial Nigeria as governed by the British. Of the British State, he was credited as saying:
“The dimensions of “the true interests of the natives at heart” are algebraically equal to the length, breadth and depth of the whiteman’s pocket.”
Could Nigeria’s Sovereignty be constantly under threat because it has not built legitimacy? This is a thought I have entertained and think many others should too.
TESTS OF SOVEREIGNTY
In the 54 years of self-governance, Nigeria has had about 10 coups. Each one countering a “Sovereign” government. These can be case studies of the role a lack of legitimacy has plagued the government of Nigeria.
The Civil War
Pre-Civil War
Coups and counter coups were the preserve of the ruling class. No coup was led by the people. But I believe the Civil War occurred due to a lack of legitimacy. A coup occurred, and a counter coup followed. This was within the political circles. The 1966 pogroms however, went beyond the political class. This massacre went unchecked by the Nigerian State, an act unacceptable to part of the Nigerian people: the Igbo and Southerners. Revenge attacks on persons of Northern origin occurred in Igbo territory. A cycle repeated often in our short history.
The proposal for secession was partly due to the failure of the Nigerian State to assure its constituents that “it had their best interests at heart”.
Civil War
During the Civil War, the Nigerian State again put Sovereignty ahead of Legitimacy. So did Biafra.
It was easy for Biafra to lose favour with the minorities of the Niger Delta. They had not sought to build legitimacy, a mistake the Nigerian State capitalised on. Of course, there was politics involved. Cross Rivers State and Rivers State were new opportunities to govern self for the minorities of former Eastern Region.
The story of the minorities during the Civil War is one I think needs to be told more often.
My dad escaped forced enlistment by the Biafran Army. There are records of abuses of minorities by both factions in the war. Till today, a distrust of majority ethnic groups exist in the Niger Delta. A reason being the supposed expendability of the minorities, and disregard by all.
Post-Civil War
Post Civil War Nigeria was promulgated as sovereign, with the full forceful backing of the military. Opposition had been cowered in war, but that sense of belonging – legitimacy – a people have for a nation was missing.
It was peace time and the Reconciliation and Restoration of the Eastern Region to Nigeria came at a cost. There was an opportunity to build legitimacy. An opportunity wasted again.
THOUGHTS
In Society: The Foundations, I stated what I believe to be the foundation of society: “we forgo something and benefit from another”. This is how legitimacy is built, by showing how being a part of a society is beneficial to a constituent group. Nigeria has failed to do this with all constituent groups.
One advantage, which Nigeria sells is “we are bigger/stronger together”. However, numerical strength and size does not make for better quality of life. Sometimes, they can be a disadvantage. The Civil War is one example, the Niger Delta is another. I would do a sequel using the Niger Delta as an example next week.
In the absence of legitimacy, sovereignty is always up for debate. This would not end with a change of Federal Government or of political leadership style.
The Fairness/Lawfulness of a Citizenry can only be expected when the Society is created on Fairness/Lawfulness. Nigerian laws (Federal and State) are not all fair and just, as such opposition is bound to arise.
I believe Legitimacy is more important than Sovereignty. It is only with acceptability of societal laws by all, that the continued existence of society is guaranteed. To this end, the creed of the French Revolution: Liberté, Egalité, Fraternité (Freedom, Equality, Brotherhood), appeal to me.
Going forward, Nigeria still has a task to build legitimacy. We have failed at it in 54years. Can we get it right now?