Nation-building takes time, argues Joshua J. Omojuwa
Nigeria was never colonized. E shock you? This country was never colonized as much as you couldn’t colonize what never existed during most of the process of colonization. Nigeria could not have been colonized because it never even existed until 1897 and wasn’t a political entity until colonization was complete in 1914. The amalgamation was the first time ever the subjective political entity called Nigeria came into existence. It is not something to be emotional about, the British weren’t when they put it together. They were being pragmatic.
The history of Nigeria as one political entity never existed until the 1st January, 1914. It was the consequence of the colonization of several independent political and geographical entities that leading to 1914 existed individually, and by that year had become two British protectorates.
When discussing and debating Nigeria, it is always crucial to have this in mind. However, there is a lot more to keep in mind than the technicalities of Nigeria’s colonization. Technicalities because, whilst it ultimately became a colonized country, it was colonized in bits, pieces, and units. These units happened to be in the geographical space that turned out to be Nigeria.
Lagos could have been a country itself. It was colonized as an independent political entity in 1861. It could easily have evolved into independence as a country called Lagos. It was not until about 25 years later that the British annexed another political unit within what was within the Nigerian geographic area. Mind that it only turned out to be “Nigerian” in 1897.
In 1886 the Yoruba states of Ibadan and the Ekiti Parapo – an alliance comprising Ife, Egba, Ijesa, Ekiti, etc., were colonized as one unit – under the guise of the British playing peacemaker. Again, it was an independent action between these states – as a unit – and the British government. They could, like Lagos, have gained independence years later as one country. Ijebu came under British control later and so did Oyo and by 1894, the British Lagos Colony had expanded to include these states. This Colony could have gained independence as either a country called Lagos or as different countries in their colonized forms. From 1861 to 1894, it took the British 33 years to colonize Lagos and these then independent Yoruba states.
The British weren’t done. After several moves and military campaigns, the extraordinary empire that Usman dan Fodio brought together as a caliphate eventually fell to the British in 1903 with the killing of Caliph Attahiru at the Second Battle of Burmi. The north of what was to become Nigeria had come under British rule. It was called the Protectorate of Northern Nigeria. This protectorate could have gained independence as a country of its own. Borno was occupied in 1904 and brought into the protectorate. Borno itself could have emerged as a country of its own.
The British ran military campaigns elsewhere across the Nigerian area until they had every political and geographical until under control leading to the amalgamation of the Southern and Northern Protectorate to form a single colony — Nigeria — in 1914. Leading to this point, each of the territories that were colonized could have gained independence and become individual countries. Collectively, the Southern Nigerian protectorate could have become a separate country from the Northern protectorate, which itself could have evolved into an independent country.
It took over half a century from the colonization of Lagos to the amalgamation of the Southern and Northern Protectorates of Nigeria. This reflects that the colonialism of the Nigerian area was long and arduous. It was also ruthless, brutal and bloody. It took about 53 years to eventually colonize the territories and political units within the Nigerian area.
Nigeria is currently 63 years old since the British let go. That ought to give you an understanding of how long it took them to cook the country into being. It should also show us that it is impossible to treat this entity as one unit whilst hoping that it would attain its full potentials. It was not even colonized the same way. Whilst the various nation states had some dealings with one another engaging in trade, wars and even intermarriage relations, they were independent states.
The British ran the colony as one political unit for about 46 years between 1914 and 1960 and then handed it to the people for self-governance. Whilst there were attempts by some actors for the British to grant independence to separate units of the country, an action that would have resulted into the independence of more than one country, the British instead left it as they amalgamated it; Nigeria. It is no surprise that the country has continued to storm ever since. The Biafra War happens to be the greatest reflection of its storming nature, but it is just one of the many consequences of bringing several nations and people to form one country without their agreement.
However, we are here now. One nation, hopefully bound in Freedom, Peace, and Unity. Hopefully, because all of those terms remain dreams for the country and its people. It remains unfree from the pressures of its colonization; peace has remained elusive through its independent history, whilst its unity remains an imagination in the minds of those who wish better for it.
Nigeria’s realities aren’t exceptional. It is exactly what happens when you force separate bodies into one unit. It is scientific and expected that there’d be a reaction. That we haven’t been able to meet these challenges is because we live in denial of what it is. When we come face to face with our history and where we are today, we can work out a path that guarantees true Freedom, Peace and Unity amidst the diversity we cannot and should indeed not do anything about. It should be a strength.
We are one country and different people. Our histories, though eventually aligned by the British, have mostly been different through history. To build a just and united Nigeria, this is where we must start: accepting that nation-building takes time and that you cannot build in denial of its historical context.
Omojuwa is chief strategist, Alpha Reach/ author, Digital Book Wealth
