ABSTRACT
One enduring aspect of Nigeria’s political history since independence is the role of affective or primordial loyalties in the political and development processes. Ethnonationalism captures a special aspect of ethnic and regional orientation in which primary allegiance is paid to the subnational group rather than the state. Ethnonational groups have become very formidable in Nigeria and often thwart cohesion and national integration. Ethnonationalism is thus the embodiment of Nigeria’s fragile unity and tenuous nationalism and creates a scenario whereby the development actions of government are perceived and appraised through an ethnonational lens. Prominent ethnonational associations include Arewa Consultative Forum, the Afenifere and the Ohaneze. These groups have fostered militant youth wings that do their bidding and portend a conflictual approach to national issues. These groups were generally produced and spurred on by the drive to ensure the access of their socio-regional groups to economic and political resources in Nigeria. In spite of their posturing, these groups embody largely benign sectional interests rather than destructive nationalism. But while these groups in one sense underline the heterogeneity of Nigeria, they also embody centrifugal tendencies that erode national cohesion and the solidarity needed for development.
