ASSIGNMENT ON DISCUSS ON ANY KEY ACTOR OF NATION-BUILDING IN NIGERIA

FEDERAL POLYTECHNIC NEKEDE OWERRI P.M .B 1036, OWERRI IMO STATE ASSIGNMENT ON DISCUSS ON ANY KEY ACTOR OF NATION-BUILDING IN NIGERIA WRITTEN BY GROUP NAMES: REG. NO: AGBO HOPE ADAORA 14/0065/PS AMAJUOYI UDOCHUKWU DEBORAH ANUTUBA CHARLES 14/0056/PS EBERE JOSEPH OKECHUKWU EWURUM IRENE 14/0094/PS OJINWADI FAVOUR C. 14/0078/PS OKWARA NKECHI P. 14/0015/PS ONYIA COSMA O. 14/0093/PS OSIGWE MOSES O. 14/0062/PS UZOKA BLESSING CHIDINMA DEPT: PURCHASING AND SUPPLY LEVEL: NDI MORNING COURSE TITLE: CITIZENSHIP EDUCATION II COURSE CODE: GNS 131 LECTURER: HIS EXCELLENCY DATE: AUGUST, 2015. ABSTRACT One of the major setbacks in Nigeria is nation-building. Until very recently, plethora of explanations on the crawling pace of development in Nigeria tends to pay infinitesimal attention to the centrality of nation building element. It is no surprise therefore that since 1999 when Nigeria returned to civil rule insecurity tends to have hampered national development. Nation building is evidently the pillar upon which every meaningful development could be achieved and sustained. The development strides in most Western Capitalist States that place premium on lend credence to this assertion. Whilst Nigeria is endowed with abundant resources, Negligence to numerous challenges of in security of the environment appears to have created porous under national building condition that engendered violence and Retards development. INTRODUCTION Nation-building refers to the process of constructing or structuring a national identity using the power of the state. This process aims at the unification of the people or peoples within the state so that it remains politically stable and viable in the long run. Nation-building can involve the use of propaganda or major infrastructure development to foster social harmony and economic growth (Wikipedia, the free encyclopaedia) Originally, nation-building referred to the efforts of newly-independent nations, notably the nations of Africa, to reshape colonial territories that had been carved out by colonial powers without regard to ethnic or other boundaries. These reformed states would then become viable and coherent national entities. Nation-building included the creation of superficial national paraphernalia such as flags, anthems, national days, national stadiums, national airlines, national languages, and national myths. At a deeper level, national identity needed to be deliberately constructed by moulding different groups into a nation, especially since colonialism had used divide and rule tactics to maintain its domination. THE CONCEPT OF NATION, STATE AND COUNTRY In common language we speak of "countries," or "nations," or "states" or, sometimes "nation-states." While the terms country, state, and nation are often used interchangeably, there is a clear difference between the concepts. We generally have roughly the same thing in mind when we use all these words. When we begin to conceptualize them, it will become clear that there are differences between "nations," "states," and "countries." To understand the notion of nation-building, one needs to have some definition of what a nation is. According to Carolyn Stephenson (2005), early conceptions of nation defined it as a group or race of people who shared history, traditions, and culture, sometimes religion, and usually language. Thus the United Kingdom comprises four nations, the English, Irish, Scottish, and Welsh. The people of a nation generally share a common national identity, and part of nation-building is the building of that common identity. Today the word nation is often used synonymously with state, as in the United Nations. But a state is more properly the governmental apparatus by which a nation rules itself. FOR THE EVOLUTION OF NATION-BUILDING, ALMOND AND COLEMAN (1960) DEFINED INPUT FUNCTIONS AS: 1. Political socialisation and recruitment. 2. Interest articulation. 3. Interest aggregation. 4. Political communication. Output functions were: 1. Rule-making. 2. Rule application. 3. Rule adjudication Lucian Pye identified multiple meanings of political development with, among them: • as prerequisite to economic development, • as politics typical of industrial societies, • as political modernization, • as administrative and legal development, • as mass mobilization and participation, • as the building of democracy, and • as stability and orderly change. KEY FOUNDATIONS FOR NATION-BUILDING Until we adjust our minds to focus on the foundations required for building any nation, our desire to see a developed Nigeria will be a mirage. Before we look at the key foundations for nation-building, it is pertinent to address the common misconceptions about nation-building 1) A nation is built solely by a great political leader: This is the most common misconception about nation-building and is the main reason why most Nigerians do not participate in building the nation. Let me agree that a visionary political leader is a prerequisite for nation-building but that visionary leader will make very little impact if the most of the citizens do not support the vision of such leader within their own circle of influence. By support, we are not only referring to words but significantly in actions. So, as much as we need a visionary leader, a visionary leader does need a people who will provide the platform for him to execute his programme. Our history has a few personalities we like to describe as people who lived before their time and in fact, one was called the best president Nigeria never had. This is the result of leaders with vision, courage and ambition limited by lack of citizenry support. I have discussed this in more details in my article ‘Great Political Leader or Great People' to be featured very shortly. But it must be said that a nation is not built by one great leader and whenever it was attempted in history, such a leader was a dictator disliked by his people (and that was not truly nation-building). 2) A nation is built through infrastructural development: Firstly, it has to be understood that nation-building is not primarily about infrastructural development but about human development through freedom of expression and association. As stated above, there were a few leaders who built their nations into great political and economic power but in all cases, they are nations with suppressed people. Such nations would be less attractive to most Nigerians because we, like any human being, price our freedom dearly. To illustrate this point, let's imagine for one moment that a military or communist regime came to power and the ‘great' Head of State provided us with steady light supply, water, hospitals, schools and many other amenities but they would deprive us the freedom to choose what or where we studied and the freedom of religion, movement and speech. These are just some of the conditions of a dictatorial rule because he must be absolute in power to achieve his aims and sustain his power. We could turn the argument around and say what about infrastructural development in a democratic dispensation. The question I would ask is who builds these infrastructures? We have sufficient evidence in our nation to illustrate the point that the push for infrastructural development has led to high level of corruption and substandard execution of contracts. This is not to mention the poor maintenance of such infrastructure. Another point I have observed is the high number of accidents on roads that have been newly built, high level of unprofessionalism at newly built hospitals, power plants and schools. So, in cases where infrastructures were provided, it did not amount to the development of our nation. Like all Nigerians, I desire to see first class infrastructural development in our nation but that is not the foundation for nation-building. It is the fruit of a solid foundation. Look at any important company in Nigeria with significant assets and you will observe that they have expatriates in key positions to ensure high standard are applied and maintained in their operations. This goes to illustrate that without these expatriate, many of these businesses will collapse or at the least drop their standards. Also note that the best construction company in Nigeria is German owned and managed, delivering the best quality of work and on time, in most instances. So, when we hammer on about the need for infrastructural development for nation-building we must remember to ask who will build and maintain them. This will point us towards the foundation for nation-building. 3) Credible elections is what we need: In my recent article on Credible elections or credible candidates (read on my blog http://nationarise.wordpress.com/), I highlighted that as much as credible elections are essential, of greater importance was credible candidates available for us to choose at elections. Credible elections will not build a first class nation until credible candidates are produced by the political parties through transparent internal democracy. This is where the main focus should be even though I do agree that credible elections is the process for putting the credible candidates into elective offices 4) Bloody revolution is the solution to our problems: The proponents of this school of thought are increasing by the day due to our situation seemingly going from bad to worse. What this view is expressing is we can only build Nigeria when a bloody revolution or coup will eliminate our political leaders and provide a fresh start in our development. This view is given further credence due to what occurred in the history of our West African brothers (Ghana) and is famously called, the Jerry Rawlings Solution (JRS). The primary issue with this misconception is the thinking that killing our political leaders will solve our problems when we all know the malaise in our society is as prominent in every facet of our society. So, who will make the elimination list and what will be the criteria for their selection? The outcome of this misconception, if ever it was to implemented, will not lead to the building of our nation but will rather further divide our nation along ethnic lines (as some groups will feel the purge was more on their side), see the rise of a dictator (see first misconception), the suppression of our freedom and most of all, discourage our participation in nation-building through public service. The Jerry Rawlings Solution was successful because of factors that are lacking in Nigeria and it is those factors that came to bear when he had to transform his military regime into a democratic dispensation and also when he failed in his attempt to handover (at the end of his tenure) to his own party presidential candidate. We have to honest and admit that Ghanaians are more politically sophisticated than Nigerians (mainly due to a longer democratic dispensation) and their role in ensuring the success of the ‘JRS' cannot be underemphasised when discussing bloody revolution as a foundation for nation-building. They provided the foundation for the Rawlings revolution and for the building of their nation. Besides, the Jerry Rawlings Solution was applied to a military regime and not a democratic administration. In our case, our corruption is from top to bottom and will require the elimination of at the very least 5,000 Nigerians who make the list of previous Heads of State, current President, present & past State Governors (including military administrators), past & present Federal Ministers & State Commissioners, past & present Local Government Chairmen from 774 LGAs, past & present principal officers of the National and State Assemblies, past and present Directors & Permanent Secretaries from state & federal ministries and MDAs, etc. I hope I have illustrated in a small way that we lack the foundation for any bloody revolution and therefore, this idea is a misconception. True change has to be voluntarily and not by force. 5) Nigeria is a rich country: This is another leading misconception for nation-building and it has led to wastage, corruption, complacency and apathy. But are we really a rich nation? No, we are not. Though many Nigerians really do think we are a rich nation and that has led to us (we & our political leaders) spending money like rich nations and this is money we really do not have. I say money we really do not have because when compared to the size of our population, environmental challenges, poor human resources (uneducated majority) and underdevelopment, our current earnings is quite insufficient. This is a fact, we have by far the largest population in OPEC and Saudi Arabia for example, produces about 4 times our output but has an estimated 27 million people (Our African brothers Angola with 18 million people produce almost the same output with Nigeria). But this misconception of wealth that has been untapped and remains a potential, has produced an attitude of more-than-enough-for-everyone. That means, we can spend our little resources with reckless abandon and we will still develop our nation. No wonder, corruption thrives in all facet of our society and what I find interesting is this wasteful lifestyle applies to those managing government funds and individuals managing personal funds. The reality is this, someone (or a country) is rich not based on potential but the assets he has. In the case of a country, first class infrastructure, significant number of educated skilled manpower, integrity & high work ethics of her people, large locally owned conglomerates, significant investments abroad and diplomatic influence. Some rich nations do not even have the natural resources we have but they have the skilled human resources (not referring to people with just qualifications but people who deliver a high quality of work). Another way to look at it is to count the cost of investments required to provide & maintain at least 100,000 megawatts (the power supply size required for an industrial nation our size) or the cost of building & maintaining first class motorways, airports, railway track with high speed train (by the way, no nation our size survives without an efficient rail system) or the cost of dealing with environment degradation (oil polluted land & water, erosion and deforestation) or the cost of taking our oil sector to the next level in investment & also investing in alternative sources of income in preparation for when oil runs dry. I reiterate the building of these infrastructures is just part of the cost, as there also significant cost to maintain them. When we begin to think like this, we realise that we are not a rich nation and should begin to have a conservative approach to spending both in our nation resources and in our private lives. This would also shift focus to the true foundation for nation-building. 6) The youths are the solution: I worry everything I hear this misconception being expressed and it has become so rampant amongst Nigerians 40 years and above. For many in this age group, we believe Nigeria will not change in our generation because our generation is a waste and so, the only solution is to focus on the youths. This misconception is so convenient for us because it is another attempt by us to shift the responsibility from ourselves to the next generation. This is a misconception because if any change is to occur in the youths, it must first start with this generation. After all, we can only pass on what we have or believe and not what we don't have or believe. Yes, there is need to put in a lot of work in developing the right values in our youth but there is no greater way to teach a person values than by modelling and mentoring. The youths will mainly do what they see and not what they hear. So, if we carry on as a failed generation we inevitably will pass on that attitude to the next generation. The youths are not the foundation for nation-building because the destiny of the nation is not in their hands and if we refuse our role as the foundation we can't expect the youths to have good role models and mentors that will model what to do when the baton has been passed over to them. These are just the main misconceptions that have hindered the building of our nation. But the foundations for nation-building are Family, Education and Faith, and the people are the only raw material used to lay & to build on that foundation. Every developed nation has been built through these foundations and when such nations witness a regression of their development (as several do now), their approach is to strengthen these foundations because they had become weakened. If there is to be any revolution it has to happen inside the people or for credible elections we will need candidates which is the people or build first class infrastructures we will need people well trained and committed to excellence in their jobs or to have a great political leader we will need people who are well trained, mentored and experienced in political education from secondary school days to political parties period. FAMILY The first and primary foundation for nation-building is the family. Personally, I don't think we appreciate the power for change that exist in the family and this is how Winston Churchill, the famous British Orator & World War II Prime Minister put it, "There is no doubt that it is around the family and the home that all the greatest virtues, the most dominating virtues of human society, are created, strengthened and maintained." There are two significant developments that should take place in families. The first being a transformed parent in thoughts, words and actions. This is a family where the parent recognises that they have huge influence over the primary cell of the nation and if they desire a developed Nigeria, they must start building through changes in their own lives. Reason being, it is only when they are being transformed that they can qualify to impact effective parenting into their children. In my personal experience, I have observed that my children watch what I do and this has impacted them more than what I tell them. Besides, the value of what I tell them is mainly based on me applying this in my life for them to see. We cannot continue to abuse Nigeria with our words and manipulate the system with our actions and not expect our children to model these same attitudes. The second significant development is effective parenting through our transformed lives. Our transformed lives will reflect in our communications, modelling and mentoring of our children. This is how we will see transformation in our generation (amongst us the parents) and the right equipping of the future generation. Only then will we see the development of the human resources required for nation-building. It is time for active participation by fathers in the training of their children and for mothers to delegate less of their role to househelps and childminders. Providing clothes, food, shelter and even the best private education is inadequate in raising a generation that will aspire for greatness in our nation. It is also important for parents to seek out children, especially those without fathers and provide effective parenting to them. We grow as a community. EDUCATION According to Toshitsugu Uesawa, Japan's Ambassador to Nigeria, "Education, including vocational training, that can produce an inventive and creative workforce, is the foundation of nation-building." Education is not just simply sending our children to school, it involves a lot more. As a foundation for nation-building, our educational system needs a revamp of her curriculum to reflect how we want to build our nation. It's got to be peculiar to our needs and also to encourage the expression of whatever gifts & talents are inherent in our youths. That is why family is important because it is in the family that a talent of a child is observed and support is provided to enable full expression of that talent to the benefit of the nation. I believe there are a lot more careers available than just being a lawyer, accountant, banker and oil worker. We have seen that people can make a career out of sports, entertainment (music, comedy, acting), fashion, etc. But there are more careers that can come out of our youths because I believe as a creation of God we have such an unlimited range of talents and gifts. If we agree that Education is a key foundation for nation-building then we must agree that it is too precious to leave solely in the hands of government & private educators. It requires the involvement of a critical mass of Nigerians in volunteering time to build infrastructures & to teach, give financial support, provide effective monitoring of school performances, etc. It also requires a sacrificial commitment from our current breed of teachers. The development of our nation will happen with the education of not only our children at the best private schools but also through the effective education of a critical mass of Nigerians (both children & adults). The best guarantee of our children's security in the tomorrow's Nigeria is the education of people who will live & work beside them. FAITH To build a nation, we must believe in something greater than ourselves and when that happens, we are willing to give of ourselves sacrificially to that cause. Faith is the foundation that establishes this vision in our hearts and provides the guide on the steps we should take in our daily lives. It is therefore essential for our religious organisations to shift focus of their messaging to reflect the core objective of the primary faiths in Nigeria (Christianity and Islam) – serving God and serving man. Churches and mosque have taken a serious battering of late because many Nigerians see them as deviating from their core objectives. More so, these organisations have been too influential in our nation, more than the family. The family is the primary cell and not the church or mosque, so the religious organisations must ensure the central place of the family is established and protected. I believe when Churches and Mosques recognise their role as a key foundation in nation-building, Nigeria will witness the strengthening of families, the increase in affordable but qualitative education to most Nigerians from under-privileged backgrounds and messaging that will see Nigerians put the nation first (and not self). In effect, Faith plays a key role in supporting the other two foundations for nation-building and so having faith is a good thing for Nigeria but we have to get back to the basis of that faith. SUMMARY In summary, we have to stop focusing of issues that takes away our personal responsibility as citizens of this great nation and become responsible for our nation through our families, our educational system and our faith. Only then, will our dream of a developed Nigeria become a reality and that will surely include great leaders in all facet of our society, credible elections with credible candidates, first class infrastructural development and maintenance, development of our youths & mobilisation of the older generation and above all, a rich nation which is a blessing to our citizens and to the continent of Africa. RECOMMENDATION In the modern era, nation-building referred to the efforts of newly independent nations, notably the nations of Africa but also in the Balkans, to redefine the populace of territories that had been carved out by colonial powers or empires without regard to ethnic, religious, or other boundaries. These reformed states would then become viable and coherent national entities. We therefore recommend that Nation-building includes the creation of national paraphernalia such as flags, anthems, national days, national stadiums, national airlines, national languages, and national myths. At a deeper level, national identity needed to be deliberately constructed by molding different ethnic groups into a nation, especially since in many newly established states colonial practices of divide and rule had resulted in ethnically heterogeneous populations. CONCLUSION Nation-Building is a highly complex and risky undertaking. It involves a wide range of actors, of interests, mechanisms, strategies and potential outcomes. It can lead to stable, successful Nation-States or to war and chaos. It is the more complicated the more it is taking place in heterogeneous, even fragmented societies. The questions of ethnicity and other forms of political identities is therefore one of the key factors. But at this point in the research process it looks like the state being at the center of impor-tance. The state in Nation-Building processes generally is both an actor and a means, it is both the problem and part of the solution. The state structures and their relation to different segments of society are at the core of Nation-Building. Many sectors of society may try to influence, to infiltrate or even control or conquer it. The state can help regulate and moderate societal processes of integration, or it can become a tool of dominance of some elites over the whole of society or competing elites and contribute to fragmentation. The state and its relationship to diverse and heterogeneous societies may very well be the key point to analyze complex processes of Nation-Building. REFERENCES Darden, Keith; Mylonas, Harris (1 March 2012). "The Promethean Dilemma: Third-party State-building in Occupied Territories". Ethnopolitics 11 (1): 85–93. doi:10.1080/17449057.2011.596127. 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