By Neta Nwosu
The Vicar General of the Catholic Archdiocese of Lagos, Rt. Rev. Msgr. John Aniagwu has faulted the 1914 amalgamation of Nigeria saying “We went wrong by being a country.” More than 106 years after amalgamation, the wisdom of coupling the Southern and Northern Protectorates into an entity, later christened Nigeria, in January 1914 is still being debated in Nigeria. And the country continues to grapple with how to deal with the divisions between north and south and the mutual paranoia they often have about each other.
Rt. Rev. Msgr. Aniagwu made this assertion in an exclusive interview with The Catholic Herald weekly newspapers in commemoration of his 80th birthday at St. Leo Catholic Church, Ikeja, Lagos. The Parish Priest of St. Leo Catholic Church, Ikeja, Lagos said, “We went wrong by being a country. We should never have been a country because we are just different people who should not even be together. The British government brought the Southern and Northern Protectorates together into what they called a country.
“We are so different; we are so divergent. I think that was the genesis of our problem. We have never really blended as a country. All those who worked so far, they did not do so much to help us to blend as one people. If anything, they have accentuated our differences and divergences for their own selfish political reasons. “So, right from 1914, we have never been without problems. And when they handed independence to us, the way it was handed to us, it was not properly done. Those who gave us independence, made sure what they handed to us would fail. The way they handed power to Nigerians in 1960, was designed to make Nigeria fail. “And unfortunately, we ourselves have not checked those anomalies created for us. For instance, since the colonialists departed, we have not fashioned any constitution that is in the best interest of Nigeria. All the constitutions that were fashioned so far have been very, very flawed, particularly the one we are using right now.”
According to several research reports, Nigeria is home to over 371 ethnic groups, the largest of which are the Hausa, Yoruba, Igbo, and Fulani are the major ones. Each group has its own language, culture, and traditions. Same report stipulated that Nigeria is also divided along religious lines. It is predominantly Muslim in the North and Christian in the South. Indigenous religions are spread across the country, with some experiencing no dualism between these spiritualities. While stressing that the1914 amalgamation is the cornerstone of the nation’s problem, Msgr. Aniagwu weighed in on the need for a new constitution, not piecemeal adjustments.
He said, “All the constitutions that were fashioned so far have been very, very flawed, particularly, the one we are using right now. “In 2005, President Obasanjo instituted what he called the National Political Reforms conference in Abuja, and I was a delegate. I was representative of the Catholic Church on the CAN delegation. One of the things we recommended was a new constitution, completely new. The one that was handed to us by the military administration of erstwhile Head of State, Abdulsalami Abubakar was poorly handled. Nobody listened to us. They are still tinkering with that constitution, trying to create the same terrible constitution. “So, we have not got it right; I think there are people who are benefiting from the fact that we have not got it right. They don’t want it to be right because if we get it right, they will lose their interest. So, they are much more interested in protecting their selfish interest than serving the interest of the Nigerian nation.”
