Just Who is a Nigerian By Zarina Geloo TO THE outside world Nigeria has always been regarded as one entity. Yet in reality, it is a country characterised by a diversity of cultures and religion which has called into question the volatile issue of citizenship.

Professor Oga Steve Abah told a meeting of the Commonwealth Peoples Forum that, the Nigerian Popular Theatre Alliance (NPTA) and its research centre, Theatre for Development Centre (TFDC) at Ahmadu Bello University in Zaria, had undertaken research to understand why Nigeria, with such vast resources, remained a nation with millions of people suffering political exclusion, voicelessness and poverty. It was these research findings that he presented to the forum on encountering citizens: meanings and perceptions of citizenships in Nigeria.

He said citizenship was a central identity for most people in Nigeria who tended to associate more with their ethnic and religious group and their communities and clan, than with Nigeria as a nation, because they could not point to what being Nigerian had done for them and so felt little sense of belonging to the nation.

No matter how long people stayed in a community or land, if their ancestors were from some place else, they were always considered ‘outsiders’ and could not own land, attain scholarships for their children or even get a government position in that locality, Prof Abah said.

“While the constitution says every citizen shall have equal rights, obligations and opportunities before the law, the reality is that citizenship is shaped by exclusions, discrimination and class divisions.”

Research showed that most Nigerians were denied their rights to expression, information, to demand basic services and participate in the decision-making processes of government. Many Nigerians in rural areas were also unaware of their rights and entitlements as citizens.

Prof Abah explained that the situation was further exacerbated by religious fundamentalism in Nigeria. The recent upscaling of Shari’a law and customary courts in many northern states had created a new layer of complexity for citizenship and governance in Nigeria. People found themselves religious minorities in their communities, state or region and struggled in vain for their rightful share of national resources.

Tackling the problem of citizenship in Nigeria required dramatic change in the practices and policies of government. Prof Abaha said, “The people of Nigeria are calling for their rights to good governance, democracy, participation and accountability.”

In his view, inclusive citizenship required government to implement policies and procedures to combat unequal access to citizenship rights. Prof Abah proposed that the definition of state citizenship within the constitution be changed to one that granted equal rights to all Nigerian citizens residing in the state, regardless of ancestoral links to land or other sources of state and power. This could be achieved through awareness raising programmes for government officials and citizens that made it clear that all people had equal rights. Also, constitutionally inscribed rights to call for redress in the case of rights being denied based on ethnicity, religion, gender or other sources of bias.

Prof. Abah said advocacy had to begin at the community level where the tension between youths and traditional leaders had to be tackled.

“A lot of the problems we have to go beyond a generational gap,” he says. “Youth feel they are not part of the decision making process and become embittered adults. This polarizes the ethnic crises which is passed down from generation to generation.”

The TFDC which Prof Abah works with, is taking the first step in what he calls a ‘national reconciliation’ by organizing a forum in Jos, with legislators and local government authorities to see how best to engender a more cohesive Nigeria. “ If we can legislate against ethnic discrimination we will have gone a long way in diffusing some of the crises that occur in our country,” Prof Abah said.