Modern Nigeria is a creation of the British who because of economic interest, ignored the existing political, racial, historical, religious and language differences. The task of developing a concept of nationalism from among such diverse elements who inhabit Nigeria and speak about 280 tribal languages was immense if not impossible. The traditionalists did their best in opposing the British who took away their privileges and traditional rights, but their policy did not countenance nationalism. The rise and growth of nationalism was only possible through educated Africans. Colonialism brought Nigeria in contact with the West and western culture, but the impact of it was felt differently in different parts of Nigeria. By debarring Christian Missions, lawyers and merchants the North, the British deliberately allowed Northern Nigeria to retain its customs and social structure. This further increased and complicated the problems of modernization, nationalism and unity, as Nigerians were influenced by two opposing outside cultures, .one Western, the other Oriental. The basic problems: social, racial and political were the result of the superstructure creation of Nigeria and they unmistakingly affect nationalism, as some of the ethnic groupings which make up Nigeria were large enough to constitute nations in themselves. Because of strong ethnocentrism existing in Nigeria, it has sometimes been argued that Nigeria bas not
one nationalism but many nationalisms. The educated elite have succeeded in winning statehood for Nigeria, but they have yet to succeed in bringing about cultural and political nationalism in Nigeria.
| Identifer | oai:union.ndltd.org:pdx.edu/oai:pdxscholar.library.pdx.edu:open_access_etds-1955 |
| Date | 01 January 1972 |
| Creators | Ekong, Bassey Edet |
| Publisher | PDXScholar |
| Source Sets | Portland State University |
| Detected Language | English |
| Type | text |
| Format | application/pdf |
| Source | Dissertations and Theses |
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