13,446 Abibisika (Black Gold) Points

Rank: Unranked Obibini

Since 1960, many attempts have been made to diagnose the trouble with Nigeria. Chief among the usual suspects have been, ―tribalism,‖ corruption, and bad leadership. May I submit that these are symptoms, not the underlying causes; the fevers, not the malaria or typhoid parasites. Our problems are much more serious than corruption & co. They include identity crises of various kinds, a lunatic elite, cultural schizophrenia, Eurotoxification and the fact that Nigeria is not a nation but a noyau—i.e., a society of inward antagonism, one held together by mutual internal antagonism, one which could not carry on if its members had no fellow members to hate. And if we want to end the troubles of the Nigerians, we must dig deeper to find the fundamental causes. And I would like, today, to draw your attention to some of the systemic causes that do not usually appear on our radar.

Lugardism, UN Imperialism and the prospect of African power
Chinweizu