Nigeria-based policy institute, The Kukah Center, and the Islamic Organisation, Nasrul-Lahi-L-Fatih Society (NASFAT), have expressed divided views over the call by some stakeholders to abolish indigeneship in the country.
While the Kukah Center, founded by the Bishop of the Catholic Diocese of Sokoto, Most Rev. Matthew Hassan Kukah, argued that citizenship should be promoted above indigeneship, NASFAT observed that indigeneship should come first while Nigerians strive for integration and cohesion.
These views were expressed at a strategic stakeholder meeting on strengthening social cohesion in Lagos State, facilitated by The Kukah Center with support from MacArthur Foundation in Abuja at the weekend. The parley discussed the scenarios in the 2023 general elections and the significance of these on contemporary issues.
Executive Director of the Kukah Centre, Fr. Atta Barkindo, lamented that Nigerian citizenship has been lost, stressing the need for a common umbrella of Nigerian citizenship and identity.
He noted that Lagos State has become a symbol of the multiplication of different identities that is increasingly making governance difficult.
Barkindo, who heads the Secretariat of the National Peace Committee, said Nigeria has suffered from “colonial legacies which divided the North and South, amalgamation without consultation,” adding that there was no institution to design and construct a common identity for Nigerians.
He said: “The military came and created chiefdoms, created states, local governments boundary adjustments and also now we have seen with democracy, we are talking about rotational presidency, agreements in order to accommodate literally everyone.
“What these have done is that these policies and initiatives have completely suppressed competence and meritocracy and placed ethnic, regional identity above competence that citizens can bring to the table. The content on your head no longer matters in Nigeria. What matters is which tribe you belong to. Where do you come from? What is your religion? We did an eight-month kind of research and study regarding what happened in Lagos.”
Barkindo argued that the focus on identity politics has suppressed competence and meritocracy leading to a divided society where citizens are judged based on their tribe, ethnicity, or religion rather than their abilities.
He added: “What we have discovered in Lagos is that you can be born in Lagos and live there for 60 years, but because you don’t come from there, they tell you are non ‘Lagosian’ or you are a non-indigene.
“So in Nigeria, you are a citizen in one place and you go to another place, you become a settler and you lose certain rights. Why can’t an Igbo man go to Kano, for example, live in Kano and participate in politics, elect and be elected and thrive because he’s a citizen of Nigeria?
“So we worry about the issue of settlers, indigeneship, the issue of outsiders that are coming into Lagos and gradually, we can also see students unions are constructed on the basis of ethnic identity. Tribal uniforms are coming, tribal chieftaincies are coming up even in places like Lagos and Kano.
“You will find something like the chief of Hausas, Chief of Igbo and so on then we continue to construct these little tiny identities.
“I must mention that outside Nigeria, there are other Nigerians who are doing well. They are members of parliament in Poland, there are mayors in England, they are elected in the US, not because of the colour of their skin or where they come from. So why can’t we begin to aspire towards a Nigeria that respects and prioritizes competence?”
But President of NASFAT, Alhaji Ayodeji AbdulRauf, maintained that indigeneship is an important aspect of Nigerian identity and should come first.
He however stressed the need for the evaluation of such identities “and see how we can live together in peace and harmony.”
Represented by Muyideen Yusuf, he explained: “We must first of all have that difficult conversation which revolves around our identity so that we can have the integration and cohesion we are talking about.
“I will say indigeneship should come first. Like the late Sardauna who said that we should identify where we are coming from. Let us know who we are first. After that, whether you are Yoruba, Igbo or Hausa, Muslim or Christian, let us now look at those factors that make us different from one another and see how we can integrate them together.
“It wasn’t like this before. We have not been doing it the right way. It was recent political structure that brought all these things.
“During the colonial era and up to our independence, we didn’t have as much fracas between tribes and religions as we have now. But the political class, what do they tell their people in their villages, in their communities? You see that most of this crisis revolves around politics and politicians are the first stakeholders that need to be addressed and that need to be talked to. So the issue of indigeneship should come first before citizenship.”
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