Is the Unity of Nigeria Negotiable or Not?

Abstract

One popular saying among the elites in Nigeria is that ‘unity of Nigeria is not negotiable’. However, going by the daily experiences or occurrences and views of ordinary Nigerians, the statement seems aloof of the realities in Nigeria in all the decades of her creation. Indeed, there seems to be more factors pointing to the need for re-negotiation than a blanket non-negotiability-the sing song of the elites. The concern of this paper is to explore the factors that have made Nigerians unwilling to live together. In this regard therefore, the paper shall unravel reasons advanced by the elites for the non-negotiability of Nigeria in spite of her challenges and unwillingness to live together; find out why some Nigerians belief and call for self-determination or a complete re-negotiation of Nigeria and finally document the daily experiences of Nigerians in the last sixty years to supply empirical evidences for the need for a renegotiation of a nation on the brink.