NIGERIA SINCE INDEPENDENCE:
FOREVER FRAGILE? BY J.N.C HILL – A REVIEW
In 2012 J.N.C. Hill, a senior
lecturer in the Defense Studies Department at King’s College London UK, has
written a thought provoking book titled “Nigeria since Independence: Forever
Fragile?”. Hill chronologically examines Nigeria since its independence and argues
that Nigeria is a “failed state” because the writ of its government does not
run the length and breadth of its territory and also lacks in providing her
citizens with “the public goods or social services which includes law and
order, basic healthcare, primary education, and impartial justice” (Hill Pg. 2).
He focuses on the concept of state failure and contends that “state failure is
frequently cited as the principal cause of all manner of political abuses,
economic hardships, social ills and cultural injustices suffered by peoples and
communities throughout Africa and beyond” (Hill Pg. 17).
Hill explains how changes to the
international moral environment ushered in by the Second World War led to the
establishment of a “new sovereignty” regime that gave rise to many states in
Africa, including Nigeria. However, many of these states lacked the
capabilities to exercise de facto
sovereignty, but nevertheless, continued to be recognized by the international
community. Today, “there are states that exist as legal entities, but which
lack the governments and state institutions to have any day-to-day reality for
portions of the populations that live within their borders” (Hill Pg. 20). Hill
utilizes the concept of state failure to describe what has happened, what is
going on, and what is likely to occur in Africa.
Hill explains that though Nigeria came
close enough to disintegration during the Biafra civil war of 1967, it has
avoided breaking up. This was when the southeastern province of Biafra seceded
from the federation for two and a half years before it was eventually readmitted
in 1970. Furthermore, he identifies three main forces that paradoxically serve
as vital mechanisms for both the disintegration and unity of Nigeria. These forces
also arbitrarily fan the flames of insurgency and violent extremism that
perpetually threaten the stability and unity of Nigeria.
The three main factors are namely; federalism
(the process of building and developing Nigeria’s state structures and
political practices), oil and its associated revenue (generated by the rents
the Federal Government charges oil companies and its sale on the international
market) and the armed forces (its operations and activities and as a major
institution of the Nigerian state). Hill
argues that federalism has been both a force for good and evil for the Nigerian
nation. He analyses four major ways in which federalism impedes the flourishing
of Nigerians. First, federalism fuels the ethnic tensions and religious hatreds
that are undermining the quality of life of Nigerians. Secondly, it has
disempowered and disadvantaged tens of thousands of Nigerians all over the
country by dictating that certain public goods are only available to those
people living in their state of origin. This is not compulsorily the state in
which they live or were born, but to that which they formally belong. “By
permitting this, federalism is not only compromising the standards of living
and life opportunities of many Nigerians, it is also encouraging sectarianism
and undermining the country’s unity” (Hill Pg.45).
Thirdly, federalism freezes
Nigerians’ political rights as it rotates senior position in government, armed
forces and other national institutions, and agencies between the main ethnic
groups. Thus, democracy is subverted as only those individuals from the right
ethnic groups access certain posts of leadership in the country. And fourth,
federalism has greatly increased the cost of government and also created many
new opportunities for corruption and graft in Nigeria. Despite its
contributions to Nigeria’s failure, Hill maintains that federalism also unifies
the country in three important ways; first, it is weakening the ethnic and
regional loyalties that have long threatened the country’s unity; second, it helps
build a sense of nationhood; and thirdly, federalism helps to banish
sectarianism from Nigeria’s political life.
Hill also traces the political violence,
corruption, and failure in contemporary Nigeria to oil production and revenue.
The extraction of oil in Nigeria consequently undermines the quality of life
and living standards of thousands of Niger-Delta residents of Nigeria through
environmental pollution and destruction of the ecosystem. He charges that “Nigeria’s
oil is deeply divisive and a major contributor to Nigeria’s failure as a state.
Not only is it helping to undermine the Federal Government’s willingness and
ability to promote the flourishing of all Nigerian citizens, but it is also
driving the insurgencies” (Hill Pg. 73). Oil in Nigeria is both a source of
great wealth and international political prestige and also the root cause of
many of the ills that plague the country.
Prominent among these plagues are the
rise of insurgent groups such as the Movement for the Emancipation of the Niger
Delta (MEND) and the deadly Boko Haram sect that has continued to undermine the
efforts of the Federal Government. Oil is equally a contributor to Nigeria’s
unity in that other non-oil producing states in Nigeria depend on oil revenue
as long as the country remains together. The international community also
relies on Nigeria as an energy provider and remains unwilling to recognize new
states in Africa. Thus, oil sustains the unification of Nigeria. Hill also
examines the contradictory roles the armed forces play in contributing to
Nigeria’s failure. “By failing to defeat the insurgent groups ranged against it
and abusing the civil political and human rights of ordinary Nigerians, it has
stoked popular anger and antipathy towards the state driving some individuals
and communities into the arms of groups like the MEND and Boko Haram, which are
undermining the Federal Government’s ability to control its sovereign
territory” (Hill pg. 99).
Hill’s book thoroughly showcases
Nigeria’s failure and continued unity as a product of complex and contradictory
roles of three major mechanisms – federalism, oil, and armed forces. Hill has
shown that though Nigeria is successfully a failed state, its persistent
failure is yet to lead to collapse and disintegration. His analysis
significantly contributes to the ongoing debates over state failure and
Nigeria’s threatened existence as one of the largest democracies in Africa.
Work cited
Hill, J.N.C. Nigeria since Independence: Forever Fragile?
New York: Macmillan, 2012. Print
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