The Doldrums of Nigeria’s Amalgamation: A Historical Re-Appraisal

Abstract

With a long historical background of interactions, the various ethno-linguistic groups occupying different regions and established on distinct cultural backgrounds, religious affiliations and political creeds were merged by the British authority in what became known as the 1914 Amalgamation. It was supposedly to be a historical landmark for Nigeria giant stride for greatness. However, those dreams and aspirations have never been realized. Thus, since the amalgamation, efforts have been geared towards a truly national integration where the chasm of distinct ethnic, cultural, religious and political ideologies would be assimilated into a united Nigeria. In colonial and post-colonial Nigeria, the British administrators and the Nigerian political leaders had respectively designed policies and programmes to ensure united country. Nevertheless, the lacunas among the regions and ethnic compositions have continued to widen founded on crisis of colonial creation, nationalists’ vituperations and politicians’ imbroglio. Hence, the doldrums in various facets of development in centenary Nigeria has remained endless. Consequently, Nigeria’s developmental stride has been stalled. The paper examines the doldrums of unity that have bedeviled hundred years of Nigeria. The methodology adopts primary and secondary sources as well as internet materials presented in text interpretation and thematic chronology.

Keywords: Doldrums, Nigeria, Amalgamation, Colonialism, Nationalism