Nigeria needs to cut ties with colonial legacies by indigenizing

Nigeria needs to cut ties with colonial legacies by indigenizing

Fatai ADEWUYI

The submission has been made by several people that Nigeria is an artificial creation of the British Empire through the 1914 amalgamation of Northern and Southern protectorates, orchestrated by the British colonial master, Lord Lugard. This amalgamation is seen by many historians as inappropriate, uncalled for, and a mistake, for it brought about the union of peoples that are incompatible socially, culturally and religiously. Salt was rubbed into injury when the same Lord Lugard named the geographical area Nigeria. The name, suggested by a foreign correspondent of British origin, Miss Floral Shaw, is what we still bear till today. Shaw later became Mrs Lord Lugard.

These two incidents, creation and christening by foreigners must have made Nigeria foreign-oriented, thus there is need for it to be properly re-indigenised. Frankly, one would have expected the change of the name immediately after independence like Ghana did. Ghana was originally named Gold Coast by another group of British colonialists but at independence, the nationalists, led by Dr Kwame Nkrumah, adopted a new name – Ghana – taken from an indigenous empire called Ghana. So also, Upper Volta was renamed Burkina Faso – by President Thomas Sankara in 1984. These new names broke the yoke of colonialism and entrenched total freedom in those neighbouring West African countries.

Admittedly, many other areas in our nation have been indigenized like our national anthem, our national flag, our currency, our national outlook and perception as exemplified in our national policies on education, economic and foreign policies. Kudos to our various governments in this regard.

Furthermore, the present administration of Tinubu has taken a bold step by firstly restructuring the economy by not making it import-oriented but export-oriented. The withdrawal of oil subsidy has brought relief as the money realised from it is being used to provide infrastructure, pay foreign debts and provide monetary incentive to the citizens.

Meanwhile, this piece is to point to the fact that the psyche of the nation also needs to be looked into away from merely the physical aspect. To forge unity among the three major tribes that make up Nigeria, a slogan “WAZOBIA” was adopted. If this can be adopted as Nigeria’s indigenous name, it will be appropriate, it will strengthen the union the more.

As Nigeria clocks 65, there are many challenges, calling for sober reflection, yet we need to appreciate ourselves and various governments for keeping the country one which to the founding fathers was a task that must be done. Kudos and congrats to the present administration of Tinubu for calming the storm.

Adewuyi is CEO, Atmecs. 08130851574