By: Dr. Charles Ikedikwa Soeze
Unarguably, national identity is the feeling of love and pride which a citizen has for his or her nation. In other words, when a citizen is proud of his or her country and is ready to sacrifice personal interests for the good of the country, such a citizen can be said to have developed a strong feeling of national identity and therefore to be patriotic.
No doubt, Nigeria citizens have usually demonstrated a strong feeling of national identity when any of our national football teams is playing a match against foreign teams. It is a truism to say that during the period of the match, millions of Nigerians follow the game over the radio, on television and also in the stadium, if the venue is in Nigeria. During the period of the football match, all Nigerians feel and talk as if they are members of one big family. As a result, they celebrate with one another when Nigeria team wins, just as everyone is unhappy when the team loses. It is no exaggeration to say that during such international matches, Nigerians are in complete emotional unity with one another. To this end therefore, national symbols such as the flag and anthems are shown great respect.
Identifying with one’s nation does not mean that one should support the country foolishly without question and all times, even when the leaders and fellow citizens are doing bad things. In other words, a proper national identification also means that the good citizen is prepared to speak out against bad policies of the leaders and to correct fellow citizens who misbehave and bring shame to the nation. The good citizen defends the nation against bad leaders and fellow-citizens since all citizens depend on the Nation. In the words of the 16th American President, Abraham Lincoln (1861-1865) Republican “Be with a leader when he is right, stay with him when he is still right, but leave him when he is wrong”.
It is abundantly clear that no nation can survive without the love of her people. When the majority of citizens show “I don’t care” attitude towards that nation, the nation cannot progress. It is only when citizens are loyal and willing to sacrifice for their country that a country is sure to be united, strong and remain reliable like the Union Bank as well as developed. It is based on this that enemies of a nation always try to devise ways that will discourage citizens from loving their country. Consequently, the Constitution of democratic countries try to promote love of the country by providing for the welfare of the people. This is because it is only when the people’s welfare is promoted that they in turn can fully identify with the nation.
We are aware that the Nigerian Constitution recognises the need to promote the people’s welfare as part of our struggle to build a democratic society. To support this, chapter 2 of the Constitution which described the fundamental aims of government states that the people are supreme. In other words, government shall be the servant of the people and not their master. The Constitution clearly states “the security and welfare of the people shall be the primary purpose of government”.
As a result, it is very important that the masses should identify with Nigeria. A strong national identity will increase mass participation in public affairs and patriotism. This will make government and other public officials obey the Constitution in order to project and protect the image of our great nation as well as provide the security and welfare of the people.
It is abundantly clear that what prevents Nigeria from being a real ‘giant’ in Africa is our weak national identity and lack of unity. Nigeria has some of the best natural and human resources of any country in the World to lead her rapidly to economic prosperity. Nigeria, which is the biggest black nation on earth, can confidently protect the dignity and interests of African people are all over the world if we the people develop a powerful feeling of national identity.
Obviously, there are smaller nations with fewer resources than Nigeria which are internationally respected and able to do things which we cannot because the government and there people have created a common identity. For instance, Cuba a small Caribbean country with about 8 million people, no petroleum and depends only on sugar-cane as its main crop, has become an internationally recognised medical power with one doctor available for approximately every 300 citizens. For example in Nigeria, there is one doctor to over 13,000 citizens. We always have strike in the health sector due to one reason or the other that has not been adequately addressed by the government. It is on record that Cuba has completely wiped out illiteracy, while Nigeria still have over 56 million people illiterate. Cuba has been able to make this rapid progress because her democracy has united all her people in a common Cuban identity. It is this strong national identity and patriotism that has made it possible for thousands of Cuban soldiers that volunteered for service in our continent in order to help our Angolan sisters and brothers defend themselves against the invading army of the South African racist regime some years back. Nigeria, with her vast natural and human resources could achieve more if only we are united. I think and believe that is why enemies of Nigeria and Africa do not want us to develop strong national identity and patriotism.
It seems to me that several forces and actions threaten the unity and progress of Nigeria. These forces are both internal and external. For instance bad leadership is a major source of our disunity. Unfortunately, Nigeria has had the misfortune of getting very many selfish and corrupt leaders who survive by promoting ethnicity and sectional loyalties rather than Nigerian nationalism and the value of Nigerian citizenship. Going by their selfish and “divide and rule” attitude, these bad leaders promote the attitude that is alright for the people to neglect or even loot national resources. Some of these bad leaders have encouraged people to develop loyalties towards their personal welfare and small communities, rather than to Nigeria. As a result of our mass ignorance and abject poverty, bad leaders use the opportunity to get on. For instance, if the masses know that the Constitution makes them masters and not servants of the government, they can apply the knowledge to ensure that government serves their security and welfare interests.
Consequently, external or outside forces use this internal combination of bad leadership, mass ignorance and abject poverty to further weaken our concern for the security and development of our country. For example, they have used economic sabotage through dirty business including banking practice. Through these, they cheat Nigeria and take away a lot of our natural and financial resources abroad. They thereby reduce the resources which could have been used to promote the welfare of our people and thereby weaken our national pride and confidence in the nation. They usually over-price the goods which they sell to us and often sell to us repainted, refurbished and second hand items of equipment as new ones. During the second republic, many expatriates participated in stealing our oil through illegal deals. Furthermore, fake banks were established by some foreigners to loot the nation. A very good example is the case of Johnson Mathey Bank, London that defrauded Nigeria of six billion Naira. However, all these were carried out against Nigeria with the support and assistance of unpatriotic Nigerians. Outside forces have also weakened our unity through political interference. For example, through bribery, spies, false experts, and so on, unfriendly outside forces have often tried to ensure that only people who will advance foreign interests dominate the government. Based on this interference, patriotic leaders who can inspire the people to love and make services for the nation, find it difficult to come to power or stay in power.
Another important way of outside interference is the cultural penetration of our society. The pressure of foreign culture on us is so serious that it can be called a ‘cultural war’. It is flabbergasting that our own televisions, radio stations always wage this war against our people particularly the youths. It is annoying that foreign films and programmes that promote selfish, violent and immoral behaviour unacceptable to our culture are shown and broadcast recklessly to the mass audience.
As a result, some Nigerians who live in the cities where these foreign activities take place now suffer from cultural confusion. To this end therefore, they prefer foreign goods to Nigerian goods. For example, the food they eat, the clothes they wear, the songs they sing, their dances, the values they prefer are very much foreign. Although such people are physically in Nigeria, their minds are almost prisoners of America and Western European cultures. Where people do not respect their hairstyles, their food, their form of dress, their dances, and their songs cannot be expected to show much respect for their nation. We have become so careless about our nation that it became possible for a few Italian crooks to collude with some unpatriotic Nigerians to dump poisonous wastes on our land.
Finally, Nigerians have no other country which they can call their own. Most Nigerians will live and die here no matter how much they admire living in other countries. Only a few privileged Nigerians have the money and connections to own houses abroad and may wish to live there. Nevertheless, they always wish to come back home because they are never accepted over there. It is therefore our civic responsibility to project and protect Nigeria in good light, the only home we have.
Charles Ikedikwa Soeze, fhnr, fcida, fcai, fswca, chnr, cpae, son, emba, ksq, ghnr, is a mass communication scholar from first degree to doctoral level, a retired Assistant Director (Administration)/Head, Academic and Physical Planning (A&PP) of the Petroleum Training Institute (PTI), Effurun, Delta State, Nigeria. He is also a public affairs analyst and commentator on local, national and international issues. (08036724193) charlessoeze@yahoo.ca
