I am a Nigerian first and foremost. My birth in this geo-political space should confer on me that identity. I am a Nigerian – unless that geo-political identity changes tomorrow – before I am Igbo or a Christian. My parents are from Imo State in south-east Nigeria. I wasn’t born there. I didn’t grow up there. I live and work in Abuja and I am married to a lovely woman from Ogun State in south-west Nigeria.
Yet, I have to “claim” Imo State because in the crazy world of Nigeria your “state of origin” confers on you certain privileges and opportunities depending on what you are looking for and where you find yourself. I am sure there are millions of Nigerians who share my unease; millions like me who want, to paraphrase Martin Luther King, Jr., to live in a Nigeria where citizens will not be judged by their ethnicity, “state of origin” or what religion they profess, but by the content of their character.
That is why we should go to this conference leaving behind our ethno-religious baggage. Agreed that the “building blocks” of Nigeria in 1914 were “ethnic nationalities”, Nigeria of 2014 is no longer the sum total of its “ethnic nationalities”. If we were having this conversation at independence in 1960 perhaps it would have made some sense.
Read more…http://www.chidoonumah.com/2014/03/will-nigeria-disintegrate.html#axzz2vsgVXCKN
Regards,
Chido Onumah
Coordinator, African Centre for Media & Information Literacy,
P.O.Box 6856, Wuse 11, Abuja, Nigeria
www.africmil.org
+234-7043202605
+234-7043202605 
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